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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

Continue reading Apple TV vs. the competition -- how does it stack up?

Apple TV vs. the competition -- how does it stack up? originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 01 Sep 2010 18:14:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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