Shelf-tag for a Hitachi Roku-ready TV recently spied on sale at a Costco location.
Hitachi, which has been selling Roku-ready HDTVs bundled with the company’s Streaming Stick media adapters for several years, revealed this week that it has signed on to the Roku licensing program to market fully integrated Roku smart TVs.
Hitachi will take advantage of Roku’s low-cost TV reference design to build superior smart TVs that run the Roku OS. Consumers will be able to purchase both HD and 4K Ultra HD Hitachi Roku TVs in a variety of screen sizes starting this fall.
Roku said it offers TV brands through its licensing program a cost-effective reference design that combines the benefits of the Roku streaming platform along with TV functionality to create a superior smart TV experience.
Other companies currently marketing Roku TVs in the United States include TCL, Hisense, Sharp, and Best Buy’s Insignia brand.
Read more on Hitachi’s integrated Roku TVs after the jump:
The companies behind the various supporting TV brands see Roku TV as a turnkey solution for bringing smart TV functionality to their products without the need to develop their own operating systems or have to continually tweak individual streaming to work properly on their systems.
The Roku platform has also proven to be highly popular with consumers looking for the greatest possible assortment of streaming services. Roku now lists access to more than 3,000 service apps.
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In 2016 more than 60 models are expected to ship in the U.S. from six brands including Hitachi this fall, Roku said. Roku TV models are offered in HD and 4K UHD resolution with screen sizes ranging from 24 to 65 inches.
Hitachi was formerly a leading television manufacturer in the United States, offering lines of rear projection, LCD and direct view televisions, many of which were produced and assembled at its own factories in Japan.
Continued market constraints, plummeting prices and problematic currency valuation rates made it impossible for the company to compete on the same terms against Chinese and South Korean rivals. It eventually shifted to a container-load distribution model, selling TV units, mainly supplied by other OEM or ODM partners, to select major retail chains, like Walmart, Sam’s Club and Costco.
By Greg Tarr
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