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Google TV's Logitech Revue, Apple TV, Roku XDS: Comparison Chart

 & Tim Gideon Contributing Editor, Audio

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The much-hyped rumor products of summer are now the realities of fall, with Apple TV, the Logitech Revue (with Google TV), and the Roku XDS all angling for a small piece of your living room real estate. Which is right for you? That's not the easiest question to answer since all three boxes offer a mix of similar and vastly different services.

If you're a cable television lover with a DVR—or even better, a Dish Network subscriber—the Logitech Revue is likely the product for you. Its Google TV user interface brings all of your media to one place—you perform Google searchs to find whatever you want, be it a DVR recording from last week, a YouTube video, or a song on your PC.

If you're more of an iTunes person, obviously you will gravitate to Apple TV, which streams all of your content from your PC's iTunes library, as well as content from your iOS devices (iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad). Where Roku fits into the equation is harder to say—it's not as graceful as Google TV and can't do as much—there's no streaming from your PC without downloading a third-party app, for instance. But the Roku XDS is far cheaper than Google TV, and for the same price as Apple TV, you might prefer the freedom of living outside the iTunes ecosystem.

Somehow Netflix made it on to all three devices, so at least that doesn't have to factor in to your decision-making. Keep in mind, however, that we're far from finished—we'll see new Google TV products from Sony (an HD television with Google TV built-in), as well as the D-Link Boxee Box, before the season ends.

For an extensive comparison of the three devices currently available, check out the chart below.

Logitech Revue  (Google TV) vs. Apple TV vs. Roku XDS Specs and Features Compared

About Our Expert

Tim Gideon

Tim Gideon

Contributing Editor, Audio

My Experience

I've been a contributing editor for PCMag since 2011. Before that, I was PCMag's lead audio analyst from 2006 to 2011. Even though I'm a freelancer now, PCMag has been my home for well over a decade, and audio gear reviews are still my primary focus. Prior to my career in reviewing tech, I worked as an audio engineer—my love of recording audio eventually led me to writing about audio gear.

My Areas of Expertise

  • Headphones and earphones
  • Wireless and computer speakers
  • USB mics
  • Bluetooth headsets

The Technology I Use

Probably because of their prevalence in the recording studios I worked in a long time ago, I am most comfortable on Macs—I'm writing this on the 2019 iMac I use for testing. I also have a MacBook Pro that gets plenty of similar use.

My workspace has a mini recording studio setup, and the the gear I work with there is a mix of items I've used forever (Paradigm Mini Monitors and a McIntosh stereo receiver) and newer gear I use for recording and review testing (such as the Universal Audio Apollo x16).

I'm obsessed with modern boutique analog synths—some of my favorites instruments in this realm are the Landscape Audio Stereo Field and HC-TT,  the Soma Enner, the Koma Field Kit, and the Lorre Mill Keyed Mosstone.

From my studio days, I'm comfortable using Pro Tools, and in recent years have branched out to other realms of creative software, like Adobe Premiere and After Effects.

I stream music, but I also still buy albums, digitally or on vinyl, and encourage anyone who wants fair compensation for musicians and engineers to do the same.

I also play lots of Wordle.

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