If you’re a big streamer and your Roku box or Roku stick is the most-used device attached to your TV, you can finally cut out the middleman. Roku has just launched the first Roku TVs, smart TVs with the Roku platform baked right in, a little over seven months after debuting them at CES.
Roku has two manufacturers making their new smart TV – TCL and Hisense. The former comes in 32-inch, 40-inch, 48-inch and 55-inch models and starts at $229 for the smallest, going all the way up to $650 for the largest. They are 1080p and 120Hz and are available for pre-order now. The latter will be available in 40-inch, 48-inch, 50-inch and 55-inch models, and will hit retailers in September. Prices on those have yet to be announced.
According to Roku, the experience is a comprehensive one – not just the equivalent of “sticking a Roku player inside a TV”
“Just like our Roku players, Roku TV offers an exceptional streaming experience filled with endless entertainment choices. But we didn’t just stick a Roku player inside the TV. We enhanced the Roku operating system to power the entire TV experience. That means we’ve applied our philosophy of simple and powerful across the entire TV – from the home screen to the remote control to picture settings. Combining the Roku OS with our partners expertise in TV hardware design, manufacturing and scale, we’re thrilled to deliver the best Smart TV in the market,” says CEO Anthony Wood.
Image via Roku TV