Roku TV sets drop the box for simpler Smart TV at CES
Smart TV sets from the budget streamers land at CES with Roku's excellent library of apps, films and TV shows on board
We love Roku for taking internet TV smarts and sticking them in an affordable box that gives the Apple TV a run for its money. But what’s this? Roku’s taking said Roku Channel Store smarts and plonking them back into a TV set? Don’t fret – Roku’s promising to do what Samsung and LG are yet to crack: making smart TV simple.
Roku Logic
The TVs will be built with the help of Hisense and TCL, two of the biggest Chinese TV manufacturers, to roll out TVs in sizes from 32 to 55 inches.
Roku says its TVs will "remove all of the complicated layers and menus, and unnecessary menus and settings that plague smart TVs today, and instead provide a Roku home screen that brings together all content sources".
Roku is a long time Stuff favourite for its streaming boxes, such as the Roku 2 XS, which compete with set-top boxes such as Apple TV plus it also supplied the nuts and bolts for the £10 Now TV Box. Roku TV will have full access to the Roku Channel Store, which rocks 450 channels in the UK including BBC iPlayer, Netflix, Now TV, Demand 5 and Spotify.
It will feature just 20 remote-controlled buttons in an effort to simplify the navigation process, and will also work with mobile devices via the Roku app for iOS or Android. If Roku can bring all that at a decent price, we may cancel that wishful Apple TV order after all.
Joe Cox
Brand Development Editor, What Hi-Fi? 
