As the cord-cutting landscape continues to heat up, Chinese TV maker TCL has expanded its Roku-powered TV lineup, offering 11 new models across three series that will be available in the coming months. The company unveiled pricing for the first tier of its new Roku TV assault today with the soon-to-arrive 3700 series, with barrel-bottom pricing starting at $219.
The new 3700 Series offers three model sizes, a 32-inch ($219), a 48-inch ($429), and a 55-inch ($598). The series is being presented as a “refresh” to last year’s 4610R Roku TVs. There’s no doubt these are extremely affordable TVs, and their picture performance will likely reflect that, with the lowest size offering only 720p resolution — though at that size, the lower resolution will often suffice for most applications. Jumping up to the 48- and 55-inch models secures 1080p resolution and 120Hz panels for faster motion response, both standards for most new TVs on the market.
Other features for the 3700 series include three HDMI inputs and, of course, Roku’s extremely intuitive interface. As TCL points out, the power of Roku allows the new TVs to natively run Dish’s new Web TV platform, Sling TV, the WatchESPN app for a barrel of sports content, as well as just about every other streaming app under the sun. The 3700 series will be available before the end of the month.
Two more Roku TV series from TCL were also teased today, including the 3800 and 3850, both of which are slated to arrive later in the second quarter of the year. The 3800 will offer more modern design features than its lower-priced sibling, and will feature full 1080p resolution across four sizes, including 32-, 40-, 48- and 50-inch models. All but the 32-inch model will also feature a 120Hz refresh rate.
Finally, the 3850 will be the flagship of TCL’s Roku TV lineup, available in 32-, 40-, 50-, and 55-inch sizes. Like the 3800, all of the 3850 TVs will offer 1080p resolution, and will also sport another design upgrade, offering metallic finishes in either gunmetal or “all-aluminum.”
TCL also has a 4K UHD series in the works that will bear the Roku TV smart platform, as well, though very few details have been disclosed thus far.
Both TCL and the brand’s primary Chinese competitor, Hisense, have jumped into bed with Roku, banking on the uber-intuitive Roku software to help bolster their brands in order to push deeper into the U.S. market and beyond. And while we can’t yet speak to the picture performance of the latest models, they do present an extremely enticing price point, built around a tight, all-in-one smart TV package from one of our favorite streaming-device makers on the market.
TCL’s new 3700 series Roku TVs should be available in the coming days.
