Should You Buy a Roku TV Actually Made by Roku?

CR tests how the new Roku Plus and Roku Select TVs perform for key factors like overall picture quality, HDR, sound, and viewing angle

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Would you be more comfortable buying a Roku TV designed and made by Roku itself as opposed to one of the nearly dozen other TV brands—including Hisense, Insignia, and TCL—that also sell TVs using the Roku platform?

That’s now a question for any TV shopper who wants a set with Roku’s popular streaming interface built in. As we first reported back in January, the company decided to launch its first Roku-branded TVs this year. The line has a total of 11 sets across two series, Roku Select basic TVs and Roku Plus step-up models. Currently, they’re available only at Best Buy (both online and in stores).

We’ve just finished testing six of these new sets, and TVs in both series did well. Before we get to the testing details, here’s some basic information about these new Roku by Roku TVs.

The 11 new TVs range in size from 24 to 75 inches, with prices starting at $170 and going to around $1,000 right now. But prices on new TVs typically drop after they hit the market, and the Roku sets have already fallen as much as $200 since they arrived in stores a week or so ago.

For example, the 65-inch Roku Plus model is now selling for $650, down from $800 when it first arrived at Best Buy. The 75-inch set has dropped from $1,200 to $1,000.

Roku Select models are also now less expensive. The 75-inch Roku 75R4A5R is selling for $700, down from $800, and the 65-inch Select model is $450 instead of $600.

Those are aggressive prices. Right now, only about half the 70-inch-and-larger sets in our TV ratings are priced below $1,000—and many of those models are leftover 2022 sets being sold at their lowest prices ever.

The Roku Select series models are basic sets that lack some of the features you’ll find in the Plus series TVs. All the 4K models support the HDR10 and HDR10+ HDR formats and include an auto-brightness feature that uses light sensors to adjust the TV’s brightness to the room’s ambient light conditions. (Roku Select sets are also available in smaller screen sizes, which have 1080p or 720p resolutions instead of 4K and lower prices.)

There are a few reasons you might want to pay more for one of the Roku Plus sets, which did a bit better in our testing than the Select TVs.

The Roku Plus models are QLED TVs, which use quantum dots rather than filters to produce colors. These tiny nanocrystals have the potential to produce brighter, more saturated colors than sets that use conventional LED backlights. The Roku Plus models also have full-array LED backlights with local dimming, where individual zones on the TV can be lit or dimmed separately. That can help improve contrast and black levels. In addition, only the Plus models support Dolby Vision HDR and Dolby Atmos sound, and come with the latest version of WiFi (WiFi 6).

Finally, while the Select series TVs come with a basic Roku Voice Remote with push-to-talk controls, a remote-finder feature, and programmable shortcut buttons, all Plus series TVs include a rechargeable Roku Voice Remote Pro, so you don’t have to keep replacing batteries.

None of the models use Mini LEDs in the backlight, which we’ve seen in 6-series Roku TVs from TCL as well as in non-Roku TVs from Hisense, LG, Samsung, and Sony. Mini LED sets use hundreds (and in some cases, thousands) of very tiny LEDs, which can be grouped into large numbers of local dimming zones. This can improve black levels and contrast, as well as brightness, and help reduce halos around bright objects that are displayed against a dark background.

Photo: Roku Photo: Roku

Roku says that all Roku-branded TVs will have an expanded audio ecosystem that can make use of a Roku TV Wireless Soundbar—which will be released later this month, also as a Best Buy exclusive—as well as a wireless subwoofer. The TVs include Bluetooth for connecting to wireless headphones for private listening.

Along with these new TVs, Roku will be rolling out an update to its operating system over the next few weeks. New features include the addition of local news, along with AI-powered local news recommendations, to its live-TV channel lineup. Roku will also be adding more personalization to the sports hub it launched last year to make it easier for fans to find and follow local teams and sports leagues. It will also expand the number of services that will work with its Continue Watching feature, which lets you jump from the What to Watch section of the Roku home screen to content you’re partway through, without having to first open a specific streaming app.

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We investigate, research, and test so you can choose with confidence.