I’m going to be replacing an older Pansonic Plasma (Given to me a few years ago) in my basement and grab a TCL Roku TV (Series 4 or Series 5). The plasma is around 47” (Thought it was bigger but I guess the case tricked me) so thinking a 50”-55” would be perfect. I did consider moving my 5 year old 55” Samsung to the basement and getting a newer TV for our main TV (Like a Series 6). But, starting to think just replace the TV in the basement and leave my main TV alone for now. It appears TCL discontinued the 55” Series 5 so wondering what everyone thinks of the current TV’s on the market? I will mainly stream to it, play my classic game systems on it and my son might play his Xbox Series X on it on occasion.

Here's a starting point:

[www.rtings.com]

We have a TCL/Roku in one room and a Samsung with a Roku stick in another. I would not buy another TV with a built-in Roku. The stick is fine and works better if you have anything beyond Roku hooked up. A 4k Roku stick is only ~$25, so get the best set you can afford and just add the stick to it.

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IMHO the 5 series is the sweet spot in TCL's lineup.

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Aloha, Ken


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we have a 55" S4 TCL/Roku. Quite like it. It's about 3 yo.

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I have a 65" TCL Roku, works great. Developed some dead pixels on the right center of the screen. Could not message those back to life!

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San Antonio, TX (in the old city)


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Ombligo
We have a TCL/Roku in one room and a Samsung with a Roku stick in another. I would not buy another TV with a built-in Roku. The stick is fine and works better if you have anything beyond Roku hooked up. A 4k Roku stick is only ~$25, so get the best set you can afford and just add the stick to it.

we have two 50" and a 55" 4 series with Roku, and what we enjoy is the one remote for everything.

Woudl be interesting to know why you think the roku stick is better than built in, cause they seem to have the same exact functionality?

we arent critical about TV quality, so the 4s are totally fine for us.

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Edited 999 time(s). Last edit at 12:08PM by jdc.

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jdc
Woudl be interesting to know why you think the roku stick is better than built in, cause they seem to have the same exact functionality?

Simply that the stick gives more options. I can get any brand TV I want and still have Roku. I can take it with me anywhere and have Roku on any set (as long as there is wifi that I can access).

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“No persons are more frequently wrong, than those who will not admit they are wrong.” -- François de La Rochefoucauld

"Those who cannot accept the past are condemned to revise it." -- Geo. Mathias

The German word for contraceptive is “Schwangerschaftsverhütungsmittel”. By the time you finished saying that, it’s too late

So, if I got a ROKU 4K stick for our older Samsung (has its own archaic smart platform) would it auto-detect to 1080p every time it is used?

I'm fairly ignorant about certain tech things.

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The police have no duty to respond. See Castle Rock v. Gonzales, 545 U.S. 748 (2005) or Warren v. District of Columbia[1] (444 A.2d. 1, D.C. Ct. of Ap. 1981)

Judge Lee wrote that “we cannot jettison our constitutional rights, even if the goal behind a law is laudable." 9th Circuit Court of Appeals

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Racer X
So, if I got a ROKU 4K stick for our older Samsung (has its own archaic smart platform) would it auto-detect to 1080p every time it is used?

I'm fairly ignorant about certain tech things.

it should, the one we have I got my mother sometime earlier than 2016 and it works fine.

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“No persons are more frequently wrong, than those who will not admit they are wrong.” -- François de La Rochefoucauld

"Those who cannot accept the past are condemned to revise it." -- Geo. Mathias

The German word for contraceptive is “Schwangerschaftsverhütungsmittel”. By the time you finished saying that, it’s too late

We got a 55" 5 Series TCL Roku last year on Black Friday and still love it. Great picture and colors. The Roku functionality works well (we also have had 3 other Roku units, a FireStick, and AppleTV).

jdc,

I wouldn't rely on a TV's built-in smart features, regardless of who is providing it, i.e. Roku, manufacturer's own version, etc. The manufacturers don't update the built-in features nearly as quickly or comprehensively as the 3rd party streaming device manufacturers.

If a feature on an external media box stops working or you want something newer, replace the box. Can't do that with the built-in features of the TV. You're stuck with what the manufacturer offers and/or updates. And, that's assuming, they even update apps and features.

Unfortunately, in my experience, the better TVs have smart features. So, buy the TV for its superior picture and overall quality and ignore the smart stuff. Want smart stuff, add a box to it.

Robert

I own 2 TCL Roku TVs -1 series 4, 1 series 5. Very happy with both. Highly recommended.

I can always buy a a Roku stick if TCL ever stops updating, or I want more flexibility. I can add an Apple TV or Firestick, or whatever to the TV. Haven't felt the need to do this, so far.

I second the rtings.com site as a great place to research.

For a Roku stick do you just select the HDMI port it is plugged in to, and follow the on screen menu?

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********************************************
“A sword never kills anybody; it is a tool in the killer's hand.” Seneca the Younger

The police have no duty to respond. See Castle Rock v. Gonzales, 545 U.S. 748 (2005) or Warren v. District of Columbia[1] (444 A.2d. 1, D.C. Ct. of Ap. 1981)

Judge Lee wrote that “we cannot jettison our constitutional rights, even if the goal behind a law is laudable." 9th Circuit Court of Appeals

[www.youtube.com]

We are a Roku house. I've got them everywhere. When the Roku TVs came out I thought they were the cat's pajamas. I don't think that anymore. Will never buy one again. Why? We are currently using a Roku stick IN a Roku TV b/c the TV had gotten SO slow it was next to unusable. So what am I supposed to do? Go out and drop another couple hundred on a TV just to replace the built in Roku? Nope. Just get a $20 Roku stick. It's probably 5 times faster than whatever is built in.

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Bazooka,

That’s a great example of what I was saying in my post. In some ways, having the smart features built into the TV is easier. No need to switch inputs. Use a single remote. But, it does come with a possible price. Yours is one of them.

Robert

Racer,

You use the remote of the TV (or receiver) to switch HDMI ports. Once the screen of the stick appears on the TV, switch to the remote of the stick and go. What you see in the TV will be the interface of the stick. Some TVs or receivers may switch automatically if you press a button on the remote to a device connected to an HDMI port. Not all of them, though.

Robert



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/24/2021 07:43AM by Robert M.