Is Roku Pro Series TV 65-inch Worth It? Honest Review (2026)

Mini-LED Backlight With Full-Array Local Dimming — a First for Roku

Roku's previous step-up model, the Plus Series, used a direct-lit LED backlight with no local dimming, which meant black levels were essentially whatever the panel could do on its own. The Pro Series changes that with a mini-LED backlight divided into independently dimmable zones. In practice, this is what separates the two sets: dark scenes in films and prestige TV actually read as dark rather than washed grey, letterbox bars stay black, and bright objects against dark backgrounds have real separation.

Roku doesn't publish an official zone count, and independent testing has consistently found the Pro Series well below the zone density of comparably priced Hisense and TCL mini-LED sets. That's a genuine limitation, covered in the cons section, but it shouldn't obscure the main point: this is a meaningfully better picture than any Roku TV that came before it, and better than most edge-lit sets in the same price range.

The benefit is most obvious in dark-room viewing — a space documentary, a nighttime thriller, anything with a lot of shadow detail. If you're upgrading from an older LED TV without local dimming, the improvement will be immediately visible rather than something you have to look for.

A 120Hz Panel With the HDMI 2.1 Features Console Owners Actually Need

All four HDMI inputs are present, one carries eARC for a soundbar or receiver, and the set supports 4K at 120Hz, variable refresh rate, and auto low-latency mode. For a PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X, that means you can run performance modes at 120fps without dropping to 1080p, and VRR smooths out frame-rate dips that would otherwise show as stutter.

The 120Hz panel earns its keep outside of gaming too. Sports broadcast at 60Hz look cleaner, camera pans in films hold together better, and you get the option of motion interpolation if you like it — though most buyers will prefer leaving that off. Roku's implementation isn't as sophisticated as Sony's or LG's, but the baseline motion handling is solid for the price.

One practical note: the set auto-switches into game mode when it detects a console, so you don't have to dig through menus before every session. Input lag in game mode is low enough that competitive players won't be blaming the television.

Roku OS Remains the Easiest Smart TV Interface to Hand Someone a Remote

Roku's platform has one structural advantage over Google TV, webOS, and Tizen: it has no dog in the fight. Search results are presented neutrally across services rather than nudging you toward the manufacturer's own content or a partner's catalog. If you search for a film, you get told which services have it and at what price, in a single list.

The Live TV Channel Guide is genuinely useful and free — it aggregates hundreds of ad-supported streaming channels into something that behaves like a cable guide. For households that miss the rhythm of channel surfing, it's a small feature that gets used more than expected.

Universal "Continue Watching" pulls partially-viewed titles from multiple apps into one row on the home screen, and the app selection is as complete as any platform's. If the television is shared with family members or guests who aren't tech-comfortable, the learning curve here is close to zero.

The Included Voice Remote Pro Beats Nearly Every Pack-In Remote

Roku ships the Pro Series with its upgraded Voice Remote Pro rather than the basic remote, and that's roughly a $30 accessory included in the box. It's rechargeable over USB-C (no AA batteries to hunt for), and the lost-remote finder — triggered by voice or the Roku app — is the kind of feature you don't appreciate until the remote has vanished into a couch cushion.

Hands-free voice control means you can say "Hey Roku, pause" without pressing a button, which sounds gimmicky until you're in the middle of something and your hands are full. The built-in headphone jack supports private listening, so you can watch without disturbing anyone else in the room, and the remote pairs directly to the TV rather than passing audio through your phone.

The remote also has two programmable shortcut buttons, which Roku added in response to a long-standing complaint about its fixed service buttons. It's a smaller point, but it's the difference between a remote you tolerate and one you like.

Both Dolby Vision IQ and HDR10+ Support, Which Most Brands Skip

Most manufacturers pick a side in the HDR format war. Samsung doesn't support Dolby Vision at all. LG's OLEDs don't support HDR10+. Roku supports both, plus standard HDR10 and HLG.

The practical effect is that you get correct tone mapping regardless of source. Netflix and Disney+ lean heavily on Dolby Vision; Prime Video has substantial HDR10+ content. On a single-format set, one of those catalogs falls back to standard HDR10 and loses some of its grading intent.

Dolby Vision IQ adds light-sensor-driven adjustment, which brightens or dims the picture based on room conditions. It's a convenience feature rather than a picture-quality one, and purists will turn it off — but it does help in a bright living room during the day.

Slim Design and a Speaker Array That Avoids the Thin-TV Muffle

Roku designed the Pro Series with side-firing speaker drivers rather than the downward-firing arrangement common on slim televisions. Roku's claim is that this keeps dialogue clearer and reduces the boxy, congested sound that thin panels usually produce. It's a real improvement over most built-in TV audio, even if it doesn't approach a dedicated soundbar.

The cabinet is slim with narrow bezels, and it uses a standard VESA mounting pattern, so existing wall mounts and articulating arms should work without adapters. The set is light enough for a two-person install on most walls.

For anyone planning to wall-mount in a living room where the TV is seen from the side as often as head-on, the thin profile matters — a deep cabinet on a flush mount looks awkward from an angle.

Strong Value Now That Street Pricing Sits Well Below Launch

At its $1,199 launch price, the Pro Series was a harder sell against mini-LED competitors offering more brightness and more dimming zones for similar money. That argument has weakened considerably as pricing has fallen. At typical discounted pricing in the $800–$900 range, the calculus shifts: you're paying mid-range money for a set with local dimming, a 120Hz panel, and the least annoying smart platform available.

It also slots naturally into the Roku ecosystem. If you already own Roku wireless speakers or a Roku subwoofer, the TV integrates with them directly. If you don't, the set works fine standalone and doesn't require any Roku-specific accessories to function.