With less expensive interlopers in the U.S. Television market like Vizio and TCL, it is easy to skip about Philips, that is the maker for the U.S market by Japan’s Funai. That company has authorized Roku TV streaming tech and can incorporate them into Philips-branded models later this year, it announced. If you had clearly forgotten, Philips sells a variety of sets, including models with 4K UltraHD, Dolby Vision, and Chromecast support. Until now, though, its smart TVs have used its aging, in-house NetTV platform, thus Roku is a big boost up.
Confusingly, Philips sets are made in Europe, China et al. by a Chinese firm known as TP Vision. suffice to say, the Dutch company does not manufacture any TVs or other consumer techs itself, having elected to target Hue bulbs and medical imaging instrumentation.
Philips sets are known for the Ambilight effect, that floods the wall behind your TV with colored light that matches the TV’s visuals. The sets are not mentioned in the same breath as models from Samsung, LG, and Sony in terms of quality, but are considered an honest value giving. Funai also manufactures millions of TVs for Magnavox, Emerson, Sanyo and other second-tier brands.
Roku has been normally praised for responsiveness and ease of use on sets from TCL & other manufacturers, with great touches like live program preview on hover. Funai did not say that Philips models can support Roku, but it’d make sense to have it on 4K sets with Dolby Vision to compete with the likes of TCL. By the way, if you are in the market for a Roku streaming stick, its Streaming Stick+ is $20 off for Black Friday.
