A new OLED Roku TV has just been announced, under the Philips name, and with a launch price of just $1,299 for a 65-inch model, it’s a very tempting proposition – Roku is one of the best smart TV interfaces out there, and combined with an OLED screen, you’re going to get some serious picture quality.
Like all the best OLED TVs, it includes 4K 120Hz support for gaming, including AMD FreeSync. So it looks like a good package… but as someone who’s seen basically every current OLED TV in person, I wouldn’t be drawn in by its flashy budget price.
I’d buy the LG B4 65-inch, which is currently available for $1,199 for the 65-inch model at Amazon and also at Walmart – and then I’d buy a Roku Ultra (2024) to add those Roku features, which costs under $100. Same total price as the Roku, but I think that’s a preferable setup, so let’s dig into why.
First, an important caveat: I haven’t tested or measured the Philips Roku TV, so I’m having to make a few educated assumptions here – though I’m confident about them.
I strongly suspect that the Roku TV is using the same ‘tier’ of OLED screen as the LG B4, rather than the significantly brighter screen used in the LG C4 – and it definitely isn’t the much brighter again screen used in the LG G4.
I just don’t think it’s possible to use the brighter screen and to bring the TV in at this price – so that means you’re not going to get any better performance from the Philips Roku TV than you’d get from the LG B4.
Indeed, I suspect you’ll get worse performance, because I very much doubt that the processing is better on the Philips TV than the LG model. For a start, LG knows OLED TVs better than anyone; and second, the Philips-branded TV is almost certainly made by Skyworth (which currently holds the license to make Philips-branded TVs in North America).
This is a company that’s known for making some TVs with impressive bang for buck, but not for cutting-edge and advanced image processing in them.
(For those who know international TVs: the excellent Philips-branded OLED TVs available in Europe are produced by TP Vision, which actually does invest in pretty cutting-edge image processing, hence why its TVs, such as the Philips OLED809, are rated highly by us – and are also priced accordingly.)
So for $100 less than the Philips Roku TV, you’ll get better image quality from the LG B4, I’m very confident. And if you add the Roku Ultra, you’ll still get the Roku interface, and you’ll have paid the same as the Philips TV overall (though LG TVs have a good smart TV software of their own).
You’re also getting some slightly better gaming features in the LG OLED, including Nvidia G-Sync support for PC gaming.
Both TVs offer four HDMI 2.1 ports for 4K 120Hz support, though, which is good – it means the Roku TV is more future-proof than previous budget OLED TVs not made by LG.
I can very much understand being tempted by the Roku OLED, and I expect it’ll receive discounts in the future that make it even more tempting. But right now, I’d stick with the safe hands of LG given the current prices.
There’s one thing to note, though: the 65-inch LG B4 seems to be selling out. The new version, the LG B5, is due in the first half of 2025 (though with an exact date), so if you’re tempting by it at this price, you may need to move quickly.
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