When my husband and I swapped out our Vizio OLED for the Roku Pro Series QLED and turned it on, we both gasped. Even my two kids (7 and 9) were mesmerized when they turned it on. Steven Universe“Why does it look so similar?” better Now? – my daughter asked.
The difference between OLED and QLED is palpable (as you can also read in our How to Buy a TV guide). OLED technology is beautiful, but it lends itself to truly black blacks—it’s best if you’re watching movies or gaming in a dark, optimized, home theater-like environment. A QLED is just… brighter. That makes a big difference when you’re a 7- and 9-year-old watching cartoons while jumping on the couch and waiting for dinner, or when you’re a mom trying to catch a bit of Copa America games on the couch with her dog while working.
This is the first TV made in-house by Roku (Roku TVs made before last year were made by other companies, but with a Roku brain). My colleague Parker Hall tested the entry-level Roku TV, the Plus Series, and was very impressed. For the past month, my family and I have been testing Roku’s upgraded Pro Series, and we’re also thrilled.
Easy to use
Specs and performance aside, one of the main reasons to buy a Roku anything It’s because of how easy it is to use. I really liked my Vizio OLED and just accepted that every time I turned it on, I’d have to spend five minutes sorting out the Vizio Smart interface and fiddling with cables if I wanted to play games on my gaming PC.
Photography: Adrienne So
With a deep sigh of relief, I connected my Sonos soundbar, PS5, and gaming PC to the Roku TV and watched as everything appeared in the Roku interface. (It has two HDMI 2.1 ports, HDMI eARC, USB-A, USB-C, and cable inputs.)
Even though you can Set it up, I simply placed it on our console table using the two included feet and it snapped in easily. Adding all of your apps (Netflix, Disney+, Fubo) takes about the same amount of time as clicking the Add Channels button and signing in on your computer, which basically takes no time at all unless you’ve forgotten your login information.
Having an easy-to-navigate interface also makes it much easier to find other things to watch. Vizio’s interface was so cluttered that my kids often went straight to Steven UniverseOn Roku, the CuriosityStream and PBS Kids tiles are so easy to find that I ended up watching more educational content just out of curiosity. That was an unexpected treat in the summer, when all the neighborhood kids end up watching TV in our house with the air conditioning on.