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Apple TV vs. the competition -- how does it stack up?
Although it's only just been revealed and won't actually go on sale for four long weeks, Apple's new hockey puck is far from the only media streamer on the market -- and with Sony's Netbox and the Boxee Box on the way, the sub-$200 set-top box market is exploding with options. So let's line up the revised Apple TV against the (post-price cut) Roku HD-XR, Popbox, and even an LG Blu-ray player in the same price range and see what you're actually getting -- and more importantly, getting access to -- on each device. Oh, and there's some choice words from Roku after the break. Update: You asked for them, so we added the PS3, Xbox 360 & WDTV Live as well, after the break. Device: AppleTV Roku XR Pop Box LG BD550 Price: $99 $99 $129 $130 - $150 Form Factor/Size: 3.9 x 0.9 x 3.9 5 x 5 x 1.75 8 x 1.4 x 6 inches 16.9 x 1.8 x 7.9 Available Content: HD TV shows from ABC & Fox ($0.99), HD Movie rentals ($4.99/$3.99), Netflix, iTunes, YouTube Netflix, Amazon VOD (now with $0.99 HD TV show purchases from Fox & ABC), MLB.tv, UFC, NBA GameTime, YouTube, Pandora YouTube, Revision3, Blip.tv, h.264 / XviD / MPEG-4, MKV / AVI / WMV Blu-ray discs, VUDU, Netflix, CinemaNow, YouTube, Pandora, Napster Apps / SDK: N/A Roku Channel / SDK available Popapps Store / SDK available NetCast widgets Connectivity: WiFi N, Ethernet WiFi N, Ethernet Ethernet, optional WiFi adapter Ethernet, Disc Video Quality: 720p, 5.1 audio 720p (1080p upgrade coming soon), 5.1 audio 1080p, 5.1 audio 1080p, 7.1 audio, DTS-HD MA / Dolby TrueHD audio
