The Roku Pro Series OLED TV Is a Problem for LG and Samsung (Video)

The same Roku that makes the $30 stick probably plugged into your TV right now has built an actual OLED TV, and the 55-inch Roku Pro Series OLED starts at $999. That's $300 less than LG's cheapest OLED and $500 less than Samsung's. I spent a week with the 65-inch model in my living room to find out whether this is a legit OLED panel or a budget screen wearing OLED marketing like a costume.

The first thing I noticed, before I even turned it on, was the weight. OLED panels usually aren't hard to move, but this one felt light, almost too light for a screen this size, thanks to a thin metal bezel around the edges. The feet are tool-free and dual position, so there's no Allen key to hunt for, and a cable management clip is built into the back. Including the software update on first boot, I had it fully set up in under 10 minutes.

That thin bezel cost something, though. There's no soundstage audio port this year, the feature that let older Roku TVs use compatible speakers as makeshift surround sound. I asked Roku about it, and their VP of retail strategy told me the port had to go to keep the bezel this thin. The remote is a small win: backlit, purple accents, and an on-TV remote finder button for when it vanishes behind the couch.

The picture is what you're paying for. It's a 4K panel at 120Hz with Dolby Vision and FreeSync Premium, and since it's OLED you get true blacks and near-infinite contrast out of the box, plus viewing angles that hold up no matter where you sit, with no color shift. Roku's Smart Picture Max auto-tunes the image based on what you're watching: fire up a game and it jumps into sports mode, load a movie and it shifts closer to cinema mode. I threw HDR nature footage at it and saw zero color banding, and skin tones looked accurate with no tweaking. Gaming was smooth at 120Hz, I couldn't detect any input lag issues, and variable refresh rate worked as advertised.

Brightness is the trade-off. The Pro Series peaks around 800 nits, noticeably dimmer than the upcoming Roku LX at 1,500 nits and $1,300. If you're in a bright room, that gap shows up fast.

The software stays out of the way. Roku OS is still one of the cleanest, fastest interfaces on any smart TV, and if you've ever touched a Roku stick there's zero learning curve. One login manages over 70 subscriptions (Max, Paramount+, and Apple TV+ included), automatic game mode switches over when it detects a console, and voice control runs through a push-to-talk button rather than always listening. Anyone from tech geeks to little kids to your grandmother can pick up the remote and use this.

Then you play something and hear the speakers. They support Dolby Atmos pass-through on paper, but in practice they sound thin, with the lack of bass you'd expect from TV speakers at this price. That's not really a knock on Roku specifically. The eARC port makes pairing a soundbar simple, and you should budget for one from the start. Bluetooth 5.2 also lets you connect wireless headphones for private listening. None of this is a deal breaker, but these speakers won't fill a living room on their own.

After a week, the verdict comes down to whether the trade-offs match the price. At $999 this set undercuts LG by $300 and Samsung by $500 for OLED performance in the same general ballpark. Right now it's an Amazon exclusive, with wider retail expected soon, which matters if you'd rather see it in person first. If brightness is your priority, the Pro Series LX arrives in October at $1,300 with 144Hz, a 1,500-nit panel, and a better anti-glare coating.

So here's who should buy the Roku Pro Series OLED: first-time OLED buyers, casual viewers, and budget-conscious gamers, meaning anyone who wants OLED without paying the LG and Samsung tax. Who should wait: anyone watching in a bright room, and anyone who needs 144Hz for competitive gaming. That's the LX, and it drops in October. For $1,000, Roku just put LG and Samsung on notice.