Roku Just Revealed Its UK Smart Projectors: First Look

Roku is moving beyond streaming sticks and smart TVs. The company has announced the launch of its first smart projectors in the UK, partnering with two brands – Sharp and Aurzen – to bring the familiar Roku experience to a new form factor.

The two projectors – the Sharp H272 and the Aurzen D1R – are both 1080p Full HD smart projectors running Roku’s operating system.

They’re due to go on sale in June, with pricing not yet confirmed – though Roku says it will be competitive. I was at Roku’s launch event earlier this week and got a first look at the Aurzen D1R in action – more on that below.

Roku in the UK

For those not already familiar with Roku: the company is the number one TV streaming platform in the US, Canada and Mexico, and has been steadily building its UK presence over the past few years.

That push has come in a few waves. In 2025, Roku launched a refreshed lineup of streaming sticks in the UK – the Streaming Stick (HD) at £29.99, the Streaming Stick Plus at £39.99, and the Streaming Stick 4K at £49.99 (see our comparison).

The Streaming Stick Plus currently sits at the top of our best streaming device guide for 2026, largely on the strength of its clean, simple interface and strong value for money.

In recent years, Roku has also been expanding into smart TVs, partnering with brands including Hisense, JVC, TCL and Sharp – the last of which launched its first Roku QLED TV in the UK earlier this month, with Freely built in. The projectors represent the next step in that expansion – a new product category for Roku in the UK entirely.

Richard Halton, Country Manager at Roku UK, said: “Projectors have long promised a cinematic experience, but often they’ve lacked the simplicity and intelligence consumers expect.

“With Roku TV Smart Projectors, we’re bringing the seamless streaming experience Roku users know and love to an exciting new form factor – making big-screen entertainment more accessible than ever.”

Doubling Down On Simplicity

Roku’s pitch with the projectors is essentially the same one it made with the sticks – and it’s a convincing one, because the problem it’s solving is real.

Many cheap smart projectors have a reputation for being a nightmare to use. You’ll often find streaming apps on one part of the interface, a murky Chinese app store somewhere else, and a completely separate settings module that seems to belong to a different device entirely.

Not all budget projectors are like this – but enough of them are that it’s become a genuine frustration for buyers who expected something simple and got something bewildering instead.

Roku’s answer is to run everything through the Roku OS from the moment you turn the device on. Setup is guided step by step. The interface, once you’re up and running, is the same clean Roku home screen you’d recognise from the sticks.

One remote, one system, one experience throughout.

Part of that simplicity also comes through in the auto-focus and auto-keystone correction, which activates every time you power the projector on – or whenever you move it.

That means no fiddling with settings each time you shift position or pack it away between uses.

On the streaming side, the projectors give you access to the full Roku app library – Netflix, Prime Video, Disney+, BBC iPlayer, ITVX, Channel 4, 5, NOW, HBO Max, and thousands more.

There’s also The Roku Channel, which now includes 50+ free ad-supported FAST channels – up from the 40+ that launched in the UK last October.

It’s worth being clear about what the live TV experience looks like on these projectors. Like Roku’s streaming sticks, they have no tuner built in – so there’s no Freeview Play integration and no unified live TV guide pulling in UK broadcaster channels.

You can still watch live TV through the individual apps – BBC iPlayer, ITVX, and others- which offer their own live streams, and the FAST channels section gives you a linear TV-style experience for free content.

But it’s not the same as a Roku TV with an aerial connection, or a Freely device that gives you a true streaming-based EPG.

Other features include Bluetooth connectivity for pairing wireless speakers or soundbars, a Bluetooth headphone mode for private listening, Apple AirPlay support, and full integration with the Roku mobile app for voice controls and remote functionality.

The Two Projectors

Both the Sharp H272 and the Aurzen D1R share the same core spec sheet in most respects, but there are a few differences.

The Aurzen D1R has the edge on brightness – 280 ANSI lumens versus the Sharp’s 200 – and the stronger speakers at 2×5W compared to 2×3W.

The Sharp H272 can project a larger image, up to 120 inches versus 100 inches on the Aurzen, though it’s worth keeping in mind that projecting a bigger image with fewer lumens means a dimmer picture.

It’s also worth being upfront about the brightness figures in general. Both of these projectors are on the lower end of the brightness scale – 280 lumens is modest, and 200 lumens is quite dim.

These will perform best in a darkened room; in a bright living room with the curtains open, you’ll likely find the image washes out. That’s not unusual for projectors at these price points, but it’s something to factor in before buying.

Pricing hasn’t been announced yet for either model, but Roku says it will be competitive. For context, a similar Roku smart projector launched in the US last year at around £160 – if UK pricing lands in that region, these could represent solid value, though the brightness limitations are worth factoring into that equation.

On availability: the Aurzen D1R will be on Amazon from June. The Sharp H272 will be in Asda from June, followed by Tesco from July.

Hands-On First Impressions

I had the chance to see the Aurzen D1R in action at a Roku launch event earlier this week. The Sharp H272 was also present at the event, but wasn’t switched on during the demo – so these impressions are based on the Aurzen only.

As always with a controlled demo environment, take this as a first look rather than a full review.

The first thing that struck me was the size. The Aurzen D1R is noticeably compact and light – easy to pick up and move around, which matters if you’re planning to use one in different rooms or pack it away between uses.

These aren’t the chunky boxes you might associate with older home projectors.

On picture quality, the Aurzen D1R looked good in the darkened demo room – even projected directly onto a plain wall rather than a professional screen. Given the lumen figures on paper, that was more reassuring than I expected. The image was sharp and the colours held up well.

The Roku interface felt immediately familiar – the same clean home screen you get on the sticks, snappy and easy to navigate. The auto-focus and auto-keystone correction worked smoothly each time the projector was moved, adjusting the image automatically without any manual input needed.

The bigger picture here is what Roku is actually trying to do with these projectors – and it’s the same thing it did with the sticks. The budget projector market has a real usability problem, and Roku is positioning itself as the simple, sensible alternative.

Whether the overall package – specs, pricing, and real-world performance – lives up to that pitch is something we’ll need more time with to judge properly. But as a first look, the signs are encouraging.

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