The One Thing That'll Make Sunny Weather Even Better
Condiment: Five Faves: Apt2b.com's Mat Herman
I want my Apple TV! Photo: Apple
Apple TV
Naturally the royal family of technology is in on this phenom, offering a set-top that's similar to the Roku, but with a few extra perks like being able to play your iTunes through your home theater speakers and viewing gallery on the widescreen of your TV. Apple TV also claims to have the largest selection of on-demand HD movies and TV shows available for viewing the day after they air. (So much for the water-cooler chat about last night's "Grey's Anatomy.") The cool thing is that you own the stuff you buy and can even transfer it to your iPod or iPhone to watch on the go. Box cost: $229; single episodes start at $1.99.
Roku
Netflix/Amazon brand of digital video players, Roku boasts a selection of over 50,000 movies and TV shows that you can stream from the Internet to your TV. To order a flick or say, this week's episode of "Gossip Girl," you go to Amazon.com's Video-on-Demand page and purchase it through your account, just as you would for a pay-per-view movie. Prices are reasonable for the Amazon component (between 99 cents and $3.99 for single episodes, movies, and series), though you can only view them for a 24-hour period in most cases. The better value seems to be on the Netflix end where you can essentially watch any movie or show, whenever you want, for however long you want, for free. (And by free they mean as a paying subscriber to the Netflix service.) Box cost: $99
Bottom line
So let me get this straight: You buy the box of your choice, hook it up to the Internet and to your TV and then you only pay for the shows or movies you watch? I 'm not a mathematician, but I do essentially only watch the handful of shows that get recorded to my DVR, and pay as you go sounds like the way to go. Now...where do I sign?
