Sharp is taking on TCL with this super affordable QLED TV
And Roku is teaming up to help
If you are on the hunt for a cheap TV to add to your home, there’s a new budget contender on the scene which has just hit the market.
Enter the Sharp Roku QLED, produced in a collaboration between the two wallet-friendly brands. The 50-inch model is claimed to deliver “premium picture quality and intuitive streaming” and offers 4K resolution. It also marks the brands' first joint QLED TV release in the UK.
On top of that, Dolby Vision is on the cards, which they claim “brings out more detail, colour, and contrast, just as the director intended.”
It comes, of course, with the Roku TV operating system built-in. This platform gives you access to streaming apps such as Netflix, Amazon Prime and Disney+. Freeview Play is also available with the new model, bringing with it such apps as BBC iPlayer and ITVX.
Roku says this can all be navigated with an “easy-to-use interface designed for everyday viewing”. There is also the option to use the Roku app, where you can browse TV offerings and use voice commands.
At a launch price of £349 at Curry's, the QLED is certainly targeting the budget end of the market. It does, though, have some stiff competition in the form of the TCL P7K. We tested the 43-inch model (which launched at the cheaper £269), and gave it four stars for its good picture quality considering the cost.
We haven’t tested the 50-inch P7K, but that set also comes in at a lower price than the new Sharp set, costing £329. We will have to wait until we get the new contender into our test room to give a verdict, but its streaming support and budget price tag could make it a solid rival for TCL.
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Robyn Quick is a Staff Writer for What Hi Fi?. After graduating from Cardiff University with a postgraduate degree in magazine journalism, they have worked for a variety of film and culture publications. In their spare time, Robyn can be found playing board games too competitively, going on cinema trips and learning muay thai.
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