Pocket-lint

Smart TVs need to stop making this HDMI compromise

Eli Becht — Thu, 18 Jun 2026 17:57:58 GMT

Smart TVs are everywhere these days, and it feels like you need to go out of your way to get one without those capabilities. It's nice to have access to a variety of streaming apps, but these TVs have more to offer than that. I would argue that the ports included on your TV matter more than anything, and it's something you should definitely pay attention to if you have several devices to plug in at once.

Is a Mac suited to being a TV media streamer? You bet

Roger Fingas — Thu, 18 Jun 2026 17:30:20 GMT

If you're a relatively casual home theater enthusiast, you might have no idea that there's an entire subculture devoted to homebrew TV solutions. And that's understandable -- most people just want to sit back and watch Frasier, Smiling Friends, or The Punisher without worrying about the optimal way of doing it. Some people have specific ambitions, however, or enjoy the tinkering process for its own sake.

From 8-track tapes to CDs - how every music format really measures up

John Kanellakos — Thu, 18 Jun 2026 16:36:26 GMT

Through the ages, we've seen several physical music formats come and go. These mediums are each very much a product of their time, with distinct strengths, weaknesses, and attributes that make them wholly unique from one another.

The next Apple TV could be the last - and it's not for the reason you think

Craig Donaldson — Thu, 18 Jun 2026 15:36:20 GMT

A new Apple TV 4K has been on the horizon for what feels like forever. The current third-generation model launched back in 2022, and for the past year or so, rumors and reports have consistently suggested that a new Apple TV 4K with upgraded hardware is just around the corner.

Why aspect ratios are still a big deal on your TV

Roger Fingas — Thu, 18 Jun 2026 11:01:18 GMT

Many of you are probably too young to remember, but for a while in the 1980s and '90s, a battle raged between the backers of fullscreen and widescreen VHS tapes. Fullscreen, at the time, meant 4:3, the ratio most TVs were sold in. Supporters wanted their video to fill up the whole screen, no matter that most movies were shot in 16:9 (or wider), inevitably losing some of their content in the home transition. Widescreen champions were okay with black bars and a smaller picture so long as it meant getting the entire image.

8k TVs aren't worth the investment - but these smart TVS are

Anthony Marcusa — Thu, 18 Jun 2026 00:00:13 GMT

As TV manufacturers continue to innovate, seeking to create a more detailed, immersive home entertainment experience, there are some hits and misses when it comes to smart TVs. A pursuit that falls into the latter category, at least for the time being, involves 8K resolution. It makes sense that companies would strive for this highly detailed resolution: there was 720p, then 1080, and then 4K resolution. It follows that 8K would be the next mountain to scale.

HDMI 2.2 is almost here - but there's a catch

Craig Donaldson — Wed, 17 Jun 2026 20:58:28 GMT

When I first read about the new HDMI 2.2 specification, I was pretty excited. Unveiled at CES 2025 and officially released later that year, HDMI 2.2 offers a lot of promise. For starters, it can deliver up to twice the bandwidth of HDMI 2.1, reaching up to 96 Gbps, while supporting significantly higher resolutions and refresh rates, including 4K at 480Hz, 8K at 240Hz, 12K at 120Hz, and even 16K at 60Hz.

One of the greatest westerns of all time is free to stream - if you're fast

Craig Donaldson — Wed, 17 Jun 2026 18:12:44 GMT

One of my favorite film genres is, without a doubt, the western. There's something about the high stakes, lawlessness, and action in these movies that I just love, and I think it's more than fair to say that the western genre has given us some of the most memorable films of all time. A few of my favorites that spring to mind are Tombstone, No Country for Old Men, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, and the original The Magnificent Seven (1960).

I found help for my DVD and Blu-ray collection in the most unlikely place

John Kanellakos — Wed, 17 Jun 2026 17:02:34 GMT

I've been on a physical media kick as of late, scooping up as many albums, series, and films as I possibly can. I love owning and collecting various pieces of media, displaying them on a shelf, comparing and contrasting different mediums, and simply enjoying the entire process from start to finish.

Apple TV simply can't continue this way

Roger Fingas — Wed, 17 Jun 2026 17:00:20 GMT

When Apple TV -- then Apple TV+ -- first premiered in 2019, I wasn't fully convinced it would last. Knowing Apple, I figured it would give the service a couple of years, since it has at least that much patience (see the iPhone mini). But there was very little to watch at first, and all of it was original. The company was literally giving subscriptions away, in many circumstances. Despite a modest $5 monthly pricetag, you were eligible for a full year if you bought an Apple device, and it was tossed in automatically if you were a student subscriber to Apple Music.