The first Magnavox branded Roku TV, marketed in the U.S. under brand license by Funai, was released to retail this week, the company said.
Magnavox joins a growing list of brands that have turned to the popular third-party Roku OS to provide smart TV functionality for TVs sold at high value price points. Other popular Roku TV brands include TCL, Hisense, Hitachi, Insignia, Sharp, JVC and others.
The new Magnavox Roku TV, like other Roku TVs already in the market, will provide users with an easy-to-use user interface that provides fast access to more than 500,000 movies and TV episodes through thousands of streaming app options. These available apps range from all of the most popular movie and video services to those appealing to more esoteric interests.
The OS also provides a voice-controlled program search function and content search engine that calls up hits in descending order ranked by lowest price, starting with free versions. This includes what’s playing live if there is an HDTV antenna attached to the television.
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The Magnavox Roku TVs will be available in the U.S. at BJ’s Wholesale Club and shortly thereafter, Sam’s Club, the company said. The initial model will be the 32-inch 720p LED LCD Magnavox Roku TV 32MV319R ($149.95 at BJs). A 50-inch 1080p Full HD Magnavox Roku TV model will follow soon after, the company said.
The 32-inch model is positioned as a entry smart TV, offering a slick and robust streaming TV platform. This is good for secondary rooms, dorms, or even main viewing rooms in some situations.
Funai said the new Magnavox Roku TVs soon will begin to receive automatic Roku OS software updates to the Roku TV OS 8.2 platform for Roku TVs bringing new features.
Then, starting early next year, the Roku OS 9 will begin rolling out to Magnavox Roku TVs and will bring access and control of iHeartRadio, Pandora and TuneIn by voice. It will also add compatibility and control of the TV by voice using Google Assistant smart speakers and mobile device apps.
The new Magnavox Roku TVs will include the easy-to-use Roku remote, which is designed to fit comfortably in hand for one-touch access to popular channels. Users can also download a Roku TV mobile app to search for titles with a keyboard, use voice search, private listening with earbuds connected to the remote and cast to the TV via the free Roku mobile app for iOS and Android devices.
The Magnavox Roku TVs also include Wireless LAN 802.11ac MIMO connectivity for easy connection to wireless networks.
The TVs’ HD viewing features include Brilliant Motion Rate (BMR) 120 (native 60Hz refresh rate) to enhance clarity of moving subjects on the screen.
By Greg Tarr
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