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I watched 100s of hours of TV on this Roku Smart TV — and it's on sale for under $400 in Best Buy's Black Friday deals

Is the Philips 55" 4K UHD HDR QLED Roku Smart TV worth it? Here's my honest review.

Kayla Kuefler
·Senior Shopping & Lifestyle Editor
roku tv review, side by side of the 55
Review: I tried the Philips 55" 4K UHD HDR QLED Roku Smart TV — here are my honest opinions (Photos via Kayla Kuefler).

While I'm far from a tech expert, I do consider myself a shopping expert (it is my job, after all), and thus, I know a good deal when I see it. As deals are my bread and butter, I figured I would share a particularly good one ahead of the Black Friday and Cyber Monday period — my very own Philips 55" 4K UHD HDR QLED Roku Smart TV is on sale.

This Cyber Week, shoppers can take home the Roku smart TV for $270 off at Best Buy Canada, bringing its price down to just $380 — an incredible deal for an even more incredible TV, if I do say so myself.

To see why this Best Buy Black Friday deal is worth shopping and read my full review, keep scrolling.

Best Buy Canada

Philips 55" 4K UHD HDR QLED Roku Smart TV

Black Friday deal: Save $270

The Philips 55" 4K UHD HDR QLED Roku Smart TV is a Best Buy exclusive. 

Pros
  • Incredibly easy set-up
  • Theatre-like picture quality
  • Sound quality is amazing
  • Easy-to-use Roku remote
  • Very intuitive design
Cons
  • The Roku app shuts down spontaneously
$380 (originally $650) at Best Buy Canada

As I mentioned above, I am not a tech expert. If anything, I'm an Average Joe TV user — I watch my shows on streaming services like Netflix and Disney+, occasionally screen mirror from my iPhone (I cast the screen on my phone to my TV), and, importantly, I like user-friendly devices. If I need a PhD in engineering to use a product, it's not for me.

If, like me, you enjoy an easy-to-use TV platform that offers theatre-quality sound and visuals with an interface that a child could navigate, the Philips 55" 4K UHD HDR QLED Roku Smart TV might be for you.

The Philips Roku QLED 4K TV is a 4K Ultra HD TV with 3840x2160p resolution. It uses a quantum dot overlay on an LED backlight, which, in layperson's terms, means that whatever you watch will have a lifelike picture quality, especially compared to TVs without it.

It features Dolby Vision, HDR10 and supports HLG HDR; plus, it boasts two 10W speakers and Dolby Atmos for terrific sound quality.

Similar to the perks of an Amazon Fire TV, the Roku operating system gives you access to over 500,000 movies and TV shows via thousands of streaming channels and comes pre-loaded with popular streaming services like Amazon Prime Video and Netflix.

It's surprisingly lightweight — one person could easily set it up — and can either be mounted on a wall or left standing on its own.

It's easy to set up: The process from being in the box to being up and running was very fast; we're talking 15 minutes, tops. The TV will walk you through the entire setup process, so you don't have to fumble with an instruction manual. You'll need to set up a Roku account and log in with it on the TV.

Similar to what you see on the big screen, the app shows you popular movies and TV shows and can actually be used as a remote if your physical remote were to go missing.

roku tv remote and screenshot of roku app as a remote
Lost your remote? The Roku app does everything the physical remote can (Photos via Kayla Kuefler).

The picture and sound quality: For how good the picture and sound quality of this Roku smart TV is, I'm shocked it's not double or triple the price. Thanks to its 4K Ultra HD display combined with Quantum Dot and advanced HDR technology, the visuals are theatre-level good.

As for sound, it has two 10-watt speakers in the back of the TV. It supports Dolby Atmos, and the sound is loud and crystal-clear, even without a sound bar.

Intuitive user interface: Perhaps my favourite feature of the Philips 55" 4K UHD HDR QLED Roku Smart TV is its easy-to-use interface. Whether it's your first TV or your 20th, there is no learning curve, making it a great option for children or seniors.

Roku lets you search by movie or TV show title, and you can even look up a show by actor or director. It's easy to cast your phone onto the big screen, you can enjoy live TV (I was glued to my couch this Olympics thanks to the CBC app), and the platform offers a ton of free (yes, free!) content, including blockbuster movies.

Is a Roku TV worth it? (Photos via Kayla Kuefler).
Is a Roku TV worth it? (Photos via Kayla Kuefler).

The Roku app could use some work: My only gripe with the TV isn't actually with the TV itself but its accompanying Roku app. The app shuts down spontaneously almost every time I go to use it. In theory, it's a great idea: you can use it as a remote, browse and stream from the app, and access your payments and subscriptions, settings and more. However, more often than not, the app is a bother, so I prefer to use the Roku remote that comes with the TV.

If you're looking for a user-friendly TV that offers stellar visuals and audio, the Philips 55" 4K UHD HDR QLED Roku Smart TV delivers all that and then some. Its intuitive Roku TV platform is fast and plentiful — you'll never tire of entertainment options — and the overall viewing experience is like that of far costlier TVs. Even though the Roku app leaves much to be desired, the TV itself deserves a perfect five-star rating, especially at its current Black Friday sale price.

This year, Black Friday lands on Friday, Nov 29. However, the sale extends far beyond 24 hours for many retailers. Canadians can already shop 100s of early deals — click here to check out the best ones. Cyber Monday is on Monday, Dec. 2.

Let us know what you think by commenting below and tweeting @YahooStyleCA! Follow us on Twitter and Instagram.

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