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Hisense sets its sights on cord cutters with the affordable R6 4K Roku TV

The merging of 4K TVs and the Roku operating system might be one of the best combinations in TV land — especially for cord cutters. With the addition of the R6 4K Hisense Roku TV to its 2017 lineup, it’s evident that Hisense thinks so, too.

The R6 4K Hisense Roku TV is loaded with plenty of features, including high dynamic range (HDR), which enhances contrast and color shading for more accurate detail, as well as direct-LED backlighting, designed to create less light bleed and halo effects than edge-lit TVs, for better and richer black levels. Like others in its class, the TV also features a UHD upscaler designed to artificially raise the resolution of lower definition video content, and the TV also supports DTS Studio Sound.

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While these are great features, they’re mostly standard — or becoming standard — on 4K TVs. What gives the R6 4K Hisense Roku TV an edge — as the name implies — is its integration of the Roku OS for streaming.

Essentially, this transforms the R6 4K Hisense Roku TV into a Roku/Smart TV hybrid, running one of the best streaming interfaces on the market right now. All Roku content will be available on the TV directly and immediately after setup. This includes more than 5,000 streaming apps (or “channels” as Roku calls them) from Netflix and Hulu to Sling TV and HBO Now, and everything in between. The result is a library of 500,000-plus movies and TV episodes, not to mention the billions of hours worth of content on YouTube.

All this content can be easily browsed thanks to Roku’s cross-platform search functions. Perhaps more importantly, RokuOS also includes a curated list of 4K and HDR content via 4K Spotlight, so finding something to watch that can take advantage of your new TV’s picture quality will no longer be a hassle.

Other perks for the Roku system include the ability to pause live TV, Roku mobile app support on iOS and Android, and personal listening options via the TV’s remote, or your own mobile device.

But perhaps best of all is the price. The 50-inch model costs just $450, the 55-inch is only $100 more at $550, and the big-daddy 65-inch model is $800. That’s a whole lot of big-screen real estate for a very nice price.

The R6 4K Hisense Roku TV is available now.

Brendan Hesse
Staff Writer, Home Theater
Brendan has written about a wide swath of topics, including music, fitness and nutrition, and pop culture, but tech was…
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