Just last month they enabled HD content from Netflix, previously available online only through Xbox Live. Now Roku has announced integration with Amazon’s new Video On Demand service, with access to instantly purchase, rent and watch digital movies and TV episodes. The new content is planned to go live “early in 2009.”

The Roku box is well respected for its easy setup. Features include built-in connections to wifi and to any television set using HDMI, component video, composite video, s-video, stereo audio or optical audio.

With Apple TV’s new upgrade and features, including online movie rentals and lower pricing, it’s getting easier than ever to bring high quality and high def movies from the web to your TV. And as much as we like Apple, we like to see a robust, competitive marketplace even more. Netflix recently announced their plans to develop a new set-top box.

Meanwhile, Vudu, which introduced its video-store-in-a-box just last October, has already had to slash $100 off the retail price and expand its hi-def library to keep competitive with Apple’s latest.

Between Apple and Vudu, the two products use different perspectives for in-home networking and deploying content from the web. No surprise then that each has its own strengths and weaknesses. Which is best suited for your needs? Here’s a quick side-by-side. Hope it helps.

Product	Apple TV	Vudu
Cost and Storage	$229 (40gb), $329 (169gb)	$295 (250gb)
Amount of Content	Apple is starting off with about 750 titles as of late January 2008; expect rapid growth here. TV shows available from over 60 networks	Contracts with seven film major studios + 20 independent & foreign studios and distributors = 5,000 movie titles in library.
Cost of Content	Movie rentals: $2.99 – $3.99 for standard def, $3.99-$4.99 for high def. Huge collection of TV episodes, most can be purchased for $1.99 each.	Movie rentals range from 99¢ to $3.99, purchased movies from $4.99 to $19.99. TV episodes are $1.99.
What’s da Def?	Hi-def purchases from iTunes store: 720p. Movie rentals: 1280 by 720	Automatically assesses your TV’s display capability and delivers the maximum resolution your set can handle, up to 1080p.
TV Compatibility	Compatible with enhanced-definition or high-definition widescreen TVs capable	Works with any standard definition television, in widescreen or fullscreen format
Bandwidth Requirements	Wireless video streaming requires 802.11g or 802.11n) or 10/100BASE-T Ethernet network	Requires a minimum available bandwidth of 2.0 Mbps (usually advertised by ISPs as 3.0 Mbps) for instant viewing of movies. You can test your bandwidth here.
Wireless	Built-in Wi-Fi. Connects to your wireless network to download content from the Internet, so you only have to connect it to your TV, not to a DSL or cable modem. Quick ‘n easy access to content that lives on your PC or Mac.	Not. You’ll need to plug the box into an Ethernet or game adapter to connect it to a wireless network.
Cables	Includes power cord. All other cables additional.	Includes HDMI™ Cable, Ethernet Cable, Composite Video with Analog Stereo Audio Cable, Power Supply & AC Cord, RF Antenna.

If you’re looking for instant access to a great selection of film titles (and you have a decent broadband connection), the Vudu solution has a lot of appeal. For the rest of us, for now, Apple TV looks like the way to go.