First earlier than I’m going into the ring with Boxee vs Roku, I want to make a brief introduction of the 2 contenders. Although their names might sound like boxers from an unique nation, each the Boxee and the Roku are literally media packing containers that mean you can watch totally different sorts of contents from the Web or media saved in your private pc in your TV as an alternative of your pc display screen.Whereas beforehand you used to obtain the media first to your pc after which watch it, with these two you’ll usually stream the media (as an alternative of downloading) from a wide selection of streaming media suppliers similar to Netflix, Hulu Plus, Amazon, Vudu, Pandora and many others. You’ll subscribe to those content material suppliers at a really nominal month-to-month subscription fee otherwise you pay per view. Nonetheless should you already owned downloaded materials on the exhausting disk of your pc; each these gamers can even play in style media codecs similar to MPEG video, MP3 Audio and JPEG Images out of your exhausting disk.The Boxee Vs Roku ComparisonI have offered the details on a product-by-product foundation on this Boxee vs Roku face off however earlier than going straight into this Boxee vs Roku comparability, let me define what are the widespread options in each merchandise first:

Each have HDMI ports
Each can play widespread media similar to Netflix and Amazon On the spot Video
Each can join wirelessly to your private home community
Each have apps that may connect with Fb to mean you can share your images, movies and hyperlinks
Each permits the usage of expanded reminiscence by way of their micro SD slot
What Are The Options And Weaknesses Of The Boxee In This Boxee vs Roku Face Off
Boxee can play Vudu and Vudu with its newest Hollywood blockbusters and 5.1 sound channel is simply nice particularly if you’re a film fan
The Netflix interface is healthier on Boxee than on Roku
Hulu Plus will not be supported. Apparently this isn’t resulting from technical limitations however to business agreements that must be finalized by each events
A giant benefit of Boxee over Roku is that it makes use of open requirements like SAMBA, DLNA and it has a QWERTY distant
It is extremely superior particularly if in case you have a number of native content material
It is ready to play all different media out of your community and flicks out of your PC’s exhausting drive
The UI feels a lot slicker and appears rather more refined than the Roku’s
It’s extra polished and for every thing it does, is does it fairly nicely
It’s extra geared towards web searching and content material and it searches the web for the Apps, Channels and content material and shows them in a single location
A HDMI cable is included within the package deal
Although that is subjected to private preferences, general I felt that Boxee has a greater wanting interface than Roku
It comes with 2 USB ports
It helps all channels like Vudu, Vevo, YouTube and many others
What Are The Power And Weaknesses Of The Roku In The Boxee Vs Roku Face OffThere are many alternative fashions of Ruku and with every of those fashions you pay a special value for a special characteristic. Nonetheless the fundamental features are widespread throughout these totally different fashions and the comparisons outlined listed below are primarily based on the widespread options of the Roku.
Vudu not supported. That is unlucky as Vudu has an important assortment of the most recent Hollywood blockbusters
The Netflix interface not as good because the Boxee
Hulu Plus is on the market
It is extremely dependable and offers a extra TV like expertise
The HD processing is nice
It’s primarily based on a “Channel” mannequin. Out of the field, its “Channels” are configured for packages like YouTube, and many others. and also you add extra “Channels” to your personal providers
Total its interface is much less elegant than that of the Boxee
Streaming native media on a big TV is sluggish because it tries to scale to suit the entire TV display screen
You need to use a distant app to regulate the field out of your smartphone
The Roku is designed with Gaming in thoughts; so its controller has a directional pad and gaming A/B buttons
HDMI cable will not be offered
At the moment there isn’t any good option to get entry to music, images and movies which might be saved on a NAS (Community Space Storage) field however you’ll be able to join a conveyable exhausting disk on to it by means of the USB port
Comes with 1 USB port

Total, each media packing containers do what they do nicely. Nonetheless their focus is barely on various things. If what you want is especially streaming Netflix films and watching Hulu Plus tv reveals, then you definitely Roku suits the invoice. It’s inexpensive and it lets you watch media from the web like a champ.