Which Roku TV should you buy on Black Friday 2021?

One of our favorite products to look out for among Black Friday deals is a Roku TV — always a smart move when you’re looking for the best Black Friday TV deals — and sales typically abound on one of the most popular smart TVs you can get. Whether you’re looking at the top-shelf Roku TV, or something a little more middle-ground, you’ll almost certainly find savings in the hundreds of dollars. And you’re going to get yourself quite the smart TV in the process.

• View Roku TV Black Friday deals at Best Buy

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Which Roku TV should you buy on Black Friday?

There are Black Friday Roku deals, and then there are Roku TV deals. And Roku makes it pretty easy to parse out its entire lineup of Roku TVs from its biggest partner, TCL. They’re categorized by specs (and price) in the following manner: 3-Series, 4-Series, 5-Series, 6-Series, and 8-Series. The higher the series number, the higher the quality and specs. And, of course, price. You’ll also see these listed as model numbers like S334, S435, S546, R635, Q825, etc. Those first two places — and specifically the second digit — are where to look.

The TCL Roku TVs all have a lot in common. First and foremost is that they’re all running the Roku operating system. You’ll also find support for things like HDR and the various audio formats, as well as voice control via Apple’s Siri, Amazon Alexa, or Google Assistant. Roku also has its own built-in voice controls, too. Plus you’ll have a bevy of HDMI inputs and audio outputs, so it should work with pretty much whatever you’ve got.

Start with the TCL 6-Series Roku TV

For most people, the 6-Series is where we’d start — especially given that it’s been upgraded in 2021 to a Mini-LED panel. In a nutshell, that means more control over contrast, which is what makes bright spots brighter and dark spots darker. It also means better color and high dynamic range And to that end, the 6-Series supports Dolby Vision for HDR, as well as Dolby Atmos for even better audio.

And you’ve got three display sizes available in the 6-Series — 55 inches, 65 inches, and 75 inches. Prices will vary depending on size, of course, but we’ve seen the 65-inch version drop down below $1,000 ahead of Black Friday.

As far as resolution goes, 4K is the standard for the 6-Series, but there’s also an upgrade to 8K resolution at 65 or 75 inches. Those come with a hefty increase in price tag, though.

• View TCL 6-Series Black Friday deals at Amazon

• View TCL 6-Series Black Friday deals at Best Buy

• View TCL 6-Series Black Friday deals at Walmart

• View TCL 6-Series Black Friday deals at Target

The upgrade: TCL 8-Series Roku TV

If you’re looking to spend more money over the 6-Series line of Roku TVs, then you’ll want to turn to the 8-Series. The big differences here are in the physical design — it eschews the angled feet for a pedestal base — and with somewhere in the neighborhood of 1,000 local dimming zones, far above the maximum number of 240 zones found in the 6-Series. (That number depends a on the total size of the display; a larger screen allows for more zones.)

The 8-Series is available in just two sizes — 65 inches or 75 inches. Like other Roku TVs, it also supports Dolby Vision, HDR10, and HLG, as well as Dolby Atmos for audio.

The 8-Series also shares the same processor and motion performance characteristics as the 6-Series. So, again, you’re looking at a better design and better panel. And more money out of your wallet.

• View TCL 8-Series Black Friday deals at Amazon

• View TCL 8-Series Black Friday deals at Best Buy

• View TCL 8-Series Black Friday deals at Walmart

• View TCL 8-Series Black Friday deals at Target