After teaming up with Hisense and TCL to bring its software to the UK TV market, Roku has partnered with German-based brand Metz to offer even more affordable smart TVs.
It’s not as if the market is lacking for affordable smart TVs, but it is lacking for well-designed and easy to use interfaces. You only have to look at aspects of Android TV and Samsung’s revamp of its Tizen OS to realise that trying to simplify interfaces can result in making them slightly more complicated.
And that’s something Roku has been rather good at with its UK offerings, streamlining the process to make it easier to start watching what you want to see.
And it’s also interesting to see a relatively new brand enter the UK market, which is competitive to say the least. Metz actually has a long history of operation, stretching back to 1938 when Paul Metz established the company, but this marks the first time the company has launched a TV in the UK.
The range is made up of 4K and Full HD TVs, the latter starting at 32-inches and the former topping out at 65-inches, as the Roku Metz TVs look to offer a screen size perfect for any viewing experience. In that sense, Metz is covering pretty much all options you could be interested in, with the Metz MRD6000 4K range consisting of 43-, 50-, 55- and 65-inch sizes, while the Full HD MTD6000 displays are available in 32- and 40-inch sizes, making them more suitable for bedroom use or smaller rooms.
So they’re accessible in terms of interface, and arguably accessible in terms of their screen sizes but the key aspect of the Metz Metz partnership is the same thing that powers the Hisense Roku and TCL Roku team-ups, and that’s the range of features the Roku OS offers.
Each size has the same array of features with support for Apple AirPlay 2, Dolby Audio/DTS sound, voice assistants, Freeview Play and the wide selection of streaming apps and free content available on the Roku platform. Compare that to the likes of Samsung, Panasonic, Sony and LG, and it’s hard not to say you’re not getting a good deal.
Even better is the price, which is aggressive for a new company entering the market. The 65-inch model is just £449 at launch, while the 32-inch Full HD set is a snip at £159. With a cost of living crisis looming and a football World Cup on the horizon, Metz could snap up a lot of interested viewers looking to save themselves money on a new set.
The lack of Dolby Vision is, for me, the one notable omission for the 4K series. Having Dolby Vision HDR for cheaper sets arguably makes more sense than it does for more expensive sets that can already do a credible HDR performance without. It’d help in terms of colours and brightness, eking that bit more performance from the panel.
But it’s hard to disagree with the proposition Metz Roku is putting forward with this TV series. I’d definitely be interested in taking a closer look when the TVs launch towards the end of October as to whether it can back up its aggressive pricing with a punchy performance.
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
