Sarah Tew/CNET
Smart TVs have long been exiled to the outcast table, but Roku televisions may be arriving at just the right time and the right price -- cheap -- to move connected televisions into the mainstream.
Roku is integrating its popular TV streaming-box capabilities for the first time into television sets from TCL and Hisense, big Chinese manufacturers that are making their largest concerted pushes into the US with the Roku lines. Originally announced in January at the Consumer Electronics Show, Roku sets from TCL are now available for preorder from Amazon and to be sold by major retailers in the coming weeks, with the Hisense TVs set to hit stores late next month, the companies said Monday.
Most importantly, they're priced to move. A 32-inch set from TCL, for example, costs $229.
Related links: Roku TVs marry cheap prices, proven smarts (hands-on) Roku TVs by Hisense and TCL (pictures) Roku TV unveiled: Television sets with Roku streaming built-in CEO: Roku's future is TV's future (Q&A)
An affordable price tag and Roku functionality may finally get consumers excited about smart TVs. While the segment is growing, about two-thirds of North American TVs shipped are still "dumb," according to researcher NPD. And many smart TV purchases end up with the connectivity feature hardly used, if ever.
"Part of the reason why adoption of smart TVs has been so bad, for the most part, is they have been terrible," said Paul Gagnon, director of global TV research for NPD Display Search, rattling off a list of typical flaws: overly complicated, poor user interfaces, proprietary protections that mean every system is different from the next and few are updated frequently. But as more video moves online and more people want streaming video on the biggest screen, online connectivity in a television is increasing as a consideration for buyers.
If a simple, affordable smart TV becomes a household usage standard, it would change not only how people watch TV but also how programmers make TV available. Knowing the masses are set and able to watch online programming, more TV networks could make more content available in more ways -- NBC and ESPN already took this leap by putting tons of extra content online for the Olympics and World Cup, respectively, only to see their ratings soar. Viewers also have a better shot at their TV working seamlessly with the other ways they want to watch -- want to head upstairs to watch the rest of the show in bed on a tablet? TVs running off the same Internet system can do it more easily than ever. And cord cutters, start rejoicing: this may be the line of TVs that are built for you.
"Roku TV is...made for the way people use TV today," said Anthony Wood, founder and CEO of Roku.
Premium price no more
The No. 1 smart TV brand in the US is Vizio, though not because it rules market share generally -- that's Samsung's turf. It's the lack of any price premium for the feature. "Vizio is charging almost no money for it," said NPD's Gagnon. "It's a good example of what consumers want."
