Testing the Apple TV, Roku XDS and Xbox 360, Plus 10 Other Devices

At the Streaming Media East show, I did a presentation that highlighted the pros and cons of about a dozen streaming media devices in the market including Apple TV, Roku, Xbox 360, PS3, Boxee, TiVo, Wii, Logitech Revue, Sony SMP-N100, Western Digital WD TV Live and Live Hub. My slides from that presentation are now available for download and video of my presentation is below.

The takeaway from my presentation is that Apple TV is the weakest box on the market today and the Roku XDS and Xbox 360 are the strongest. For those looking for a device that acts as a media center hub, then the Boxee Box by D-Link and the Western Digital WD TV Live Hub are the best choices.

As for who will own the market in the long run, it’s too early to say. But you have to have three things in the market in order to win: you have to have device penetration and more importantly device adoption; people actually have to use the device, not just buy it. Second, you have to have the platform: there has to be a way for you to access all this content and get to all this content. And third, you actually have to have the content available.

If you’re interested in seeing a device matrix of all the streaming media devices on the market, along with their tech specs, you can get a copy of that here.