The Roku Ultra might be better than the Apple TV 4K for movies

Thanks to a timely sale, I snagged myself a Roku Ultra to go into my bedroom and replace my Google Chromecast 4K. I don’t typically watch a lot of TV in bed, but when I do, it’s nice that I now have a speedy Roku Ultra to browse through apps instead of having to scroll on my phone and then cast to the TV.

I have an Apple TV 4K in my living room where I do most of my watching, and it has every app I can think of between Disney+, Max, Netflix, and Hulu. If there’s a movie I want to watch, I never have to think much about it because it’s just ready and available. That was the case before I discovered the Cinema Box app on Roku. Longtime Roku owners might already know all about this service, but as somebody late to the party, it’s a highly underrated app. To top it all off, Cinema Box is free of charge and a huge advantage Roku has over its competitors for movie lovers.

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Like Apple and Google, Roku has access to the same heavy hitters as the competition, but there are lesser-known options that help sweeten the pot. Going back to Cinema Box, this one could be a real game-changer for people on the fence about what streaming box to get. Although I’m a huge fan of the Apple TV 4K, Cinema Box has me seriously considering whether I should swap the Roku Ultra into my living room.

There are a lot of films on Cinema Box that aren’t available on other streaming services, and some of the choices might actually shock you. The most prominent example I can think of, at least at the time of this writing, is the original Star Wars streaming without any of director George Lucas’ changes he made over the years. I’m talking about the opening crawl having no mention of A New Hope, Han shooting first, and no CGI Jabba the Hutt monstrosity. It’s a cool way to experience the film, and, as far as I know, it’s one of the only ways to watch that version of the film today.

You can also find the original Halloween here, and while it’s a movie that bounces around quite a bit on different platforms, this and Shudder are the only services that have it available at the time of this writing. If you’re somebody interested in checking out some of the classic films from decades ago, Cinema Box and Tubi look to be two of your best choices.

The only real downside I can find from Cinema Box is the picture quality. Star Wars looks and feels very much like a movie from 1977, which I suppose is expected since it’s a version of the film without any of the restoration we’ve seen in the decades since. I haven’t had the chance to check out every movie on the app, but I imagine it’ll be the same for a lot of the older films not available anywhere else. From a preservation standpoint, I can’t be upset, but I can also see how this could be a major turnoff for people used to things looking like Dune. I don’t want to say Roku has a clear advantage in apps over its competitors because there’s just one app that has jumped out to me, but it’s a big one. When you couple that app advantage with comparable technology, you’re looking at a solid product. While the Roku Ultra hasn’t replaced my Apple TV 4K, it’s something I had to put a lot of thought into, especially since I bought it as a supplemental device instead of a main one.

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Cheaper and it’s feature-rich

Something people like to hype up about the Apple TV 4K, and for good reason, is that it’s a perfect fit for your home theater. Thanks to a recent tvOS update, it supports many aspect ratios, including a 21:9 ultrawide look, so it’s become a versatile little device. Ultimately, that’s a niche feature that a lot of people won’t get use out of, and instead, more people use the HDR on display.

Both the Apple TV 4K and Roku Ultra support both Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos, so you can take advantage of either of these if you have the right equipment to do so. What’s working in Roku’s favor here is a cheaper product, and you might get lucky and pick up a Roku Ultra for almost half the price of an Apple TV 4K. While your picture quality might be a tad lower than Apple’s, I don’t think it’d be something the average person notices unless you have the two streamers side-by-side for a comparison.

The Roku Ultra comes in at an affordable price point, has all the major streaming services, and has all the features you’d expect it to have. If I didn’t already have an Apple TV 4K, I know I’d be very happy with this being my main streaming device. There’s not a lot more I can ask of it, and it comes with an Ethernet port as standard, something you have to spend $150 on an Apple TV 4K to get.

Although the Apple TV 4K might load apps up faster and integrate better into the Apple ecosystem if you’re part of that, it’s not the biggest deal if you opt for something a little slower just because it’s cheaper. As you can see, you might be able to find some benefits, like the Cinema Box app that Apple doesn’t have. In fact, this app isn’t available on the web either, so a Roku is the only way for you to use it. If you’re looking for something that gives you access to movie apps and has good picture and audio quality, the Roku Ultra is a perfect option that won’t break the bank. It’s not the best, but it gets the job done, and for a lot of people, that’s more than enough.

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