Apple TV’s third generation deivce (kindly provided by the good people at www.broadbandchoices.co.uk) boosts the internal processing power over its predecessor and provides now, what is a fairly standard, 1080p HD playback. For those with an iPad, iPhone or iPod Touch, Apple TV can go from being a mere jabroni to an essential part of their home entertainment set-up.

The Apple TV box itself measures in at around 4 inches by 4 inches. The back features an HDMI input (although, somewhat strangely, an HDMI lead is not included and must be purchased separately), a network input, an input for the power and input for optical audio. The device also comes with a metallic remote, which, much like Amazon Fire TV, features just seven buttons to avoid any confusion.

As is the case with most Apple products, Apple TV is a cinch to set-up. In only a few minutes, users can be browsing for the app store and the iTunes library. Movies purchased from an iPad or PC iTunes account can also be “thrown” onto the TV screen via the much lauded Airplay feature.

The 3rd generation Apple TV also includes iCloud support, allowing users to stream photos and music from their iTunes accounts (assuming they have one).

The Apple TV is an expensive device, and there are obviosuly cheaper models on the market that offer a very simialr service (*cough* Roku *cough*).

The question of whether or not Apple TV is right for you is a simple one to answer. If you have an iPad or iPhone, Apple TV is a great addition to your household. While there are a few features of Roku like Amazon Instant Video that can’t (yet) be reproduced by the Apple TV-iPad/iPhone combination, there are many more features of that combination that can’t be reproduced on Roku.
On the other hand, if you don’t own an iPad, iPhone or iPod Touch and don’t see yourself acquiring one of these products in the future, Roku is perhaps a better choice. Not only does it offer more content, the Roku device is also a tad cheaper

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