RCA will begin shipping its first Roku-powered TVs in the coming months

By Kris Wouk April 25, 2017

samsung roku tv remote control vulnerabilities tcl 50 1080p 50fs3800 smart led 2015

Though Roku has only been lending its name and platform to TVs for a few years, it has taken off in terms of popularity. Earlier this year, Roku announced that one out of every eight TVs sold in the U.S. is a Roku TV. Now, that family is getting even bigger, as RCA will be the next brand to manufacture and sell Roku TVs.

“Our TV partners have seen incredible success growing their brands and market share, making Roku TV 1 out of every 8 smart TV purchases in the U.S.,” Chas Smith, general manager of Roku TV & Players, said in a statement. “RCA is an iconic brand with deep roots in the living room. Consumers love the brand, and as we combine that with today’s modern streaming approach, RCA Roku TVs are sure to be a favorite this year.”

Recommended Videos

The deal was announced Tuesday by Roku, RCA, and Display-Vu Corp, one of the companies behind the RCA relaunch. The first RCA-branded Roku TVs will be available in the coming months in both the U.S. and Canada. There are currently no details on what these TVs will offer in terms of features. The Roku platform currently offers access to more than 5,000 channels and 450,000 movies and TV episodes.

“The TV landscape has evolved, and we want to give our customers the best smart TV experience we can offer,” Aaron Herzog of Display-Vu Corp said. “We’ve seen how much consumers like Roku TVs – after all, Roku is synonymous with simple streaming. We’re thrilled to enter living rooms with Roku TV, offering consumers simple yet world-class smart TVs.”

Based on RCA’s recent track record, it doesn’t seem likely that its offerings will be particularly high end. At CES in January, TCL unveiled the first Roku TVs to feature Dolby Vision, so RCA could offer something similar, but there are also plenty of lower-end TVs on the market powered by the Roku platform, so it’s difficult to guess what the company will ship.

Topics

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Kris Wouk is a tech writer, gadget reviewer, blogger, and whatever it's called when someone makes videos for the web. In his…

Audio / Video

Did Roku just upend the midrange TV landscape?

TCL's Scott Ramirez at CES 2023.

One of the biggest stories of CES 2023 isn't on the show floor at the Las Vegas Convention Center. It's not the hottest new gadget or even a bigger, better TV. It's not a Sony car. It's not faster. It's not smaller.

No, the biggest news of CES 2023 may well come down to a logo. Specifically, the Roku logo adorning the front of new Roku-branded Roku TVs. That phrase sounds a little odd, of course. But the simple fact is that while "Roku TV" may well be the name for a television that's powered by the Roku operating system — and three out of four new TVs sold in North America have been of that nature for a number of years now — the televisions themselves have always been made by another company.

Audio / Video

Roku will start making its own Roku TVs and OLED reference design

A Roku-branded smart TV.

Your next Roku TV may well say Roku on the front. After years of leading the smart TV industry by licensing its operating system to other manufacturers, Roku announced its own Roku Select and Roku Plus Series televisions — the first to bear the Roku name from front to back -- today at CES 2023.

While the names are slightly confusing, the gist is this: There are 11 models spanning from 24 to 75 inches. The Select lineup will top out at 1080p resolution and include a basic Roku Voice Remote, while the Plus Series will sport 4K resolution panels and include the Roku Voice Remote Pro, which is rechargeable. Prices start at $119 on the low end and and top out at $999.

Audio / Video

Samsung shows off the first two 77-inch QD-OLED 4K TVs at CES 2023

Samsung S95C QD-OLED 4K TV.

Samsung was the first company to show off a 4K TV based on QD-OLED technology at CES 2022, and now, at CES 2023 it has unveiled two new QD-OLED models -- the S95C Samsung OLED and S90C Samsung OLED -- and each will be available as 77-inch models. Both will also be offered in 55- and 65-inch sizes. The news came one day after Samsung Display confirmed it would show its next-gen "QD-OLED 2023" panel at the show in a 77-inch size.

When QD-OLED-based TVs debuted in 2022, Samsung and Sony revealed the first two 4K TVs models within hours of each other: the Samsung S95B and the Sony A95K. Both TVs proved to be absolutely stunning in terms of picture quality, leaving our reviewer no choice but to award them a rare 10/10 rating. But the TVs themselves weren't especially large; only 55- and 65-inch sizes were introduced.