Author: Press Room

I’m a sucker for fan fiction, even the ones that don’t really add up or make a lot of sense to established canon. Some of my favorites are the ones where two universes collide for the biggest crossover that fan-fueled media can possibly provide. I’ve even written some of my own, though they’ll never see the light of day, at least under my own name. Anyway, this has led to a lot of time lost in thought, wondering what movies could actually take place in the same universe, living under the same canon. I know I am not the only…

If you’ve ever fired up Netflix or HBO Max and seen the little “Dolby Atmos” badge, you could be forgiven for thinking that your TV and soundbar will automatically reproduce sound in glorious spatial audio. I thought the same, when in fact, my Atmos-ready soundbar wasn’t delivering Dolby Atmos at all. The problem didn’t lie with my TV, my soundbar, or the apps I was streaming. The issue was that I wasn’t using the correct HDMI cable. It wasn’t about quality, as I understand the pitfalls of using substandard connectors, but about bandwidth. In short, Atmos needs more bandwidth than…

One of the first things I learned in film school was that using narration in your screenplay was usually a sign of weak or lazy writing. I’ll just say that there are plenty of films and shows that prove that statement fairly correct. It can absolutely be a crutch or an easy way to betray the “show, don’t tell” rule of visual storytelling. Yet, so many movies and shows continue to implement it, and it’s obviously not a dealbreaker for the studios that finance them. And I think there’s a very simple, obvious answer to why that is: Sometimes, narration…

As an owner of the latest-generation Fire TV Stick, I find Amazon’s Appstore the easiest way to install apps, especially after installing a VPN. However, after a while, it began to show its limitations in terms of specialized add-ons and accessing content that Amazon doesn’t officially support. I needed a customizable solution that unlocks my streaming stick’s full potential. That’s when I remembered Kodi, the open-source media center that I installed on my second-generation Fire TV Stick back in 2019. Sideloading (manually installing) this application onto my Fire TV Stick 4K was a real game-changer, as it transformed my ordinary…

I thought smart TVs would make my life easier. What I got instead was endless frustration. My four Roku TCL Smart TVs crawled through menus, took forever to load apps, and bombarded me with ads at every turn. I was thinking about replacing them when I tried something different: blocking ads through my router. This simple change made my TVs run faster than they had since the day I bought them. The change happened immediately. Navigating menus went from painfully slow to lightning quick. Apps that used to take ages to start up now open in seconds. What had been…

Television can be a tricky thing when it comes to capturing an audience. Sometimes a show can start slow but become completely unforgettable, and sometimes a series can put its hooks into you from the get-go and never let up. I’ve found some of my favorite shows either way, but I have to say there’s something special about the latter. A self-assured piece of entertainment that knows exactly what it is from the start can really make all the difference. Obviously, that’s a little more on the rare side, but thanks to an increase in prestige television, it’s actually a…

As someone who loves to get long years out of their devices—like the nearly decade-old PC I’m writing on—I want the same for my televisions. I don’t want to spend hundreds of dollars every couple of years on an upgrade. TVs aren’t smartphones. Here’s my solution: picking a television that has the most essential features and a wealth of options. Do you stick with 1080p or spring for 4K (or even 8K)? What about HDR and ports? When I think of the ideal television, I usually envision a balance of performance and utility, and there are a few key specs…

If you only use your Roku device for streaming, you’re actually missing out, especially if you’re unboxing Roku’s new streaming stick. Since I love finding multiple purposes for my gadgets and gizmos (and intend to use them until they’re broken), there are several Roku features you shouldn’t overlook, but probably are. I know I was. So, to really make the most of your Roku device, give these extra options a spin before cutting your subscription or shelving your device permanently. 6 Use Roku to stream your Plex library It’s part of the reason I started making backups How often have…

Looking for the best heart rate fitness tracker? If you care about keeping a close eye on your ticker, the good news is that there are plenty of fitness trackers with heart rate monitors that can do that for you. Also check out our guide to the best fitness trackers overall, too. Whether it’s monitoring heart rate activity throughout the day and night to give you a better sense of your current level of fitness, or whether you need to know how hard you went on a big bike ride, most trackers are now well-equipped to dish out those real-time…

Much modern tech aims to save you time. And that time should be spent buying more things. At least, that appears to be the thinking behind Samsung’s latest wheeze: turning its $1800-plus Family Hub fridges into kitchen-based ad boards. According to reports, a software update will soon be foisted upon unlucky owners as part of a pilot scheme. When their fridge screens are idle – which, unless I’m badly misinformed about fridges, is presumably most of the time – they’ll be plastered with promos and ads. Samsung insists this glimpse of the future is part of its commitment to “innovation and enhancing…