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New Philips OLED Roku TV challenges LG’s OLED dominance

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Philips OLED Roku TV.
Roku

Fans of Roku and OLED TVs have a new option. Roku has partnered with Philips to bring the first Philips 4K OLED TV to the U.S. The 65-inch Philips OLED Roku TV (formally known as the 65OLED974/F7)  is currently a Sam’s Club exclusive, where it’s been priced at $1,300 — roughly the same price as the 65-inch LG B4 OLED TV. Part of the Sam’s Club exclusive is a three-year warranty, a nice bonus as most new TV warranties are just one year.

In addition to all of the streaming benefits that come with Roku OS, including a voice-capable remote control, the Philips OLED Roku TV has a three-sided borderless display with 4K resolution (3840 x 2160) and a native 120Hz refresh rate. It supports Dolby Vision, HDR10, and HLG HDR TV formats and it can sense and adapt to ambient lighting conditions thanks to Dolby Vision IQ.

Philips OLED Roku TV.
Roku

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That fast refresh rate is further improved for gaming through the availability of AMD’s FreeSync Premium variable refresh rate (VRR) technology and auto low-latency mode (ALLM). The TV is compatible with Dolby Atmos and has a built-in 2.1 sound system.

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There are four HDMI inputs (one with HDMI ARC/eARC), with two USB 2.0 ports, Ethernet, and an optical audio output. Wireless connectivity is decent with 802.11ac support and you can cast to the TV via the Roku app or Apple AirPlay 2 if you own compatible Apple devices like an iPhone, iPad, or Mac. Smart home skills include integration with Roku Smart Home devices and compatibility with Alexa, Google Assistant, and Apple HomeKit. Curiously, Bluetooth is not available.

The question now for OLED TV fans on a budget, is which 65-inch TV makes the most sense? Roku’s first OLED model, the 65-inch Sharp Roku OLED TV now sells for the same price as the Philips model. Roku says the Philips model his model has a newer panel and offers “a number of features that create the utlimate viewing experience,” which is likely a reference to things like the built-in 2.1 sound system. Alternatively, LG’s 65-inch B4 OLED adds Bluetooth and Nvidia G-Sync, two features the Roku TV OLEDs lack.

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Simon Cohen
Simon Cohen
Contributing Editor, A/V
Simon Cohen is a contributing editor to Digital Trends' Audio/Video section, where he obsesses over the latest wireless…
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