TV & Home Theatre

Sharp and Insignia Roku TV models will be available for purchase this month at Best Buy stores in Canada and from BestBuy.ca. By becoming the default Smart TV software on these HDTVs, Roku OS  enables quick and easy access to tons of content and online services for connected TVs.  

Spring’s a time when we think about starting fresh. The weather starts to turn, things start to grow, and we start taking stock of our lives and our homes. Spring is also a time when many of us take a look around our houses and want to make changes. Our spring home remodel series is a great place to get some ideas for your next project, and this week, I’m going to look at how to jazz up (or create from scratch) a fabulous home theatre.

Upscaling and upconverting features, which help make non-native video look presentable on larger resolution displays, have been with us for a while now but have become more important considerations for 4K and Ultra HD TV buyers. With various models are coming down in price, there’s a greater range of display sizes available, making 4K and Ultra HD TVs more viable for consumers

            In Part 5 of our TV Features Explained series, we look at the importance of contrast ratio and black level … and whether you can trust the huge numbers manufacturers list for these specs.

So, you’ve just picked up that new TV you’ve been coveting. You’re beyond thrilled; and seeing as though you’ve spent the last several months pinning décor examples on Pinterest, you know exactly where it should be mounted. But before you jump headfirst into securing your new toy on the wall, there are a few things to keep in mind when selecting a TV mount. Here’s the skinny on the three key considerations you need to keep in mind.

TV resolution keeps getting better. We have gone from standard definition to high definition to now 4K. There are even 8K resolution “Full Ultra High Definition” TVs, although you would be hard pressed to buy one. Where will it all end and do I really need the higher resolution of 4K? Sure more resolution is always better than less resolution, but there are several circumstances where it doesn’t make sense paying more for all those extra pixels. It is good to know the finer points of resolution, no pun intended, so you don’t pay more for not much gain.

Refresh rates are marketed quite a bit with new HDTVs and 4K UHD TVs, using various branded jargon like “Motionflow 240” or “960 Motion Enhancement.” Higher numbers are bandied about making it difficult to understand or to make fair comparisons between TVs since there are no industry-standard definitions for these motion enhancement features. I will help you sort through this marketing muddle and let you know what you need to focus on regarding refresh rates.

Need headphones to block out the world while you watch TV? These Sennheiser versions should do the job, but do they deliver? Read our review.

Ten years ago, few would believe that we could become so reliant on streaming media but these days many people are taking advantage of streaming HD video content from web services at an increasing rate. So much so that new services and options keep popping up continually. Recently I had the chance to spend some time with the new Roku 3, a streaming player tailor made for those who want to take advantage of all these video streaming services. There is no shortage of competition here either. If you’re into Netflix and YouTube, for example, there seems to be a way to stream that content from virtually every device out there. Many of these devices are multitaskers, that are primarily game consoles, or other sorts of gadgets that just happen to integrate a few streaming services. With the Roku 3 you get a dedicated device that specializes in streaming online content. With that focus comes a certain simplicity and clarity to the device.

This is Part 1 of a series of posts that will explain everything you need to know about today’s TVs.