#1 Apple TV 4K - 12 Alternative Media Streamers to Roku
The latest 5th Generation Apple TV 4K earns the honors as the number one best alternative media streamer to Roku.
Giving the latest Apple TV 4K the number one spot as the best alternative to Roku was a tough call as we really LOVE the Nvidia SHIELD.
There was a time when the Apple TV was the top-selling media streamer in the world. They lost that title to Roku. Although with some of the recent changes at Roku, the Apple TV 4K may one day get it back.
When Apple was the number one best selling media streamer, many people bought it only to jailbreak it and install XBMC which was the precursor to Kodi on it.
Apple at that time tried desperately to lock down their media streamer to prevent this. Eventually, they succeeded. Roku came along with a much more open system and many dumped their Apple TVs in favor of a Roku.
Apple at that time tried desperately to lock down their media streamer to prevent this. Eventually, they succeeded. Roku came along with a much more open system and many dumped their Apple TVs in favor of a Roku.
1
APPLE TV 4K A1842 (5TH GENERATION)
Even though Roku users can't use Kodi. Many developers on the Roku platform offered much of the same content as Kodi for free and also through paid subscriptions.
Recently Roku cleaned house and eliminated IPTV channels and many other channels that promoted or facilitated piracy on their platform.
Apple, on the other hand relaxed their system a little more. Now you can find a handful of IPTV apps that work better on the Apple TV than they did on Roku and also better than on some Android media players.
While Kodi and other apps can be sideloaded to an Apple TV. It either requires a developer account, which costs $100 a year or there is some enterprising individuals that will let you add your Apple TV's MAC address to their developer account for around $25/year.
What also makes the Apple TV an excellent alternative to Roku is how nicely all the legal channels like DirecTV NOW, Netflix, Hulu, Vudu, CBS, ABC, Fox, work on the Apple TV. In fact, they work extremely well and all offer the same content as what you would find on Roku.
While Kodi and other apps can be sideloaded to an Apple TV. It either requires a developer account, which costs $100 a year or there is some enterprising individuals that will let you add your Apple TV's MAC address to their developer account for around $25/year.
What also makes the Apple TV an excellent alternative to Roku is how nicely all the legal channels like DirecTV NOW, Netflix, Hulu, Vudu, CBS, ABC, Fox, work on the Apple TV. In fact, they work extremely well and all offer the same content as what you would find on Roku.
They opened up their iTunes App Store and now you can get almost as many apps, podcasts, games and more on the Apple TV that you can get for Roku.
The power of the new 5th Generation Apple TV is incredible. It's A10X Fusion chip benchmarks even faster than the Nvidia SHIELD Tegra X1.
The price is not as affordable as a Roku. Yet, the Apple TV costs the same as a Nvidia SHIELD.
If you want to play games on your Apple TV, pick up a Steel Series Nimbus controller. This will let it play a wide range of games you can download from the Apple TV iTunes Store.
Apple TV A1842 5th Generation Specs
| Specs | |
|---|---|
| CPU | Antutu Bench Mark (Apple TV 5th Gen 199,000 2.3Ghz) (Nvidia SHIELD TV 132,483 2.0Ghz) (Fire TV Stick 2nd Gen 25,115 2.0Ghz) (Roku Ultra Quad-Core ??? 1.2Ghz) |
| Ports | HDMI, Gigabit Ethernet, IR Receiver |
| Video Output | 2160p, Dolby Vision, and HDR10 |
| Storage | 32GB/64GB |
Where the Apple TV shines is it allows you to organize all your apps or channels into folders. Something still missing from the Roku platform.
Single user sign-on works extremely well on the Apple TV. This lets you enter your credentials one time and all channels anywhere that are available to you from a cable TV or streaming TV subscription no longer need to be signed into on at a time.
Roku still has the Apple TV beat when it comes to adult channels. While Roku won't allow them in their public store, there are a long list of private adult channels available on Roku which are really good.
This does not mean you can't watch Adult channels on your Apple TV, you just need to use this work around.
While the Apple TV may have leap-frogged Roku with much faster hardware, and some features. The Roku media streamer is still a popular choice for many users. Their software is very efficient and seems to run fine on their current processors.
Not only can you buy a Roku Express for as little as $30, they still offer many completely FREE Roku channels like these, which makes the Roku an excellent choice for those on a budget.
Fortunately for cord-cutters, there are many media streamers available to choose from and you don't need to only own one. Our TV has 4 available HDMI port and unfortunately, they are all full.
In case you're wondering the Roku Ultra, Nvidia SHIELD and 5th Generation Apple TV 4K have all have earned a coveted HDMI port on our television. They also all get still get used regularly and each media streamer has something unique to offer.
If we had to choose only one, it would be a hard decision to make. We're happy we don't have to make that choice.
This does not mean you can't watch Adult channels on your Apple TV, you just need to use this work around.
While the Apple TV may have leap-frogged Roku with much faster hardware, and some features. The Roku media streamer is still a popular choice for many users. Their software is very efficient and seems to run fine on their current processors.
Not only can you buy a Roku Express for as little as $30, they still offer many completely FREE Roku channels like these, which makes the Roku an excellent choice for those on a budget.
Fortunately for cord-cutters, there are many media streamers available to choose from and you don't need to only own one. Our TV has 4 available HDMI port and unfortunately, they are all full.
In case you're wondering the Roku Ultra, Nvidia SHIELD and 5th Generation Apple TV 4K have all have earned a coveted HDMI port on our television. They also all get still get used regularly and each media streamer has something unique to offer.
If we had to choose only one, it would be a hard decision to make. We're happy we don't have to make that choice.
If you landed on this page and missed our other 11 alternatives to Roku, click the next page below to start from the beginning.
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Use of third-party trademarks on this site is not intended to imply endorsement nor affiliation with respective trademark owners.
We are Not Affiliated with or Endorsed by Roku®, Apple, Google or Other Companies we may write about.
