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Oct 20, 2023

Roku And TCL Launch Their First QLED Freeview Play TV

Streaming giant Roku is launching another TV in the UK, its second venture with

Streaming giant Roku is launching another TV in the UK, its second venture with electronics manufacturer TCL – and this time it's a Quantum Dot technology (QLED) 4K / HDR TV.

The announcement came just days after Roku launched yet another Roku TV – with RCA.

The new TCL Roku TV series, RC630K, is Roku's second joint venture with TCL in the UK.

It is available in a variety of sizes and price points, starting from 43″ (£319) and up to 65″ (£699.99), with the TVs already available to purchase on Currys (see full tech details and prices below).

The TVs support a range of advanced features, including Dolby Vision HDR, Dolby Audio with built-in ONKYO speakers, voice assistants like Alexa and Google, TCL's Game Master technology for lag-free video gaming and more (even though the refresh rate is 60HZ, which isn't ideal for newer console like the PS5).

The new Roku TCL TVS come with a built-in Freeview tuner (that requires an aerial), and with Freeview Play support, as is common with connected TVs these days.

Freeview Play means Freeview's catch-up apps from the big broadcasters (like BBC iPlayer, ITVX and more) are "baked" into the operating system – though, as always with these TVs, there are no recording features.

Streaming apps will be available both through the Roku interface and its vast library of channels (both free and paid), and separately via the Freeview Play section.

The list of apps includes all the major UK broadcasters, from BBC iPlayer and ITVX (formerly ITV Hub), to Netflix, Disney+, Paramount+, Sky's NOW and many others.

Roku users also have access to The Roku Channel, which offers free (with adverts) TV shows and films, including the critically acclaimed new feature film, Weird: The Al Yankovic Story, starring Daniel Radcliffe.

Roku is one of the leading streaming device manufacturers in the US. Worldwide, Roku reported more than 60 million active accounts in the 4th quarter of 2022.

Roku's primary hardware offer (especially in the UK) are the set-top streaming devices, with the Roku Express, Roku Express 4K and Roku Streaming Stick 4K (see our full Roku comparison).

In the US, Roku has also been partnering with multiple TV manufacturers since 2014, and Roku TVs have proved to be quite popular.

In the UK, there were just a couple of Roku TV models available until recently – the first Roku TV arrived in late 2019, thanks to a partnership with Hisense, and in 2021 TCL launched its first Roku TV.

But Roku seems to be hitting the gas pedal – Last September, a METZ Roku TV was announced, then last week a new Roku RCA TV was launched – and now, days later, another new Roku TV – from the Chinese consumer electronics company, TCL.

One important advantage of TVs with Roku's OS in them, is that Roku keeps updating the software, therefore apps remain compatible with them for many years.

On some of the other Smart TVs, the operating system doesn't get upgraded after a few years – and popular apps sometimes stop working (as was the case with ITV Hub on older Samsung TVs this year).

A recent Roku software update, for example, brought with it better search and a global watchlist – and was pushed to all Roku devices and TVs in the UK.

Sharing Xiao, TCL's UK Country Manager said: "At TCL, we are dedicated to raising the bar and designing innovative products that deliver beyond our customers’ expectations.

"Our newly launched series, paired with Roku's operating system, has a host of advanced features that will elevate home theatres across the country and provide the best that entertainment tech has to offer."

The new Roku TCL TVs are available in four sizes:

The technical spec list for the TVs includes:

You can buy the new Roku TCL TVs from Currys.

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