Apologies in advance to our international readers. Your mileage may vary: we've had cord-cutting successes and failures among our colleagues, so just be sure to plan ahead before you cut the cord. Bottom line: these boxes can be part of a cord-cutting solution, but they're not the total solution.
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And while ordering shows a la carte (Amazon or iTunes) or by subscription (Hulu Plus on Roku) is a start, you'll may well find that you're racking up a bill that's equal to or greater than that of the cable or satellite subscription you want to cut.
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Without that free TV lifeline, you'll be sacrificing nearly all live local programming, including local sports and local news. But if you think you can buy either-or both-of these and then ditch your existing TV subscription, you're almost certainly bound to be disappointed- unless you also plan for over-the-air antenna reception. Apple TV and the Roku 2 XS are both very cool boxes that offer a lot of additional programming options beyond cable and satellite. We recommend having at least a 10Mbps connection, which probably means cable.Ĭord cutters take note. This sounds obvious-until you see all of the 1-star user reviews for these products and their competitors, with lines like, "Doesn't stream on DSL." The faster your broadband is, the better. That will run you at least $7.99 per month for Netflix, and more-much more-depending on your desire for recent TV shows and movies and the aforementioned sports services. But to fully enjoy either of these products, you'll need to be shelling out for subscription (Netflix, Hulu Plus, Amazon Prime, MLB.TV, NHL GameCenter, NBA Game Time) or pay-per-view video services (iTunes, Amazon Instant). (Or you can opt for the slightly less feature-rich Roku 2 HD for just $69.) And both units offer some degree of free online content: Vimeo and Internet audio on both, YouTube on Apple TV, Crackle on Roku. To be clear: you can get through the checkout of Best Buy,, or your retailer of choice for about $100 plus tax (if applicable) with an Apple TV or a Roku 2 XS. So your favorite CNET (and other) podcasts are accessible on both units. And, while the Apple TV doesn't specifically support Mediafly (a podcast aggregator available on Roku), it does offer access to nearly any mainstream audio and video podcast. They also both offer Vimeo, MLB.TV, NBA League Pass, Flickr, and general Internet radio. If you just want a cheap and easy Netflix box, both Apple TV and Roku will fit the bill. It's enough of a horse race that it's worth a separate discussion.īefore we start, a few key points apply to both units:īoth are great for Netflix-and several other overlapping services.
But looming large in the marketplace these days are the two $99 offerings: Apple TV and Roku 2. On that subject, I've laid out my hardware recommendations for a variety of consumers in an earlier blog post ( "Which streaming-media device is right for you?"). There are more ways to stream Internet video-Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, and the like-than ever before.