Pocket-lint

Rumors of Blu-ray's demise are greatly exaggerated

John Kanellakos — Tue, 16 Jun 2026 19:14:28 GMT

Blu-ray's days are numbered.

Binge this Emmy-winning series for free before Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey

Eli Becht — Tue, 16 Jun 2026 17:47:38 GMT

Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey is one of the most anticipated movies of the year, and people crashed the AMC Theaters website signing up for tickets in IMAX. That tracks when you consider how well-received Nolan's films have been over the past several years -- omitting the divisive Tenet, of course. Fortunately, I don't have a true IMAX screen near me, so I was able to get tickets for opening night quite easily.

You probably don't need this expensive home theater addition - but I know you want it

Roger Fingas — Tue, 16 Jun 2026 17:30:17 GMT

If there's a universal cliché for an audiophile, it's probably a room full of giant floorstanding speakers, perhaps hooked up to a record player and a tube amp direct from Fallout. That image exists for a reason -- some real-world floor setups can cost tens of thousands of dollars, and I'm sure the richest among us might drop as much on one as you or I might on a house.

Plex just added even more free channels to its lineup of over 600

Craig Donaldson — Tue, 16 Jun 2026 17:20:40 GMT

Usually, when I recommend a free streaming service to a friend or family member for the first time, one of the first questions I get is: "Is there actually anything good on it to watch?" And that's a fair question. Most people associate the biggest movies and TV shows with paid streaming services like Netflix and HBO Max.

IMAX Enhanced doesn't do what you think it does on your TV

Roger Fingas — Tue, 16 Jun 2026 15:00:22 GMT

When you're shopping for home theater tech, there's always the pressure of the upsell. You might be looking at basicQLEDs, but find yourself talked (or simply tempted) into buying a mini-LED or OLED instead. And once you head down that road, you discover that there are other specs you can chase, like 144Hz refresh rates or absurd levels of color accuracy. There are some TVs and projectors that claim 100% coverage of the BT.2020 color space, despite the fact that you probably won't notice most of those colors in any conscious way.

Regular DVDs are still big sellers in 2026 - and I decided to find out why

John Kanellakos — Tue, 16 Jun 2026 14:53:39 GMT

If there's one thing that's remained a constant in the physical media space throughout the first quarter of the 21st century, it's the proliferation of the DVD optical media format. Despite first hitting the market in the late 90s, the venerable DVD has remained a staple of home entertainment through to today.

The Apple TV 4K is about to make history, but not in a good way

Craig Donaldson — Tue, 16 Jun 2026 14:33:24 GMT

Apple is rumored to be launching several new devices this fall, including the iPhone 18 Pro, the Apple Watch Series 12, and, at long last, its highly anticipated foldable iPhone. And don't get me wrong, I'm looking forward to seeing all of those devices in action. But as someone who loves testing and using different streaming hardware, there's really only one Apple device I'm truly clamoring for right now: a new Apple TV 4K.

The Hisense U6SF is bringing MiniLED picture quality to more homes than ever

Sponsored — Tue, 16 Jun 2026 13:01:02 GMT

MiniLED has been one of the most talked-about developments in TV technology over the past few years, and for good reason. By packing thousands of tiny LEDs into the backlight and controlling them independently, it delivers a level of precision over light and shadow that older display technologies simply can't match. The result is pictures that look more like the real world: deeper blacks, brighter highlights, and colors that feel genuinely vivid rather than artificially boosted.

4 USB-C features that blew me away the first time I used them

Eli Becht — Tue, 16 Jun 2026 11:01:15 GMT

We're well into the USB-C era, but it feels like I'm still finding out about new things that it can do each day. Aside from the obvious ones like charging your phone, USB-C can do quite a bit. It helps that it's a high-speed cable, at least if you have the correct one, and can send data back and forth. This versatility opens up even more when you add hubs into the mix. The point is that a USB-C cable can do a lot of things that you might not know about.

Soundbar vs. surround sound - what every home theater owner needs to know

Saeed Wazir — Tue, 16 Jun 2026 11:01:15 GMT

After spending hundreds or even thousands of dollars on a TV, you might as well add a new soundbar or surround sound system to upgrade its audio performance. The truth is that most TVs have an average sound quality, and it's only gotten worse as their designs have become slimmer and have less space for components.