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Here's a fancy fun-loving chart to help you compare what each has feature-wise. | | Apple TV
| Windows Media Center
| | Watch TV shows stored on your computer | YES | YES | Watch Movies stored on your computer
| YES | YES | Listen to Music stored on your computer
| YES
| YES
| View Pictures stored on your computer
| YES
| YES
| | Watch DVD's | NO | YES | Watch/record TV from your TV cable
| NO | YES | Install plugins/addons
| NO (unless hacked)
| YES | Supported Codecs
| H.264, MPEG-4 , AAC, MP3, AIFF, WAV
(if hacked, large codec support) | Just about all of them (using a codec pack) | Video output
| HDMI or Component
| Flexible (depends on video card)
typically DVI or VGA | Audio output
| HDMI, RCA Stereo, or Optical | Flexible (depends on sound card)
typically 3.5mm jack or optical | | Networking | 801.11n or Ethernet | Flexible (depends on network card)
| Noise
| Virtually silent
| Anywhere from virtually silent to loud | | Remote | 6-button | 41-button | | Extras | YouTube
Flickr
Podcasts
Buy TV shows online
Rent movies online | Internet TV
Sports Lounge
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You'll notice that for Video/Audio output, I gave the edge to the Apple TV despite Media Center technically being more flexible (and having more options) based on the computer. This is because the Apple TV outputs will hook right up to virtually any new TV. However for Media Center, the typical outputs included on a PC's sound and/or video card are often less TV-friendly and in many cases require either a special adapter or a TV designed with PC outputs in mind.
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