| Rating: |  |
|---|---|
| Where: | Buy Now for Just $98 |
| Pros: | - Ease of Use - Multiple Streaming Services - Motion Sensor Remote |
| Cons: | - No HDMI Supplied - Bluetooth Sold Separately - No Home Network Streaming |
| Overall: | A truly great streaming player that you will get great value for money for. Buy it Now! |
The Roku 2 XS 1080P Streaming Player
Home entertainment is a fast moving and ever developing area with the electronics market today, as people move away from traditional methods of watching the latest movies at home (DVD, cable / satellite TV) and look to stream content direct from the Internet via services like Netflix, iTunes and Amazon Video on Demand.
Cue the Apple TV 2 Streaming Player, a stylish media box than enables users to stream digital content such as movies, music and photos direct to their high definition television for convenient viewing. Let’s take a look at the key features of the Apple TV 2 to determine if it is worth the $99 price tag and evaluate it’s worth to home entertainment.
Design 
My first impressions as I opened my Apple TV 2 box was WOW! Compared to the clunky 1st Generation Apple TV, the Apple TV 2 has a stylish black design and is small & light enough to fit comfortably in the palm of your hand. The actual size is 3.86 (W) x 3.86 (L) x 0.91 (D) inches and the unit weighs in at just .6 of a pound (lb). Furthermore, the unit is “energy-friendly” consuming less than 2 watts while streaming video.
Setup
The Apple TV 2 package includes the Apple TV 2 Unit, a setup guide, an information guide, a stylish aluminium remote control and a long power cord. Frustratingly the HDMI Cable required to connect your unit to your HDTV is not included and must be sourced separately (Amazon HMDI Chord €7.99).
The setup of the Apple TV 2 is as ridiculously simple and I do not exaggerate when I say a five year old could set it up in just a couple of minutes and without any headaches. Simply connect the unit to your HDTV using the HDMI cable and connect the unit to the power supply using the power chord. The Apple TV will then boot up showing you the Apple logo on your television screen – from here simply select your required language and you are good to go. Easy peasy!
User Interface
Apple have always prided themselves on the simplicity and ease-of-use of their products and the Apple TV 2 User Interface is no different. The user is presented with a simple menu, spread horizontally across the HDTV, which makes it very clear and easy to find what you are looking for :
- Movies – to streaming rented movies direct from iTunes.
- TV Shows – to streaming TV Shows direct from iTunes
- Internet – to access content through Netflix / YouTube / Amazon etc
- Computers – to access iTunes on connected devices
- Settings – to change Apple TV Options such as TV Resolution / Brightness / Screensaver etc.
Suggestions are also provided above the main menu for each menu option. Overall, Apple have got the user interface spot on.
Movies & TV Shows
So now we are getting down to the key areas of the Apple TV 2 – content! With Apple TV, you get instant access to the hottest Hollywood titles and new releases — often the same day they come out on DVD. Popular films are never out of stock, and you can rent as many as you want. That’s perfect for those spontaneous film nights (or afternoons or mornings). Search by top films, title or genre. Even read a quick film review, watch the trailer and check out the latest ratings from iTunes. Once you find what you’re looking for, simply press Play, and in seconds, you’re watching the opening credits with cinema-like Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound.1 SD rentals start from just €2.49, and HD rentals start from €3.99. You have 30 days to start watching, and once you begin, you can watch as many times as you want in 48 hours.
Buy your favorite TV shows and watch them without commercial interruption for just $1.99 in SD or $2.99 in HD. And you can download them later to your iPad, iPhone, iPod touch, or computer at no additional cost. It works the other way around, too. Buy an episode on any of your devices, and it automatically shows up in your list of previously purchased items, so you can watch it via Apple TV. Watch a show the day after it airs, or camp out on your couch and catch up on past seasons with a marathon of back-to-back-to-back episodes. And Apple TV keeps track of your favorite shows — so the next time you turn on your TV, you can quickly see which season you’re watching and which episodes are new. Just choose shows with a few clicks of the included remote.
iCloud & Content Storeage
iCloud stores your TV shows, your music, your photos, and more and pushes them wirelessly to all your devices.3 So you can buy your favorite TV show on Apple TV, and also have it available to watch on your iPad, iPhone, iPod touch, Mac, or PC. iCloud is the easiest way to get instant access to your content — no matter which device you’re using.
Music & Photos
If you’re an iTunes Match subscriber, you can access your entire music collection from iCloud — including songs you’ve imported from CDs — right from your Apple TV. Play them on Apple TV or any iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, or computer for just $24.99 a year.4 iTunes Match has an amazing scan-and-match feature — all the songs in your iTunes library are scanned and then matched with those available on the iTunes Store. Matched songs are instantly added to iCloud with no uploading needed. Any remaining songs are automatically uploaded from your computer to iCloud.
Say Grandma couldn’t make it to your kid’s first soccer game. You snapped enough pictures, but the thought of uploading all those photos was daunting. Until now. With Photo Stream in iCloud, your last 1000 photos automatically appear on all your devices — including Apple TV. No matter which device you used to take the picture. No syncing. No sending. Your photos are just there on your HDTV. For Grandma, and everyone, to enjoy.
Netflix / YouTube
Netflix provides unlimited streaming of tv shows / movies from $7.99 per month so the inclusion of Netflix within the Apple 2 capabilities (unavailable in Apple TV 1) represents a welcome improvement. In keeping with all setup on the Apple TV 2, Netflix setup is very straight forward – just enter your email address and password and you are good to go. The image and sound quality of Netflix through the Apple TV 2 is good – sharpness & quality could be better but once you have a decent Internet connection, streaming is efficient. The Apple TV Software Update 4.4 included an update for Netflix to provide subtitles for Netflix, which is obviously a vital feature for the visually impaired or indeed for watching foreign movies. To switch on subtitles simply go to Home Menu > Settings > Audio and Video > Subtitle Language > English.
I was slightly surprised (pleasantly) with the quality, both sound and image, of YouTube videos streamed through the Apple TV 2 as the picture is extremely clear and crisp.
AirPlay
AirPlay and AirPlay Mirroring is one of the the most exciting features of the Apple TV 2 and lets you stream digital content (movies / music / photos) direct from your iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch to your HDTV for convenient viewing. This means you can watch a movie you have stored on your iPad anytime on your HDTV or you can watch personal videos you have recorded on your iPhone via your Apple TV 2. AirPlay Mirroring essentially mirrors your iPhone / iPad screen on your HDTV so all content that can be viewed on the iPad or iPhone (games, apps etc) can be streamed directly to your HDTV also.
I have found that AirPlay Streaming can be quiet slow for streaming iPhone video recordings as videos on the iPhone are not compressed and can therefore take an age to stream. Therefore, I suggest that if you plan on playing an iPhone video on your HDTV, download the video in advance of watching / showing it. The video will then be stored in the Apple TV 2′s cache and will play fully without any interruptions or delays the second time round. However, overall AirPlay and AirPlay Mirroring adds significent value to the Apple TV 2 and is one on the features I find myself using most frequently.
Remote Control
The Apple TV 2 Remote Control is as equally stylish as the unit itself and contains a play / pause button, a menu button and a circular motion controller you will be familiar with from the iPod. The remote control facilitates easy navigation through the user interface menus although I did find it a small but frustrating to enter data such as email address / password. To counter this I downloaded the Apple Remote app (free) onto my iPad and then used the iPad to enter such data. This can also be achieved with an iPhone / iPod Touch, and while not it is not vital to do so I would recommend it for ease-of-use.
Price
At $98 the Roku 2 XS Streaming Player represents good value for money and is inline with competing products.
What’s the Downside?
While the Apple TV Streaming Player represents a significant improvement on the 1st Generation Apple TV and is good value at $99 there are some issues that cause user frustration:
- I know I’ve mentioned this already but it still annoys me. Supplying a product without the necessary connections is akin to giving a child a battery-operated toy at Christmas without any batteries. Would it have hurt Apple to supply the HDMI chord with the unit? I think not.
- The Apple TV 2 offers 720P resolution and not the 1020P resolution that is standard for High Definition Television. However, this is not very noticeable in most instances so it is more a minor point than a major issue.
- The Apple TV 2 is best suited for integration with other Apple Products such as the Apple iPhone, Apple iPad and the Apple iPod Touch.
The Bottom Line
The Apple TV 2 is a good piece of technology that will add value to your in-home entertainment and is reasonably priced at $99. The unit is tidy, looks sharp, is simple to setup and use, performs well and despite a couple of relatively minor frustrations, has no major flaws. Overall, you will get good value for your $99, and especially so if you already use an Apple iPad, iPod Touch or iPhone and want to build an integrated entertainment system. If you do not use any of these already you will still get good value for money but you may want to consider the Roku 2 XS Streaming Player.
What Roku 2 XS Users Have to Say
Overall the Apple TV 2 has received positive reviews online with over 50% of the 800 +/- Apple TV 2 customers on Amazon giving a 5 star rating:
- This little player, about the size of a hockey puck, is exactly what I was looking for. It’s cheap, easy, and fun. I got it to play Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Vimeo, and everything else it does is a pleasant add-on, especially motion-controlled Angry Birds. If you’re in the market for a Roku 2, I think you might as well get this high-end model (there are stripped-down versions for less money) since it has a few more capabilities, including a game controller, an Ethernet jack, and a USB port for playing external files. The software interface is not slick but everything fast and responsive!
- I just bought the Roku 2 XS, & I love it!! So far everything is going well. Lots of movies, some games & definitely cheaper than cable. I pay only for my low fee WiFi/MiFi hotspot & an inexpensive subscription if I want to. Watch a huge movie selections etc. Returning my cable box tomorrow!
Buy the Roku 2 XS Streaming Player Now
The Roku 2 XS Streaming Player is available on Amazon for for just $98 with Free Shipping – Click Here to Buy
Getting Started with the Roku XS
The Roku 2 XS Player package comes complete with:
- Game Remote
- 2 x AA batteries
- A/V cable
- A/C Power adapter
- Getting Started guide
Roku 2 XS Quick Tips
Follow our Apple TV 2 Tips to ensure best performance:
- As soon as you setup your Apple TV 2, check for software updates. Apple constantly releases updates to correct bugs or issues so ensure this is your first step to ensure your unit runs seamlessly.
- As with the Apple iPod range, you do not turn off your Apple TV 2. Simply put it to sleep using the “standby” option.
- Do not place anything on top of your Apple TV 2 Unit as this could interfere with the wireless signal and slow down streaming.
- To switch on subtitles simply go to Home Menu > Settings > Audio and Video > Subtitle Language > English.
- Do not forget to pick you your HDMI Cable with the Apple TV 2 as this is not supplied with the Apple TV 2 Unit.
About the Author
Brian Kirby is a Senior Technology Consultant with a background in information technology, hardware design, software development and computing. He is also a keen surfer, musician, footballer and a collector of technology gadgets and devices. 
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