Articles tagged Home Theater

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JMGO’s Iris Ultra Max Wants to Be the Projector You Can Watch With the Lights On

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Displays, Home Entertainment,

JMGO Iris Ultra Max 4K triple-laser projector

Most projectors end up in a closet for one reason: you have to turn your living room into a cave to use them. Draw the blackout curtains, wait for dark, tell everyone to quit opening the fridge because the light spills onto the wall. That friction is why a lot of people buy a projector, use it twice, and go back to the TV.

At IFA in Berlin, JMGO built its whole pitch around solving exactly that. The new Iris Ultra Max is a 4K projector that runs at 120Hz, uses a triple-laser light engine, and claims up to 6,500 ISO lumens. That last number is the company betting it can throw a picture bright enough to survive a room with the lights on. It is now heading to markets outside China, with preorders opening September 4 and units shipping October 19.

Click to continue reading JMGO’s Iris Ultra Max Wants to Be the Projector You Can Watch With the Lights On


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The Google TV Streamer Costs $150 Now, and Google Isn’t Saying Why

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Google, Home Entertainment,

The Google TV Streamer set-top box and its remote

The Google TV Streamer launched in 2024 at $100. It costs $150 on the Google Store today. Same box, same 4GB of RAM, same 32GB of storage, same remote, 50 percent more money.

Google did not announce this. No blog post, no new product page explaining a new value proposition, no statement. The number on the store listing changed, Best Buy's listing changed with it, and if you had one sitting in a cart you found out by looking.

Click to continue reading The Google TV Streamer Costs $150 Now, and Google Isn’t Saying Why


The Govee TV Backlight 3 is the Smartest TV Upgrade You Can Make

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: HDTV, Home Entertainment, Smart Home,

When it comes to home entertainment, most people think they need a bigger TV to get a more immersive experience. But you don't need to drop thousands on a massive new panel. True immersion is less about the screen itself and more about the space around it.

The Govee TV Backlight 3 tackles exactly this. It bleeds your content onto the wall behind your TV. This expands your viewing area beyond the bezels in a way that is incredibly eye-catching.

What is in the box

Govee ships everything you need in one package. You get the LED strip, a camera bar to monitor the picture, a control box, corner clips to keep things stable, orange calibration squares, and a power adapter.

The Govee TV Backlight 3 box showing the dual-camera color sync feature and compatible TV sizes

You have two sizing options depending on your setup. The 11.8-foot version covers 55 to 65-inch screens. The larger 16.4-foot version fits 75 to 85-inch TVs.

Click to continue reading The Govee TV Backlight 3 is the Smartest TV Upgrade You Can Make


Gaming on the Hisense 100 Inch TV is MIND BLOWING!

Hisense 100-inch U75QN Mini-LED TV Review! This is Hisense’s newest 100-inch screen, and it’s wild. From gaming to movies, this massive display finally delivers brightness and contrast that hold up in real life.

I’ve been living with the 100-inch Hisense U75QN for the past couple of weeks: daytime streaming, late-night movies, long gaming sessions, and endless app-hopping. The Mini-LED panel handles daylight without washing out, and the blacks stay cinematic after dark. The built-in audio punches above its weight, but I still prefer external speakers. And yes, Google TV is nice and fluid.

If you’ve been wondering whether a 100-inch TV actually fits into your everyday life, this review breaks down what works, what doesn’t, and whether the Hisense U75QN earns its spot as one of the best 100-inch TVs you can buy.

Get the 100" Hisense U75QG at Amazon or Best Buy!


Amazon Fire TV Cube hands-on review, new AirPods 2 coming soon - Geared Up!

Amazon Fire TV Cube review

Amazon is trying to get its Alexa voice assistant into as many homes as possible. Its latest offering: The Fire TV Cube, which essentially turns any TV into a smart TV with Alexa voice control. We try it out live on this episode. The integration with certain apps, like Netflix and Hulu, is pretty cool. Simply saying "Alexa, play Stranger Things," opened the Netflix app and started playing right where we left off. Using voice control to fast forward, switch TV inputs and open apps also works well. But for other apps that aren't integrated, like Sling TV, the experience isn't quite so smooth. The box also doesn't work with over-the-air cable TV, as some reports said it would. In other news, Oculus announced a new virtual reality TV app this week, and some people are unimpressed. We also dive into a report that points to a new line of AirPods coming before the end of the year, including higher-end over-the-ear headphones.

Listen to the episode in the player below or subscribe to Geared Up in your favorite podcast app to listen on the go:


6 Things to Look for in a Home Theater Projector

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Editorial, HDTV, Home Entertainment,

Sony 4k projector

Buying a home projector sounds easy at first: You get a screen, you get a projector, you aim it at the screen – and presto, theater-like movie time! But reality quickly teaches us that home projectors are very cool, but also a little complicated. They don't follow the same rules as TV screens, and they have extra features to consider and choose between.

Click to continue reading 6 Things to Look for in a Home Theater Projector


Apple slashes price of Apple TV, now costs $69

Apple TV price cut

As part of Apple's Spring Forward event, the company announced a major price cut for Apple TV. After announcing that the brand new standalone streaming service, HBO Now, will launch exclusively on Apple devices this April, Tim Cook then followed up by letting the audience know that the Apple TV would be receiving a 30% price cut. The Apple TV now costs just $69, down from $99 previously. This is the same Apple TV that Apple has been selling for a few years, so no hardware changes here just yet--but it's good to see the price drop nonetheless. You can pick up an Apple TV at the new price right now.

Read More | Apple TV

TiVo Roamio Pro review

TiVo Roamio Pro review

What's exciting about the new TiVo Roamio DVR line is that it's been a while since TiVo last released some new hardware. Three and a half years, in fact. That's when the TiVo Premiere debuted, promising an HD interface and dual-core chip that was supposed to bring about speed and efficiency. Well, the Premiere failed to live up to the hype, and TiVo went back to the drawing board and spent a few years building Roamio.

TiVo Roamio is actually a line of three DVRs that range in price from $199 to $599, with four tuners built-in to the standard Roamio, and six tuners in the Roamio Plus and Pro models. The Plus and Pro also have integrated TiVo Stream functionality, too, allowing you to watch TiVo content on your iOS devices wherever you have Wi-Fi. Has TiVo done enough to earn your attention and hard-earned dollar with the Roamio DVR? Join us for our full TiVo Roamio Pro review as we answer just that.

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TiVo Roamio: Up to 6 tuners, 450 hours storage, remote streaming

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: HDTV, Home Entertainment,

TiVo Roamio Pro

TiVo has launched a trio of next-generation Series 5 DVRs in the new TiVo Roamio family. What makes Roamio so much better than Premiere? How about more of everything that people love about TiVo? We're talking more tuners, more space to store  your recordings, and even a less expensive service fee. The crowning feature, though, is that the TiVo Roamio boxes have both Wi-Fi and the ability to stream to mobile devices built right in--no need to purchase the TiVo Wi-Fi dongle, or the recently-released TiVo Stream.

It's been almost two years since TiVo released the Premiere Elite line of DVRs, and unlike the previous generation, the improvements in the Roamio line are immediately apparent. TiVo even says that Roamio is, on average, 1.7x faster than the previous TiVos, and that's a welcome change because browsing through the menus was a time-consuming experience at times. We go through all three Roamio DVRs after the break, but if you've been waiting for them and just want to buy now, here are the links:

Click to continue reading TiVo Roamio: Up to 6 tuners, 450 hours storage, remote streaming


TiVo Mini now available for $99

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Home Entertainment,

TiVo Mini with Remote

TiVo has finally launches the TiVo Mini, the first DVR extender offered by the company. Previously offered through a partnership to Suddenlink customers, the TiVo Mini allows the user to stream content from a TiVo Series 4 unit (either a Premiere 4 or XL4,) thus allowing you to view your recorded TiVo content on a television where you don't have a TiVo in the mix. You'll also have to make sure you can plug the TiVo Mini into Ethernet or MoCA, as that's another requirement--no Wi-Fi here. Additionally, you can also stream live TV to the mini as well, provided that one of your four tuners is available and free. Lastly, the Mini will also provide access to other services that tie into TiVo, like Netflix, Hulu Plus, and Pandora. Think of it as a TiVo Stream, but for another television instead of for your iOS devices.

You can pick up the TiVo Mini now for $99.99, and you'll have to pay a monthly subscription fee of $5.99 to use it. Alternatively, you can pay a one-time fee of $149.99 for a lifetime subscription, making the TiVo Mini actually cost $249.98.

Read More | TiVo Mini

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