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Chromecast vs AppleTV vs Raspberry Pi vs Roku vs Others (2015)

Never waste your money on buying SMART TV's :)  But buy one of these to make your LED/LCD tv smart and control with your phone/home automation

Let's compare between  Chromecast vs AppleTV vs Raspberry Pi vs Roku vs Others in 2015. Previous version comparison can be found here

Chromecast 2

  • Google came with a new design for Chromecast 2, with a much better antenna (802.11ac) and perfect price ($35)
  • Built in apps like HBO, Spotify, Youtube, Netflix (but all its competitors have these apps)
  • Though aesthetic is much better, In my opinion it doesn't matter as it sits behind the Television
  • Much improved casting from your phone, Laptop.. almost any devices with a cast option
  • Also I liked that it doesn't have a remote, coz you can control from your phone
  • Lacking power to play games


Apple TV4

  • Coming with Top Specs and a cool Remote Control (Though I feel your iPhone is more than sufficient), Apple TV4 released in 2015-September boasts of (Price around $150)
  • 32/64GB storage, 802.11ac WiFi, A8 Processor
  • USB C (3C) Connectivity but only for service/support
  • Bluetooth 4.0, IR sensor, HDMI 1.4, Ethernet, Power cable
  • Remote Control with Siri voice recognition, Bluetooth & IR, & Lightning port for charging

Raspberry Pi 2 (model B) 

  • Priced around $35 and best suitable if you are a developer. Can be very well used as Full HD entertainment mechanism. Details here
  • Released in 2015 Feb, 900 Mhz A7 Cortex CPU, 1GB RAM, 4 USB ports
  • Full HD supported. Can run full Linux or Windows 10 (who really want to run Windows?)
  • HDMI, MicroSD slot, 800 MA power, Approx 45gms 
  • Sits Quiety and very easy to put an OS and do whatever you want !!  Check here to find various media center's/ OS available for RPi2

Roku 4

  • All the hype around Roku4 is the 4K compatible/ready playback  and priced around $130. 
  • Optical audio out (phew its old tech !!), 60 frames/sec, Roku OS7 
  • The design of console is cool, but the remote seems out of date ( I would have done other way around as you use remote more than console)

Others

  • Amazon FireTV - I have attached a sample compare sheet with Amazon FireTV (I don't really care about FireTV as of now)

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