CES Snapshot: More Roku TVs, and 4K on the Way

At last year’s CES, set-top box maker Roku unveiled its plans for Roku TV, which meant Roku’s software would be pre-installed on TV sets made by Chinese hardware partners Hisense and TCL. Now, swap out those players for two new ones and add a touch of 4K to the mix.

Best Buy’s Insignia brand and appliance maker Haier will carry new Roku TV models this year. The sets will range in size from 32 inches to 65 inches and, like the previous Roku TV models, will default to Roku’s operating system as the main interface for browsing on the TV (regular cable can be accessed as well).

Roku likes to boast that it offers more than 2,000 channels to consumers, and while I don’t know anyone who watches even a few hundred channels, its number of content partners is one of Roku’s most valuable assets in the growing world of set-top boxes and streaming video sticks.

The Insignia-brand Roku TVs are expected to hit shelves in the spring; Haier Roku TVs will become available in the third quarter of the year. Pricing hasn’t been disclosed, but a 32-inch TCL Roku TV can be found for as little as a couple hundred dollars at Walmart right now.

In addition to adding more TVs to its lineup, Roku has said it will support 4K Ultra HD streaming in future products. The Saratoga, Calif-based company says it is working with both hardware makers to provide a reference design for TV sets, and with content partners like Netflix to offer 4K-quality video streams. We’re still a very long way from 4K-all-the-way — and if you don’t have the bandwidth, the stream will adjust to show lower-quality video anyway — but it’s a notable step in that direction.

This article originally appeared on Recode.net.

Will you support Vox’s explanatory journalism?

Most news outlets make their money through advertising or subscriptions. But when it comes to what we’re trying to do at Vox, there are a couple reasons that we can't rely only on ads and subscriptions to keep the lights on.

First, advertising dollars go up and down with the economy. We often only know a few months out what our advertising revenue will be, which makes it hard to plan ahead.

Second, we’re not in the subscriptions business. Vox is here to help everyone understand the complex issues shaping the world — not just the people who can afford to pay for a subscription. We believe that’s an important part of building a more equal society. We can’t do that if we have a paywall.

That’s why we also turn to you, our readers, to help us keep Vox free. If you also believe that everyone deserves access to trusted high-quality information, will you make a gift to Vox today?

One-Time Monthly Annual

$5/month

$10/month

$25/month

$50/month

Other

$

Yes, I'll give $5/month

Yes, I'll give $5/month

We accept credit card, Apple Pay, and Google Pay. You can also contribute via