Hisense R50A7200GTUK £399
This Hisense Roku is likely to be the cheapest 50in TV we’ll see on sale in the UK this year from a major manufacturer. It promises a good-sized, punchy 4K HDR image and all the major apps and services you could need, without so much as an additional box or stick in sight.
It is simple and unassuming both in style and appearance. Around the rear of the set are three HDMI 2.0-rated ports which can manage up to 60Hz at 4K, and there’s ARC support for easy connection to a soundbar.
The Roku TV smart platform covers all the major streaming services, as well as thousands of seriously niche ones, with 4K HDR content available on all the big players. It’s also well worth downloading the Roku Channel, which brings free access to more than 10,000 films, TV episodes and documentaries from over 40 content partners. But it’s not just the apps that make Roku great, it’s the ease of use. The menu system is simple and clear and the universal search is excellent. At the heart of the experience, the quad-core processor does all the leg work and offers more than enough to drive the system with barely a hint of lag or freeze. Roku TV is a pleasure to use from top to bottom, from app to screen.
Despite its low price, the Hisense Roku R50A7200GTUK is still a direct-lit LED TV – and it shows. Compared with others at this end of the market, the light levels are fairly even across the panel and, even if there’s a little bit of bleed, the blacks are strong with no off-putting blotchiness. Unlike pricier direct-lit LED sets, though, there are no local dimming zones.
It’s not trying to offer finesse, it’s aiming to land a punch. The picture is bright and colourful, and even sharper and richer than last year’s Hisense Roku offering. Even in SD, the picture is remarkably sharp and stable for a panel this size, even if the colours are more simplistic. At higher resolutions that punchy approach can take things too far; it doesn’t have the same chromatic complexity as more expensive TVS. Still, what this TV does with its limited technical resources is impressive.
It seems there’s only so much that can be squeezed from the TV’S modest two 8W speaker system, but given its limited resources, the sound effects in The Force Awakens are crisp, detailed and placed effectively in the soundscape.
While neither the picture nor the sound is perfect, combined with a brilliant feature set and an unbeatable content offering via Roku TV, the results are Award-worthy at this price point.