TCL has announced a couple of new Roku TVs for the U.K. market and they’re going on sale now with a small discount available for those who purchase one online at Currys. 

The new TCL Roku TVs include the 4K UHD RP620K (pictured above) and the regular HD RS520K and are actually pretty similar aside from the obvious difference in display resolution. For one thing, they both rock the Roku TV platform that happily proclaims to be the world’s most popular. 

If you’re unfamiliar with Roku TV, it’s basically a rival to the Android TV platform or the webOS operating system found in LG Electronics’ TVs, for example. Its position as the world’s most dominant TV platform is largely due to its huge market share in the U.S., but its presence in Europe is more limited. Still, Roku is a very capable platform that includes lots of free content and games available through the Roku Channel, including the new RoKu Originals which promises to deliver new titles every month.

Roku also comes with all-important apps such as Netflix, Amazon Prime, YouTube, Disney+ and AppleTV+. Moreover, these particular models have a distinct British flavour with apps such as NOW TV, BT Sport and Freeview Play, which brings access to catch-up services like BBC iPlayer, ITV Hub, All 4 and My 5.. Those are all built-in and accessible out-of-the-box, TCL said.

The new TCL Roku TVs are the result of a multi-year, multi-country partnership the two companies announced last year. The two companies said at the time they were teaming up to expand into European and South American markets. It was a mildly surprising announcement given that up until now most TCL TVs in Europe have relied on the Android TV platform. That said, the companies have a strong partnership in the U.S. TV market, with many of TCL's higher-end sets featuring Roku. Some of those sets have even made it to the U.K. 

Today though it's clear TCL and Roku are aiming at the more affordable end of the market, and the TVs announced today offer capabilities that fit that description. That’s not to say they’re bad by any means. Both models integrate HDR Pro technology that employs Dynamic Colour Enhancement through 3D LUT to deliver “vivid colours” for HDR10, HLG and SDR content, TCL said.  

The higher-end RP620K series notably also supports Dolby Vision HDR. It has a UHD upscaling engine too, helping to render standard and high definition content in 4K resolution. So buyers of that particular model should get a pretty decent picture for most things they want to watch. 

Other handy features include voice controls for those that don’t want to use their hands, with Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa both supported. There’s also support for Apple’s AirPlay 2 and HomeKit, making the TVs a good prospect for those who use that company’s products. 

“I am thrilled to be launching TCL Roku TVs in the UK. The combination of our affordable premium TVs with Roku’s operating system, offers consumers excellent picture quality and ease of use, alongside a huge variety of features and streaming channels,” enthused TCL U.K. Country Manager Bernie Chen. “I am confident that this partnership will help us maintain our strong UK sales growth and increase our market share.”

TCL said the RP620K is available in four sizes, with 43-inch, 50-inch, 55-inch and 65-inch models to choose from, priced at £349, £399, £449 and £549 respectively. For the RS520K (above), that seems more suited for a bedroom perhaps, with just 32-inch and 40-inch models to choose from, costing £229 and £279, respectively. 

TCL said the TVs will go on sale at Currys in the near future. Those interested can register their interest now and receive a £20 discount voucher code in return.