Would the 40R2A5R work well for sole purpose of retro gaming on a raspberry pi (arcade pedestal)? Looking for a fairly cheap TV to support this and not looking to break the bank for something whose only purpose is for the arcade pedestal and retro gaming.
Would the 40R2A5R work well for sole purpose of retro gaming on a raspberry pi (arcade pedestal)? Looking for a fairly cheap TV to support this and not looking to break the bank for something whose only purpose is for the arcade pedestal and retro gaming.
I’m a retro gamer too. I’d get the 43 inch one due to that being closer to the one RTings tested so you’d know it would match with their results.
It has great low input lag and motion response timing for very important for retro games. I play with an fpga set up and it works fantastically.
I’m a retro gamer too. I’d get the 43 inch one due to that being closer to the one RTings tested so you’d know it would match with their results.
It has great low input lag and motion response timing for very important for retro games. I play with an fpga set up and it works fantastically.
Unfortunately the wall I plan to mount it on will only fit the 40 inch. It’s a perfect spot for it in my space so hoping the 40 inch would work well!
In Discussion:
• Posted 1 year ago
We’ve just released a new video featuring the Roku Select Series here.
Add a more obvious link to your Calibration Settings, please. For those who don’t know, it’s under the top image.
There’s supposed to be a link on the Post Calibration section of the review as well, but we missed it on this one, sorry about that! We’ll add it soon.
Can anyone with the 40inch 1080p model vouch for the input lag or subpixel layout? Looking to use this for gaming at 1080p and also as a 3rd computer monitor. Seems this review is only for the 4k models but would prefer 1080p so I am gaming at the native resolution. Thanks.
It’s crazy that you rate this 7.5 for PC monitor when it’s a VA panel with terrible viewing angles to the edges at typical PC monitor viewing distance. I wonder whether anyone at Rtings actually has a TV on their desk as a monitor.
In Discussion:
• Posted 1 year ago
Update: Mentioned the newly-reviewed Roku Pro Series QLED in the Contrast section of this review.
It’s crazy that you rate this 7.5 for PC monitor when it’s a VA panel with terrible viewing angles to the edges at typical PC monitor viewing distance. I wonder whether anyone at Rtings actually has a TV on their desk as a monitor.
Viewing angle is only one component of our PC Monitor score. You can see the full breakdown of the scoring and weighting of those scores by hovering your cursor over the question mark next to the ‘PC Monitor’ title if you want to see exactly what goes into that score of 7.5. We’re always looking for feedback on the way we score things so we can implement that feedback in future test benches, so we appreciate you reaching out.
I purchased the 43" Roku select to use as a PC monitor from the Rtings review. I have to say I am not super impressed. It is a good TV for watching content, but it is NOT a great option as a PC monitor.
The first reason is the shape of the pixels themselves. On review for this TV, under the section “pixels” you can see that there is a lot of black space in the middle of each sub-pixel, due to the structure of the panel (much more black space than many other TVs). When using the TV as a monitor, this makes the pixels look more like “dots”, and it severely impacts the clarity of text on the screen. It makes the resolution feel much less sharp than it actually is (4k, 4:4:4 chroma). It makes grey areas look like a 1980s Macintosh! Thin lines in user interfaces end up looking like dotted lines as well. See this picture and zoom in to see how lines look like “dots”. This is not moire from the phone camera, this is pretty accurate to what the TV looks like when using it as a monitor.
I believe Rtings should strongly consider this effect from the sub pixel SHAPE (not only BGR sub pixel layout), when determining the monitor score for all TVs. They should connect a computer with 1:1 scaling, and sit up close to the TV, with text on the screen. It would be a very valuable datapoint!
In addition, I have noticed that Roku TVs specifically, such as this and the TCL S425 (that I also use as a monitor) have issues displaying hatched shaded regions (in my CAD programs). When I display a vibrant color with hatched shading, the region displaying the color appears to “flicker” when looking at it head on. This is very distracting to me personally. It seems to have something to do with the way Roku TVs process the signal. I have tried adjusting all of the settings on both TVs (game mode, turned off all image enhancement, sharpness, noise reduction, etc…), but no matter what I do, the issue remains. If I move to the side of the TV, at a very extreme angle, I don’t see the flickering, but when I sit in front of the monitor it is quite distracting. This does not happen on any purpose built PC monitor that I have tried. I can’t think of a way that Rtings could test this specific edge case (and I don’t think they should), so I am just putting it out there for future reference.
Lastly, when sitting up close to it, you cannot see text at the extreme edges. This has to do with the panel design and the way the layers are arranged. If I move my head to the corner of the screen, I can see text at the very edge of the screen, but as I move my head towards the center (while sitting close), the content at the extreme edge goes completely black (this only affects the ~10 pixels closest to each edge of the monitor, which might not matter to everyone). With a Mac, the time at the edge of the menu bar gets slightly cut off when you are sitting close to the TV. If you move further back, you are able to see the edges again. I have noticed this same behavior on many models of TV when sitting very close, so if that bothers you, I’d recommend checking out the TV in store before purchasing.
I purchased the 43" Roku select to use as a PC monitor from the Rtings review. I have to say I am not super impressed. It is a good TV for watching content, but it is NOT a great option as a PC monitor.
The first reason is the shape of the pixels themselves. On review for this TV, under the section “pixels” you can see that there is a lot of black space in the middle of each sub-pixel, due to the structure of the panel (much more black space than many other TVs). When using the TV as a monitor, this makes the pixels look more like “dots”, and it severely impacts the clarity of text on the screen. It makes the resolution feel much less sharp than it actually is (4k, 4:4:4 chroma). It makes grey areas look like a 1980s Macintosh! Thin lines in user interfaces end up looking like dotted lines as well. See this picture and zoom in to see how lines look like “dots”. This is not moire from the phone camera, this is pretty accurate to what the TV looks like when using it as a monitor.
I believe Rtings should strongly consider this effect from the sub pixel SHAPE (not only BGR sub pixel layout), when determining the monitor score for all TVs. They should connect a computer with 1:1 scaling, and sit up close to the TV, with text on the screen. It would be a very valuable datapoint!
In addition, I have noticed that Roku TVs specifically, such as this and the TCL S425 (that I also use as a monitor) have issues displaying hatched shaded regions (in my CAD programs). When I display a vibrant color with hatched shading, the region displaying the color appears to “flicker” when looking at it head on. This is very distracting to me personally. It seems to have something to do with the way Roku TVs process the signal. I have tried adjusting all of the settings on both TVs (game mode, turned off all image enhancement, sharpness, noise reduction, etc…), but no matter what I do, the issue remains. If I move to the side of the TV, at a very extreme angle, I don’t see the flickering, but when I sit in front of the monitor it is quite distracting. This does not happen on any purpose built PC monitor that I have tried. I can’t think of a way that Rtings could test this specific edge case (and I don’t think they should), so I am just putting it out there for future reference.
Lastly, when sitting up close to it, you cannot see text at the extreme edges. This has to do with the panel design and the way the layers are arranged. If I move my head to the corner of the screen, I can see text at the very edge of the screen, but as I move my head towards the center (while sitting close), the content at the extreme edge goes completely black (this only affects the ~10 pixels closest to each edge of the monitor, which might not matter to everyone). With a Mac, the time at the edge of the menu bar gets slightly cut off when you are sitting close to the TV. If you move further back, you are able to see the edges again. I have noticed this same behavior on many models of TV when sitting very close, so if that bothers you, I’d recommend checking out the TV in store before purchasing.
Hi theFrixFix,
Thanks for taking the time to reach out with such detailed feedback!
I’m sorry to hear that your new Roku TV didn’t live up to your expectations for use as a PC Monitor. Currently, the sub-components of our PC Monitor usage score have a bias towards gaming, and a bit less towards productivity work.
It’s something that is in the list of things to fix as part of a future test bench update, by perhaps splitting the usage into two (e.g., PC Gaming and Productivity) or by making the current usage more comprehensive through improvements to our current tests as well as new tests dedicated for monitor usage (e.g., text clarity).
I’ve noted the specific issues you’ve reported about hatched shaded regions in CAD programs and text not being visible around the edges of the display in our test development checkup pipeline.
Don’t hesitate should you have any other feedback or suggestions for us!
Cheers
In Discussion:
• Posted 11 months ago
We’ve just released a new video that mentions the Roku Select Series here.
Does anyone have experience with the 40" version of this TV? This review is for the larger version(s) and I am skeptical that the 40" shares the same performance metrics as its big brothers. If anyone has the 40" version of this, I would love to get your feedback on it.
I’m looking to use mine as a gaming monitor for a specific game which has very fast-moving objects that need to be displayed without much blur, so the response time and input lag are the key metrics for me. I want to know if the 40" is comparable to the ones reviewed here on RTINGS.
In Discussion:
• Posted 10 months ago
Update: We added a comparison to the newly-reviewed TCL S5/S551G in the Color Gamut box.
In the YouTube video, Abby cited the TCL Q550G TV as superior competition to the Roku; however, that TV is hard to find these days. Is there another TV out there that is a serious competitor of the Roku Select for the title “Best Really Cheap TV”? Thanks.
In the YouTube video, Abby cited the TCL Q550G TV as superior competition to the Roku; however, that TV is hard to find these days. Is there another TV out there that is a serious competitor of the Roku Select for the title “Best Really Cheap TV”? Thanks.
a lot of recommendation articles here have replaced this TV with the Hisense A7N. the similar-in-name but very different TCL Q5/Q550F is worth mentioning, too.
In the YouTube video, Abby cited the TCL Q550G TV as superior competition to the Roku; however, that TV is hard to find these days. Is there another TV out there that is a serious competitor of the Roku Select for the title “Best Really Cheap TV”? Thanks.
Hello!
Help with personalized buying advice is something our experts offer only via our
insider forums. We do have lots of self-service tools and recommendation articles that should be helpful as well though!
Please consider a higher penalty for lack of variable refresh rate (VRR) in future methodologies. Current gen consoles like the Xbox Series X and the PS5 are at the point now where they’re not even able to run the top graphically demanding games on the market at a smooth 4K 60 FPS (much less 120 fps).
As a result, newer graphically demanding games (such as Stalker 2) are almost unplayable at 4k 60 fps on TVs without VRR. I found this out because we got a Roku Select for our bedroom, and I tried to play Stalker 2 on it. It was a very choppy, unplayable experience.
Please consider a higher penalty for lack of variable refresh rate (VRR) in future methodologies. Current gen consoles like the Xbox Series X and the PS5 are at the point now where they’re not even able to run the top graphically demanding games on the market at a smooth 4K 60 FPS (much less 120 fps).
As a result, newer graphically demanding games (such as Stalker 2) are almost unplayable at 4k 60 fps on TVs without VRR. I found this out because we got a Roku Select for our bedroom, and I tried to play Stalker 2 on it. It was a very choppy, unplayable experience.
Hi DreSand,
Thanks for sharing your thoughts!
We completely understand how the lack of VRR support can impact the gaming experience, especially with the increasing demands of newer titles. As you pointed out, modern consoles often struggle to maintain a smooth 4K 60 FPS output, which makes VRR an increasingly essential feature for gaming on TVs.
We’re currently reviewing our usage scores across all categories, including gaming, and re-evaluating the weight of VRR in our scoring system is definitely on our radar. Your feedback is valuable for this, and I’ve added your suggestion to our tracking list for consideration in our next test bench update.
Don’t hesitate should you have any other thoughts or suggestions for us!
Hi DreSand,
Thanks for sharing your thoughts!
We completely understand how the lack of VRR support can impact the gaming experience, especially with the increasing demands of newer titles. As you pointed out, modern consoles often struggle to maintain a smooth 4K 60 FPS output, which makes VRR an increasingly essential feature for gaming on TVs.
We’re currently reviewing our usage scores across all categories, including gaming, and re-evaluating the weight of VRR in our scoring system is definitely on our radar. Your feedback is valuable for this, and I’ve added your suggestion to our tracking list for consideration in our next test bench update.
Don’t hesitate should you have any other thoughts or suggestions for us!
Cheers
I appreciate the consideration Pascal. Perhaps a game/ VRR section update where the same game/ console combo is tested at 4k @ 30, 70, 120, 144 fps (with “penalty” being lack of points awarded, i.e. TV doesn’t have VRR or 144hz compatibility)?
Hi, I am strongly considering purchasing the 40" model of this TV as a display monitor for a food service venture I will be opening. It seems like it would be quite adequate for displaying menu items and promotional videos. However, its availability in Canada seems very limited (I can only find it available online from Walmart’s marketplace) and some user reviews have highlighted persistent Wi-Fi connectivity problems, which led several of them to return their purchases. Did you run across this issue in your tests?
Hi, I am strongly considering purchasing the 40" model of this TV as a display monitor for a food service venture I will be opening. It seems like it would be quite adequate for displaying menu items and promotional videos. However, its availability in Canada seems very limited (I can only find it available online from Walmart’s marketplace) and some user reviews have highlighted persistent Wi-Fi connectivity problems, which led several of them to return their purchases. Did you run across this issue in your tests?
cheers,
Gabe
Hey! unfortunately the roku models aren’t generally available in canada. as far as wifi connectivity, it isn’t something we encountered during our testing, but that’s the type of issue that usualy only comes up with prolonged use. But in your case, the wifi connectivity might not be a big issue if you’re displaying the menus through and HDMI source.
Hope that helps!
Well, actually, I plan to use a fair amount of screen mirroring and wireless casting to one of the displays, so having reliable Wi-Fi is an issue for me. With the availability limitation, this becomes not such a good choice.
Can you recommend a TV that:
–is less than $1000 CAD
–has a screen of 40" or 43" (max)
–is good in a bright room AND has good reflection handling
–has a well-designed and supported OS
–supports screen mirroring and wireless casting
–has a media player app that supports a wide variety of formats and codecs (Roku Media player, for example, is pretty limited in this respect)
–is readily available locally
cheers,
Gabe
In Discussion:
• Posted 5 months ago
Hello!
Help with personalized buying advice is something our experts offer only via our
insider forums. We do have lots of self-service tools and recommendation articles that should be helpful as well though!
I just wonder where they get the hardware from!
We’ve purchased the product and are waiting for it to arrive in our lab.
Looking forward to this review. I want to see how this competes with TCL and Hisense for a budget tv.
The product has arrived in our lab, and our testers will start evaluating it soon.
How does the contrast and blooming of this TV compare to the budget TCL and Hisense models?
Early access to our full test results is now available for Insiders! Become an insider to check it out here.
Seems like maybe the best new cheap tv.
certainly better than TCL’s S450G — i could definitely see this becoming the new best ‘cheap’ option in their recommendations.
why aren’t there any calibration settings for the TV? the Plus series has settings, but this doesn’t.
Sorry about that, I forgot to hit the button to publish them. Should be fixed now!
all good now — thanks!
Shame this tv isn’t judder free even on native apps. I would have grabbed it then. Hopefully it’s successor will be.
Update: Mentioned the newly-reviewed TCL Q5/Q550G QLED in the Supported Resolutions section of this review.
Would the 40R2A5R work well for sole purpose of retro gaming on a raspberry pi (arcade pedestal)? Looking for a fairly cheap TV to support this and not looking to break the bank for something whose only purpose is for the arcade pedestal and retro gaming.
I’m a retro gamer too. I’d get the 43 inch one due to that being closer to the one RTings tested so you’d know it would match with their results.
It has great low input lag and motion response timing for very important for retro games. I play with an fpga set up and it works fantastically.
Unfortunately the wall I plan to mount it on will only fit the 40 inch. It’s a perfect spot for it in my space so hoping the 40 inch would work well!
We’ve just released a new video featuring the Roku Select Series here.
Add a more obvious link to your Calibration Settings, please. For those who don’t know, it’s under the top image.
There’s supposed to be a link on the Post Calibration section of the review as well, but we missed it on this one, sorry about that! We’ll add it soon.
Update: Clarified that Dynamic Tone Mapping should be ‘Off’ in the HDR Brightness, HDR Brightness In Game Mode, and PQ EOTF Tracking sections, and added a link to the calibration settings page in the
Can anyone with the 40inch 1080p model vouch for the input lag or subpixel layout? Looking to use this for gaming at 1080p and also as a 3rd computer monitor. Seems this review is only for the 4k models but would prefer 1080p so I am gaming at the native resolution. Thanks.
does anyone have info on this TV’s potential successor, the R3B5R?
It’s crazy that you rate this 7.5 for PC monitor when it’s a VA panel with terrible viewing angles to the edges at typical PC monitor viewing distance. I wonder whether anyone at Rtings actually has a TV on their desk as a monitor.
Update: Mentioned the newly-reviewed Roku Pro Series QLED in the Contrast section of this review.
Viewing angle is only one component of our PC Monitor score. You can see the full breakdown of the scoring and weighting of those scores by hovering your cursor over the question mark next to the ‘PC Monitor’ title if you want to see exactly what goes into that score of 7.5. We’re always looking for feedback on the way we score things so we can implement that feedback in future test benches, so we appreciate you reaching out.
Update: Mentioned the newly-reviewed LG UT7570 in the Low-Quality Content Smoothing section of this review.
I purchased the 43" Roku select to use as a PC monitor from the Rtings review. I have to say I am not super impressed. It is a good TV for watching content, but it is NOT a great option as a PC monitor.
The first reason is the shape of the pixels themselves. On review for this TV, under the section “pixels” you can see that there is a lot of black space in the middle of each sub-pixel, due to the structure of the panel (much more black space than many other TVs). When using the TV as a monitor, this makes the pixels look more like “dots”, and it severely impacts the clarity of text on the screen. It makes the resolution feel much less sharp than it actually is (4k, 4:4:4 chroma). It makes grey areas look like a 1980s Macintosh! Thin lines in user interfaces end up looking like dotted lines as well. See this picture and zoom in to see how lines look like “dots”. This is not moire from the phone camera, this is pretty accurate to what the TV looks like when using it as a monitor.
I believe Rtings should strongly consider this effect from the sub pixel SHAPE (not only BGR sub pixel layout), when determining the monitor score for all TVs. They should connect a computer with 1:1 scaling, and sit up close to the TV, with text on the screen. It would be a very valuable datapoint!
In addition, I have noticed that Roku TVs specifically, such as this and the TCL S425 (that I also use as a monitor) have issues displaying hatched shaded regions (in my CAD programs). When I display a vibrant color with hatched shading, the region displaying the color appears to “flicker” when looking at it head on. This is very distracting to me personally. It seems to have something to do with the way Roku TVs process the signal. I have tried adjusting all of the settings on both TVs (game mode, turned off all image enhancement, sharpness, noise reduction, etc…), but no matter what I do, the issue remains. If I move to the side of the TV, at a very extreme angle, I don’t see the flickering, but when I sit in front of the monitor it is quite distracting. This does not happen on any purpose built PC monitor that I have tried. I can’t think of a way that Rtings could test this specific edge case (and I don’t think they should), so I am just putting it out there for future reference.
Lastly, when sitting up close to it, you cannot see text at the extreme edges. This has to do with the panel design and the way the layers are arranged. If I move my head to the corner of the screen, I can see text at the very edge of the screen, but as I move my head towards the center (while sitting close), the content at the extreme edge goes completely black (this only affects the ~10 pixels closest to each edge of the monitor, which might not matter to everyone). With a Mac, the time at the edge of the menu bar gets slightly cut off when you are sitting close to the TV. If you move further back, you are able to see the edges again. I have noticed this same behavior on many models of TV when sitting very close, so if that bothers you, I’d recommend checking out the TV in store before purchasing.
Hi theFrixFix,
Thanks for taking the time to reach out with such detailed feedback!
I’m sorry to hear that your new Roku TV didn’t live up to your expectations for use as a PC Monitor. Currently, the sub-components of our PC Monitor usage score have a bias towards gaming, and a bit less towards productivity work.
It’s something that is in the list of things to fix as part of a future test bench update, by perhaps splitting the usage into two (e.g., PC Gaming and Productivity) or by making the current usage more comprehensive through improvements to our current tests as well as new tests dedicated for monitor usage (e.g., text clarity).
I’ve noted the specific issues you’ve reported about hatched shaded regions in CAD programs and text not being visible around the edges of the display in our test development checkup pipeline.
Don’t hesitate should you have any other feedback or suggestions for us!
Cheers
We’ve just released a new video that mentions the Roku Select Series here.
Does anyone have experience with the 40" version of this TV? This review is for the larger version(s) and I am skeptical that the 40" shares the same performance metrics as its big brothers. If anyone has the 40" version of this, I would love to get your feedback on it.
I’m looking to use mine as a gaming monitor for a specific game which has very fast-moving objects that need to be displayed without much blur, so the response time and input lag are the key metrics for me. I want to know if the 40" is comparable to the ones reviewed here on RTINGS.
Update: We added a comparison to the newly-reviewed TCL S5/S551G in the Color Gamut box.
In the YouTube video, Abby cited the TCL Q550G TV as superior competition to the Roku; however, that TV is hard to find these days. Is there another TV out there that is a serious competitor of the Roku Select for the title “Best Really Cheap TV”? Thanks.
a lot of recommendation articles here have replaced this TV with the Hisense A7N. the similar-in-name but very different TCL Q5/Q550F is worth mentioning, too.
Hello! Help with personalized buying advice is something our experts offer only via our insider forums. We do have lots of self-service tools and recommendation articles that should be helpful as well though!
Please consider a higher penalty for lack of variable refresh rate (VRR) in future methodologies. Current gen consoles like the Xbox Series X and the PS5 are at the point now where they’re not even able to run the top graphically demanding games on the market at a smooth 4K 60 FPS (much less 120 fps).
As a result, newer graphically demanding games (such as Stalker 2) are almost unplayable at 4k 60 fps on TVs without VRR. I found this out because we got a Roku Select for our bedroom, and I tried to play Stalker 2 on it. It was a very choppy, unplayable experience.
Hi DreSand,
Thanks for sharing your thoughts!
We completely understand how the lack of VRR support can impact the gaming experience, especially with the increasing demands of newer titles. As you pointed out, modern consoles often struggle to maintain a smooth 4K 60 FPS output, which makes VRR an increasingly essential feature for gaming on TVs.
We’re currently reviewing our usage scores across all categories, including gaming, and re-evaluating the weight of VRR in our scoring system is definitely on our radar. Your feedback is valuable for this, and I’ve added your suggestion to our tracking list for consideration in our next test bench update.
Don’t hesitate should you have any other thoughts or suggestions for us!
Cheers
I appreciate the consideration Pascal. Perhaps a game/ VRR section update where the same game/ console combo is tested at 4k @ 30, 70, 120, 144 fps (with “penalty” being lack of points awarded, i.e. TV doesn’t have VRR or 144hz compatibility)?
Just a thought!
All the best, keep up the good work.
Hi, I am strongly considering purchasing the 40" model of this TV as a display monitor for a food service venture I will be opening. It seems like it would be quite adequate for displaying menu items and promotional videos. However, its availability in Canada seems very limited (I can only find it available online from Walmart’s marketplace) and some user reviews have highlighted persistent Wi-Fi connectivity problems, which led several of them to return their purchases. Did you run across this issue in your tests?
cheers,
Gabe
Hey! unfortunately the roku models aren’t generally available in canada. as far as wifi connectivity, it isn’t something we encountered during our testing, but that’s the type of issue that usualy only comes up with prolonged use. But in your case, the wifi connectivity might not be a big issue if you’re displaying the menus through and HDMI source. Hope that helps!
Well, actually, I plan to use a fair amount of screen mirroring and wireless casting to one of the displays, so having reliable Wi-Fi is an issue for me. With the availability limitation, this becomes not such a good choice.
Can you recommend a TV that: –is less than $1000 CAD –has a screen of 40" or 43" (max) –is good in a bright room AND has good reflection handling –has a well-designed and supported OS –supports screen mirroring and wireless casting –has a media player app that supports a wide variety of formats and codecs (Roku Media player, for example, is pretty limited in this respect) –is readily available locally
cheers,
Gabe
Hello! Help with personalized buying advice is something our experts offer only via our insider forums. We do have lots of self-service tools and recommendation articles that should be helpful as well though!
I’ve posted this in the insider forum.
cheers,
Gabe