You Have Multiple Streaming Subscriptions, as Well as iTunes Content
You Have a Large Collection of Movies that You Can’t Watch Through Home Sharing
One of the biggest areas where the Roku 3 outshines the Apple TV is with the Plex Media Server and the integrated USB port. After you purchase your Roku 3, you can read this article about how to watch content on USB devices such as an external hard drive or flash drive. By taking advantage of the USB port and Plex, you can either stream content from your computer to the Roku 3, or you can watch video directly from a connected USB device. This is particularly useful when you have videos that iTunes is unable to play. You can learn more about the Plex media server here.
You Don’t Have a Lot of Other Apple Devices in Your Home
The Apple TV has a feature called AirPlay that allows you to stream to the Apple TV from compatible Apple devices. It is an amazing feature, but it is sadly restricted only to Apple products. This is one of the biggest reasons that I use my Apple TV, and I find that the Apple TV would get a lot less use if I couldn’t stream from my MacBook to my TV, or send a video from my iPhone to the Apple TV. But if you have Android devices and Windows computers, then you aren’t able to take advantage of arguably the best thing about the Apple TV. Without AirPlay, and with a limited iTunes library, the Apple TV is lacking when compared directly to the Roku 3.
Conclusion
Most people that own an Apple TV are going to be very happy with it. But if you’ve cut the cable cord and are looking for more video content, or if you need something for a bedroom or basement TV, then the diversity that you get from owning a Roku 3 and an Apple TV is terrific. Both devices can stream content seamlessly over your home’s Wi-Fi network, and both are very simple to use. They are also very easy to move and disconnect, so if you have them connected to separate TVs, it only takes a minute to switch one device to the other TV if there is something that you want to watch in a different room that you can only access from the other device. After receiving his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Computer Science he spent several years working in IT management for small businesses. However, he now works full time writing content online and creating websites. His main writing topics include iPhones, Microsoft Office, Google Apps, Android, and Photoshop, but he has also written about many other tech topics as well. Read his full bio here.
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