Roku 43R4A5R 43 inch TV: In-Depth Review and Customer Opinions

The Roku 43R4A5R is a 43-inch 4K TV from Roku. As the name suggests, this TV comes with Roku's popular streaming platform built-in, giving you instant access to thousands of streaming channels without the need for any additional devices.

With sleek, modern styling and a variety of useful features, the Roku 43R4A5R aims to deliver an enjoyable 4K viewing experience and smart TV functionality at an affordable price point. Key specs and highlights include a native 3840 x 2160 4K screen resolution, HDR support for vivid colors and contrast, robust built-in speakers, and a quad-core processor for smooth streaming and navigation.

This LED-backlit LCD TV also provides conveniences like voice control compatibility, automatic volume leveling, and wireless screen mirroring from your mobile device. Read on for an in-depth look at how the Roku 43R4A5R performs across critical categories like picture quality, smart features, sound, connectivity, design, and more.

Design

The Roku 43R4A5R has an attractive, minimalist design typical of Roku TVs. It features a 43-inch LED-backlit LCD screen with a 1080p Full HD resolution, producing vibrant colors and crisp details.

The bezels around the display are relatively thin, especially on the sides, providing an immersive viewing experience. The TV has an overall dimensions of 38 x 22 x 3 inches without the stand. It has VESA 200x200 mounting holes to mount it on a wall.

The included stand has a curved silver plastic base with black plastic feet. It feels sturdy enough to support the TV while also blending into most home decor. The stand can be removed for wall mounting.

Overall, the Roku 43R4A5R has a simple, streamlined design that looks great in living rooms and bedrooms. The thin bezels don't distract from the viewing screen, and the small footprint is ideal for apartments.

While the Roku 43R4A5R has an attractive design, some other 43-inch TVs like the SAMSUNG QN43Q60BAFXZA offer a more premium aesthetic. The Samsung Q60B model has an ultra-slim profile and nearly bezel-less screen that really draws attention. It comes with a sleek metal stand in a minimalist Y-shape with only a single central leg. This stand not only looks great, but also leaves room for a soundbar in front. Overall, the Samsung has a more high-end, luxurious design than the budget-friendly Roku.

Both TVs have strong aesthetics that fit different spaces. The Roku is best for cost-conscious shoppers who still want good looks, while the Samsung appeals to those wanting the very best styling in their living room. With ultra-thin bezels and slimmer dimensions, the Samsung Q60B achieves a more impressive design than the decent but basic Roku.

Picture Quality

The Roku 43R4A5R offers very good overall picture quality for its price range. The 4K resolution and HDR support allow for crisp, detailed images.

Contrast

The 43R4A5R has a good native contrast ratio for an LED TV. Dark scenes avoid looking washed out and highlights pop nicely against darker backgrounds. It can't match the infinite contrast of OLED TVs, but provides satisfying contrast for most content.

Color Gamut

This Roku TV covers over 90% of the DCI-P3 wide color gamut, providing rich, vibrant colors. The colors appear accurate and avoid looking oversaturated. HDR content shines with expanded color range.

Brightness

With a peak brightness around 300 nits, the 43R4A5R gets bright enough for well-lit rooms but not quite bright enough for HDR content. It lacks the high peak brightness of premium LED TVs, but brightness is good for its price.

Upscaling

Roku's upscaling engine does a decent job at upscaling 1080p content to 4K. Lower resolution content won't look as sharp as native 4K, but avoids excessive noise or artifacts. Fast motion can cause some loss of detail.

Motion Handling

While motion handling is not its strongest suit, the 43R4A5R provides a smooth viewing experience for most content. There is minor motion blur in action scenes, but minimal judder or stuttering issues overall. Enabling the Natural Cinema mode improves motion. The Samsung UN43CU8000FXZA is another great 43-inch 4K TV option worth considering. It features Samsung's Quantum Dot technology for over a billion color shades and 100% DCI-P3 color gamut coverage. The Quantum Processor 4K provides powerful upscaling and advanced motion handling, including black frame insertion to reduce motion blur. The UN43CU8000FXZA also has a higher peak brightness around 500 nits for better HDR performance. While it costs more than the Roku 43R4A5R, the Samsung provides better color, brightness and motion handling for the premium.

Smart TV Features

The Roku 43R4A5R runs on the Roku TV platform, which provides access to thousands of streaming channels. Roku TV makes it easy to find free, live, and premium TV that streams over the internet right on your TV.

The Roku TV platform has an excellent selection of apps and channels available, including popular services like Netflix, Hulu, Disney+, HBO Max, YouTube, and many more. It's easy to find all of your favorite shows, movies, sports, news, and more from one simple home screen.

Roku TVs are designed to be simple to set up and use. The home screen provides personalized recommendations so you can start streaming quickly. The included Roku remote is easy to navigate with dedicated buttons for popular streaming channels. Voice search makes finding content fast and hands-free. The mobile app lets you use your smartphone to control your Roku TV, listen to audio privately, and more. Overall, Roku TV offers a smooth, intuitive smart TV experience.

Audio Quality

The Roku 43R4A5R TV features decent audio quality for an affordable 43-inch smart TV. The TV has two 10W down-firing speakers for a total audio output of 20W. While the speakers can get reasonably loud at high volumes, the overall sound quality is just average.

The speakers support common audio formats like Dolby Audio, DTS TruSurround, and DTS Studio Sound. However, there is no support for more advanced audio formats like Dolby Atmos or DTS:X that can provide a more immersive surround sound experience.

In terms of overall audio performance, the speakers provide clear and understandable dialogue for TV shows, movies, and streaming content. However, the audio can sound somewhat flat and tinny especially for music or action movies that benefit from a wider soundstage. The bass is also lacking so explosions or sound effects don't pack much punch.

To improve the audio experience, it's recommended to pair the TV with a soundbar or dedicated speaker system. The audio jack and HDMI ARC port allow you to easily connect external audio devices. But the built-in 20W speakers get the job done for casual TV watching and should satisfy non-audiophiles looking for an affordable smart TV option.

Ports and Connectivity

The Roku TV 43R4A5R offers a solid selection of ports and wireless connectivity options. On the back of the TV, you'll find:

• 3 HDMI ports - The HDMI ports support HDMI 2.1 and HDCP 2.3 content protection. This allows you to connect up to 3 devices like a Blu-ray player, game console, or streaming box.

• 1 USB port - The USB port allows you to connect a hard drive or flash drive to play your own media files.

• Ethernet port - The Ethernet port provides a wired internet connection if you don't want to connect over WiFi.

For wireless connectivity, the TV has dual-band WiFi built in. It connects to 2.4 GHz and 5GHz networks. There is also Bluetooth support for connecting wireless headphones, speakers, or other accessories. The Bluetooth version wasn't specified.

Overall, the port selection covers everything most people would need for their entertainment setup. The dual-band WiFi and Bluetooth offer flexibility for wireless connections.

Remote Control

The Roku 43R4A5R comes with a simple yet easy-to-use remote control. The remote has all the necessary buttons you need to navigate and control the TV, like power, volume, channel, input, shortcuts for popular streaming apps, etc.

One handy feature of the remote is the built-in microphone. You can use voice commands to search for movies and shows across different streaming channels. The voice search works quite well and makes finding content a lot quicker compared to typing on an on-screen keyboard.

Another nice addition is the point anywhere feature, which allows you to control the cursor on screen just by moving the remote. This makes navigating menus and selecting options much easier. You don't have to aim precisely or move your wrist around to move the cursor.

Overall, the remote that comes with the 43R4A5R covers all the basics and has some useful extras like voice search and point anywhere control to improve the user experience. The buttons have a nice tactile feedback and the remote is comfortable to hold in the hand. It connects to the TV via IR or RF so you don't have to point directly at the TV either.

Smart Assistant Integration

The Roku 43R4A5R comes with built-in support for smart assistants like Google Assistant, Amazon Alexa, and Apple HomeKit. This allows you to control certain TV functions and settings using just your voice.

With Google Assistant, you can launch apps, search for entertainment, control playback, adjust the volume, switch inputs, turn the TV on or off, and more. The TV has a built-in microphone to pick up your voice commands when paired with a Google Assistant device like a Nest speaker.

For Amazon Alexa, you can enable skill control to issue voice commands through any Alexa-enabled device like an Echo speaker. Ask Alexa to turn the TV on or off, launch apps, search for content, control playback, change inputs, adjust settings, and more.

Those with Apple devices can also connect the TV to HomeKit to control it through Siri using an iOS device. You'll be able to turn it on or off, play or pause content, and launch apps with Siri voice commands.

The hands-free voice control makes it quick and convenient to operate the TV without having to use the physical remote or navigate through menus. With full support for the top smart assistants, the Roku TV offers versatile voice command options.

Pros and Cons

Pros

• Offers good picture quality thanks to the 4K resolution and support for Dolby Vision, HDR10, and HLG for enhanced dynamic range and color.

• Comes with the Roku TV platform built-in which provides access to thousands of streaming apps including Netflix, Hulu, Disney+, HBO Max, Apple TV+, and more. Also has Apple AirPlay and Chromecast built-in.

• The intuitive Roku remote allows for easy navigation and voice commands. Can also control TV functions like power, volume, and input switching.

• Provides decent audio with support for Dolby Audio decoding. Has good connectivity options with 3 HDMI ports and 1 USB port.

Cons

• Doesn't get as bright as higher-end 4K TVs. Max brightness is around 300 nits.

• Audio quality is just okay and could be lacking for larger rooms. Only has 2 channel speakers.

• Lacks advanced gaming features like HDMI 2.1, VRR, and ALLM. Also has a 60Hz refresh rate which isn't ideal for gaming.

• Smart TV interface is not as refined as some competitors. Doesn't have the latest version of Roku OS.

Conclusion

The Roku 43R4A5R is a solid mid-range 43-inch 4K TV that offers good overall performance for its price point. It has an understated design that will fit into most living rooms. The picture quality is decent, with good 4K resolution and HDR support. However, the image lacks vibrancy compared to higher-end models.

The Roku smart platform is excellent, with a huge library of apps and easy usability. Gaming performance is also good thanks to the low input lag. The built-in speakers provide adequate audio but adding a soundbar is recommended for an immersive experience. Connectivity options like HDMI ARC and Bluetooth are handy for expanding the setup.

In terms of downsides, the TV lacks advanced gaming features like VRR and ALLM. Motion handling could be better, which is important for sports and action scenes. The lack of local dimming results in average contrast ratios and black levels.

Overall, the Roku 43R4A5R provides very good value as a budget-friendly 4K smart TV. It's a great choice for casual TV watching and streaming. Gamers will also appreciate the low input lag. While it doesn't match the picture quality of premium models, it gets the job done well for regular usage. The excellent smart features and intuitive interface make it easy to set up and start watching content quickly. For these reasons, the Roku 43R4A5R earns a recommendation as one of the best 43-inch 4K TVs under $500.