Google TV (GOOG) as you know has debuted itself by directly competing with Apple (AAPL), two of the tech heavyweight. After months of anticipation and much hype, Google finally launched the Google TV along with the Logitech Revue. In this post, I'll talk about Logitech Revue although, Sony has also teamed with Google to produce one.
Apple is best-known for implementing 'one-day-at-a-time' approach by releasing the basic yet simple Apple TV line-of-product (its 'pet' or 'hobby' product), but wait until next Fall '11 for better upgrade such as 1080 HD capability, more apps like iPhone app store, more third party content, probably iBooks, maybe plastic-sized (credit card) device and whatever Roku & Boxee already have (i won't name them because there are many). I've summed their comparison and rest is for you guys to 'bet' on which one is the best? Personally, if heads-on, I prefer Roku HD-XR for mainly two reasons- cheap, offers more than both Google and Apple has to offer (plays high resolution videos) and many apps. (although Boxee is the contender too!).
| | Logitech Revue w/Google TV | Apple TV | Roku | Boxee |
| Price | $299 | $99 | $59-$99 | $199 |
| Input | Two USB 2.0 ports | 1 micro-USB port | Roku HD-XR: 1 USB 2.0 port | 2 USB 2.0 ports, 1 SD Card Slot |
| Ouput | | HDMI, optical audio | Roku HD & HD-XR: HDMI | HDMI |
| Built-in Wireless Connectivity | 802.11N & Ethernet | 802.11N & Ethernet | HD-XR: 802.11N wireless | 802.11N & Ethernet |
| HD video quality | 1080 H.264 video | 720 H.264 video | HD-XR: 1080 H.264 video | 1080 H.264 video |
| Apps | N/A | Netflix, YouTube, Flicker, and Movie & TV rentals limited to ABC and Fox only | Around 50 apps so far including Netflix, MLB, Amazon VoD | Around 400 apps |
| Audio codec support | N/A | HE-AAC (V1), AAC (16 to 320 Kbps), protected AAC (from iTunes Store), MP3 (16 to 320 Kbps), MP3 VBR, Audible (formats 2, 3, and 4), Apple Lossless, AIFF, and WAV; Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound pass-through | N/A | AAC, FLAC, MP3, OGG, WAV, WMA |
| Video codec support | N/A | H.264 video up to 720p, 30 frames per second, Main Profile level 3.1 with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps per channel, 48kHz, stereo audio in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov file formats MPEG-4 video, up to 2.5 Mbps, 640 by 480 pixels, 30 frames per second, Simple Profile with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps, 48kHz, stereo audio in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov file formats | h.264 / AVC, MPEG-2, MPEG-4, VC-1 | AVI, DivX, h.264 / AVC, MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4, Quicktime, WMV, XviD |
Click on following links for their review:
Enjoy!!
--Tech Bet
