I'm Clearly Out of Touch - Roku Plus Series TV Review

If you already have a Roku account, should you skip the middle man and buy a Roku TV? The Plus Series QLEDs might have just found the right price bracket if you're looking for an upgrade.

Purchases made through some store links may provide some compensation to Linus Media Group.

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MUSIC CREDIT
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Intro: Laszlo - Supernova

Outro: Approaching Nirvana - Sugar High

CHAPTERS
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0:00 Intro
2:27 Color Accuracy
4:30 Brightness
6:25 Gaming
7:30 UI
8:55 Conclusion
10:39 Outro

[andrewrobs]

I remember when a floatplane app for Roku was discussed on the WAN show and Linus and Luke immediately dismissed it saying "who even buys those?" I hope this video has changed Linus' opinion, as so many sub $500 TVs run on Roku OS

[RadioactiveLobster]

I bought a Roku TV for my parents because it so simple and easy to use (once I set it up) that they can't really accidentally mess it up, the main screen grid has easy to see big "buttons" and they can talk to the remote.

For older parents it's a no brainer.

[nekocookiee]

One of the main reasons I got Roku was because their phone app has private listening and some of the remotes have an audio port to plug into for it as well. It helps a lot when you’re a night owl and live in a house full of people who prefer the morning.

[JoshuaWoehlkeMkII]

The real killer feature of Roku is private listening. I got one with a 3.5mm jack in the remote years and years ago and have never looked back. They STILL have a 3.5mm jack (praise be) and you can also listen privately using your phone if you don't feel like plugging into the remote. It is a feature I simply can't give up now that I've had it.

[andybrice]

I keep buying Roku devices because (1) They support virtually all streaming services with no exclusivity agreements. (2) Their long-term software support seems pretty good. (3) The remote controls are so ergonomic and user-friendly. Other brands typically have to dozens of fiddly little buttons which are indistinguishable by feel.

[zanzabarky]

The best part of ROKU tvs is that ROKU does all the firmware and platform updates. You can get a TCL without having actively malicious firmware that never gets updated like their android TV units if you get the ROKU version. The only thing companies like Hisense or TCL get to do is give roku a bug to put on the home screen.

[alexw]

I hope Linus realizes people put the Roku stick and boxes on high end TVs as well. I worked with geek squad and it was very common to do a Roku box with a high end Samsung TV because well Samsung's smart TV features really suck, and they get very slow in a short period of time. I myself had Android TV built in to the don't TV I had and really enjoyed it for a bit, but then it just started running really poorly. Using a keyboard in any app would become a real test of patience. Bought a 4k Roku box and it has run smoothly ever since.

[jonathanellis]

We've been using Rokus for years now. They are simple and easy to use, fast, and are actually updated unlike the software in a lot of budget TV's and set top boxes. From a manufacturers point of view I would guess it's much easier to just use Roku than to develop and then have to update and support your own software. I'm surprised they are not more popular!

[hobobbobho]

I got an OLED and Apple TV to replace a 4k TCL with Roku built in and I still sometimes miss some of the features of that thing. Their HD tv antenna integration is amazing and everything was very seamless. My new setup is objectively better in most ways but the Roku tvs are genuinely just all around great for the money.

[BPBomber]

I was in a similar boat, but I rediscovered Roku’s merits about 4 years ago and I continue to be impressed with its reliability and simplicity.

[styles]

I’ve been really enjoying the TCL 6 series with the Google TV interface.
Not only is it a bright mini LED, but during setup it gives you the option to totally bypass the google OS and use it as a “dumb” TV if that’s what you’d prefer. I feel like features like that aren’t getting enough spotlight for how consumer friendly they are.

[mastersKaaP]

It's surprising how much of a difference a good user interface makes to the overall TV viewing experience. For some smart TV manufacturers I almost feels like the software engineers who created the "smart" software never actually tried using it themselves apart from checking that stuff mostly works. We recently upgraded our hisense "smart" TV to a newer Samsung QLED and I can with confidence say I will never use a Hisense TV again, not even if they pay me.

[mithos]

One of the other nice things about Roku is that they have a phone app that acts as a remote control. As long as you're on the same network, you can do everything from your smartphone, including turning the TVs on and off. If you have a roku account, you can even make shortcuts to "channels" on the phone app as well.

[bonerfart]

I was pretty confused when Linus didn't get the Roku popularity on WAN show a while back. It's pretty solid and has been a way better experience than my nvidia shield pro.

[Lexie]

Does anyone else miss "dumb" tv's. All i want is a dumb tv with a really good panel were i can plug in an external media controller into for all my entertainment needs so i can just update that device every few years so I can get the latest and greatest features and applications.

[GargamelSS]

got Roku a few years ago built into my RCA . works like a dream . the setup was not too bad and got the premium package . the support staff are great to deal with and very nice.

[ptixs]

Roku is a perfect example of where more competition is better for the consumer.

[ianjohnson]

I was helping my parents set up a couple of ROKU boxes, and was also kinda angry about the account thing, but I was happily surprised that the installed channels, and their order and login information, is synced between multiple TVs with the same ROKU account signed in. For me, this meant I only had to set up 1 TV how they wanted it, and all of the other ones just matched it. For houses with multiple TVs, the ROKU account is WELL worth the extra step.

[ShawnMcNaughton]

I have a TCL Roku TV from a couple years ago, and they're my go-to recommendation. Roku's UI makes using multiple inputs easy, having a common menu system (the same on every Roku) makes sense, and I'm far less worried about not getting updates.

[Atharun]

Roku purposely chose to forego gaming features to save money, and they're a streaming company so focusing on watching content was the priority. Apparently they also have designs for an OLED model but not sure if they'll release one.