Google gave their little Chromecast streaming device a makeover—mainly an aesthetic one. With a price unchanged since its debut in 2015, it (still) streams in 1080p using 5GHz wi-fi and uses your phone for the remote. This update gave it a matte finish case in the original form factor. Given Roku & Amazon’s latest streaming stick offerings, a 4K Chromecast seems like the next likely upgrade.
Amazon’s all new & quite small Fire TV Stick 4K is the brand’s most powerful streaming stick to date. 80% more powerful than the last model, it features a new quad-core processor & wi-fi enabling flawless streaming of UHD & HDR content. It also comes with an Alexa-enabled remote for voice-controlled convenience.
The Caavo Control Center is a slick little device that allows you to combine your sound system and TV for the ultimate home viewing & listening experience, all in one device. It manages your entire entertainment experience: cable/satellite, streaming media players, and gaming consoles. Just connect everything to Control Center and hook it up to your TV and sound system. It supports 4K UHD, HDR and Dolby Atmos so you can enjoy the most realistic picture quality and incredible surround sound. It comes bundled with a universal remote as well.
Roku is killing it with their tiny, portable streaming sticks. And with their two new 4k HDR players, the Premier & Premiere+, they’re bringing prices down even further. The Premiere+ includes a voice remote, while the Premiere has a standard infrared remote. Both feature a very capable quad core processor. At $40 & $50 respectively, you really have no reason not to cut the cord.
With both LCD & OLED models, Sony’s Master Series 4K HD TVs, according to the brand, “provide image quality approaching that of a professional monitor in a production studio” for your home viewing pleasure. There are two new models: the A9F (OLED) and the Z9F (LED), which includes the X1 Ultimate picture processor, the most powerful chip Sony has put in a TV yet. Sony has also worked with Netflix to develop Netflix Calibrated Mode to reproduce the same picture quality as a studio evaluation master. Both will be available this fall.
The Kodak Wireless WiFi Portable Projector is a tiny box that makes a big screen up to 100-inches. It’s a DLP Pico LED 1080p HD mini projector that supports Android Miracast, iOS Apple Airplay, plus smartphones and other content delivery devices like gaming consoles, and computers, all via cable-free wifi. It’s rechargeable, has built-in speakers, as well as ports for HDMI and Micro SD card.
The Nebula Mars II from Anker is a compact, battery-powered DLP projector that combines Android 7.1 and all its apps with an indoor/outdoor 720p projector. Stream wirelessly from YouTube, Netflix, Plex and other apps, plug in your HDMI device, or a USB stick loaded with content, connect your computer, or game console. Whatever you want. It’s got a 4-hour battery life, integrated speakers & is small enough to take camping, to the beach, BBQ, or backyard movie night.
LG continues its push to rule the realm of home projectors with the new HU80K. This model can create a 150-inch screen at an amazing 2,500 lumens, making this LG’s brightest projector which also supports HDR content. A pair of built-in 7W speakers creates an immersive audio experience without the need for external soundbars or speakers.
Samsung’s new line of QLED 4K TVs feature improved color, mainly better blacks and ship with the brand’s Bixby voice assistant technology as well as a dashboard for their SmartThings smart home platform, so you can control smart home devices from your screen. They also feature an “ambient” mode that allows them to blend in with your wall. There are 4 models in the lineup ranging in size from 49 to 82 inches.
Designed to bring the IMAX viewing experience to a VR headset, Cinego’s Android-powered headset allows viewers to watch 4K HD, 3D, and VR content in the comfort of home with a super-lightweight and comfortable headset that uses dual AMOLED displays to reduce eye strain. It streams YouTube & Netflix and also has 32GB of storage for your own content.
Every year, big screens are a big part of the CES hype. This year, Samsung is snagging headlines for their 146-inch 4K display called simply, “The Wall” that utilizes not LCD, not OLED but, wait for it… MicroLED. This technology is like tiny-tiny lightbulbs used to combine each pixel in the screen’s display, we can only assume that it’s awesome. No word yet on pricing or availability.
Cinera is a home theater headset designed to bring the immersive audio and video experience of an iMax movie theater into your home. 4 times sharper than cinema resolution, the headset feeds your eyes with 5K UHD clarity via dual 2.5K displays—one for each eye. It also features enhanced 3-D, and can be worn as a headset or viewed with the Burden Free Arm, a stress-free universal mount for when you don’t want to wear a theater on your head. A funded Kickstarter.
Stunning 4K HDR video output is now possible with Apple TV. If you have been putting off the inevitable big screen upgrade to 4K due to a lack of good stuff to watch, then this might convince you to blow some cash pretty soon. The box runs on the A10X processor, the same one in the iPad Pro. Aside from streaming titles from iTunes, it will also play 4K content from your beloved Netflix as well as Amazon.
Continuing their push to be the single-source for all your home entertainment tech, Bang & Olufsen has teamed up with LG to create the BeoVision Eclipse 4K OLED TV which features a built-in 450-Watt sound system. LG’s WebOS 3.5 allows users to access & customize streaming services like Netflix and YouTube as well as Spotify, ChromeCast, and AirPlay. Available in 55 and 65-inch sizes, it can also be expanded by adding any and all of Bang & Olufsen’s BeoLab speakers.
LG has just unveiled two new home projectors, both are short-throw designs, meaning they can project up onto the wall from just a few inches away, giving you more freedom in smaller spaces. The Pro Beam UST projects a 100-inch full HD image onto your wall from just 4.7 inches away. The MiniBeam LED model is made for portability, with a 9k mAh battery and USB-C port for plugging into your mobile devices.
