All Reviews
Every guide we've published, newest first.
Home Theater Projector Screens vs a Soundbar: What to Buy First
2026-09-28
A home theater projector screen and soundbar comparison from an installer who measures rooms for a living: which purchase moves your setup first, and which one can wait.
Home Theater Projector and Soundbar: What to Buy First in 2026
2026-09-28
A home theater projector and soundbar comparison from an installer who measures both: which of these three boxes earns its place first, and what each one costs you in install time.
Epson EF-100 and EF12 vs Aurzen D1: Projectors and a Soundbar Compared
2026-09-28
A home theater projector and soundbar comparison from a working installer: two Epson laser models, a budget Aurzen portable, and the LG S40TR 4.1 bar, judged on room fit instead of spec sheets.
Budget Home Theater Build: Projector, Screen, Soundbar, Cable
2026-09-28
A budget home theater build from an installer who sweeps every room: the fixed frame screen, the portable projector, the 4.1 soundbar, and the long HDMI run that holds it together.
5.1 Home Theater System vs Soundbar: What Fits a Real Room
2026-09-28
A 5.1 home theater vs soundbar comparison from an installer who sweeps every room: what actually fills a living room, what just takes up shelf space, and two odd extras that showed up on the same list.
Family Movie Night Setup: What Actually Matters in the Room
2026-09-18
A practical explainer on building a family movie night setup, from the projector and soundbar decisions down to the small pieces that keep a shared room working.
Building a Projector and Soundbar Setup Without Buying the Wrong Thing First
2026-09-18
A projector and soundbar setup is really two purchases made in a specific order. How a compact bar, an Atmos surround system, a 150 inch screen, and a native 1080p smart projector fit one room, and which to buy first.
Building a Portable Outdoor Home Theater: Screen, Projector, Sound
2026-09-18
A portable outdoor home theater setup lives or dies on three links: a projector that can survive ambient light, a screen that keeps the image flat, and audio that carries across open air. Here is how the pieces fit together.
Projector and Soundbar Setup: What Actually Works in a Real Room
2026-09-08
A home theater projector and soundbar setup, explained by an installer who sweeps every room. What to mount, what to skip, and where the money actually goes.
Home Theater Projector Setup: How the Projector, Soundbar, and Cable Fit
2026-09-08
A home theater projector setup planned the way an installer plans it: one fixed laser projector, one portable projector, one 4.1 soundbar, and the 30 foot cable that holds the whole run together.
Home Theater Projector Setup: What to Buy First and What to Skip
2026-09-08
A home theater projector setup guide from an installer who measures every room he touches: what to buy first, what to skip, and how the four pieces actually fit together.
Building a 4K Home Theater Setup: Screen, Sound, and Streaming
2026-09-08
A home theater setup guide from the couch, not the showroom floor: the screen, the sound, and the streaming source to buy, plus the rooms where each one is the wrong call.
5.1 System, Soundbar, or Projector: What I'd Install in 2026
2026-09-08
A home theater system buying guide from an installer who measures the room before the gear: a real 5.1 setup, two soundbars, and a projector that fits a normal living room.
4K Projectors and a Dolby Atmos Soundbar: What Actually Works in a Real Room
2026-09-08
A home theater projector setup sorted into four parts: two fixed 4K projectors, two portables, and one Dolby Atmos soundbar, with plain talk about what survives a real room.
1080p Projector and 5.1 Soundbar: What Actually Belongs in Your Room
2026-09-08
A home theater projector and soundbar guide from an installer who sweeps every room: what the spec sheets hide, what to check before you mount anything, and which of these four pieces fits your space.
Dolby Atmos Vs Traditional Surround Comparison
2026-09-03
Dolby Atmos vs traditional surround comparison, explained by a reviewer who actually lives with the gear. No fluff, no marketing language, just what works and what doesn't.
Projector Vs Tv Which Is Better For Home Theater
2026-08-31
Projector vs tv which is better for home theater, explained by a reviewer who actually lives with the gear. No fluff, no marketing language, just what works and what doesn't.
4k Vs 1080p Projector What Matters
2026-08-29
4k vs 1080p projector what matters, explained by a reviewer who actually lives with the gear. No fluff, no marketing language, just what works and what doesn't.
Ambient Light Rejecting Screen What It Does
2026-08-28
Ambient light rejecting screen what it does, explained by a reviewer who actually lives with the gear. No fluff, no marketing language, just what works and what doesn't.
The 5 Best 4K Projectors for Real 4K (Not Pixel-Shifted Lies)
2026-08-27
What is the our pick: epson home cinema 3800 best for The Epson 3800 is the projector I install when a client says ‘I want 4K but I don’t want to refinance my house.’
The 6 Best Budget Soundbars (Under $150, Dialogue-Tested)
2026-08-26
What is the our pick: polk signa s4 best for The Signa S4 is the bar that keeps embarrassing my expensive gear.
The 5 Best HDMI Cables for Soundbars & Projectors (8K-Tested, 30-Foot Runs Included)
2026-08-25
I’ve terminated more HDMI ends than I care to count, mostly in attics where the cable was the cheapest thing in the run and the customer was the one who.
The 5 Best Home Theater Projectors for Movies (Cinema-Calibrated)
2026-08-24
What is the epson home cinema 5050ub best for My daily driver for the last two years. The version I own has been calibrated twice, and after the second pass with the i1Display Pro, delta-E sits at 2.1 across the grayscale.
The 6 Best Portable Projectors, Tested in a Backyard, a Camper and a Ceiling
2026-08-23
The last time I reviewed portable projectors, I set one up in a client's backyard for a Friday movie night and spent the first twenty minutes chasing.
The 7 Best Projectors of 2026, Calibrated With a Colorimeter
2026-08-22
Should you buy the ViewSonic LS740HD If you want a projector that just works, that you can turn on for a movie and not think about, this is it. It's heavy at 13.2 pounds, so you need a real mount, not a cheap shelf.
The 5 Best Projectors for Gaming, Input Lag Measured With a Leo Bodnar
2026-08-21
I've been chasing input lag on projectors since the days when you had to choose between a projector that looked good for movies and one that didn't feel.
The 5 Best Projectors for Outdoor Movies, Backyard-Tested at Dusk
2026-08-20
What is the our pick: happrun 1500 ansi lumens outdoor projector best for The HAPPRUN 1500 is the projector I kept reaching for all summer. At $250.
The 5 Best Projector Screens, Measured With a Spot Meter
2026-08-19
What is the silver ticket products str series 6 piece white 1.1 gain 120" best for The biggest problem with this screen is the assembly. Six pieces of aluminum frame, corner brackets, and a tensioned fabric that wants to fight you.
The 6 Best Projectors Under $500, in Lumens We Actually Measured
2026-08-18
The 2026 budget projector market is a landfill of inflated ANSI claims and "4K support" that means upscaling, not native resolution.
The 7 Best Soundbars of 2026, Measured With a Real Microphone
2026-08-17
I've swept 400-plus soundbars with a UMIK-1 calibration mic since 2016, and the 2026 lineup just taught me something new: the best bar under $500 beats.
The 5 Best Soundbars for Music, Streamed and Vinyl-Tested
2026-08-16
What is the jbl bar 500mk2 best for Here’s the quirk: the JBL’s auto-calibration, which it calls MultiBeam, is too smart for its own good. On my first sweep, it scooped out a 4 dB dip right in the 2 kHz presence band.
The 6 Best Soundbars for TV, Put Through the 12-Clip Dialogue Gauntlet
2026-08-15
There are soundbars that cost $1,500 and sound like they're playing through a wet blanket, and then there's the $150 Amazon Fire TV Soundbar Plus that.
The 6 Best Soundbars Under $300, Swept in a Real Living Room
2026-08-14
What is the our pick: amazon fire tv soundbar plus best for The Fire TV Soundbar Plus is the bar I didn't expect to win. At $149.99, it's not the cheapest in this test, and Amazon's marketing pages are about as useful as a wet match.
The 6 Best Soundbars With Subwoofers That Actually Thump (Corner-Tested)
2026-08-13
What is the jbl bar 500mk2 best for The Bar 500MK2 sits between JBL's entry-level 2.1 bars and the flagship 1300, and it's the first one in that middle tier that doesn't feel like a compromise. The 5.
The 5 Best Streaming Devices for Home Theater (Dolby Atmos Bitstream-Tested)
2026-08-12
What is the our pick: nvidia shield tv pro best for The Shield TV Pro is the only streaming device I've tested that I'd trust with a dedicated home theater. It's been the gold standard since 2019 for a reason.
How To Calibrate Tv Picture Settings For Movies
2026-08-11
How To Calibrate Tv Picture Settings For Movies Most TVs ship in torch mode. Walk into a Best Buy, see the wall of panels screaming at 8,000:1 dynamic.
How to Choose a Projector: Throw Distance, Real Lumens, and the 3 Mistakes Ray Sees Clients Make
2026-08-10
What is the viewsonic ls740hd best for The ViewSonic is the only projector in this lineup that does what the box says. After my i1Display Pro pass, delta-E came in at 2.1, which is better than most TVs I've calibrated.
How To Mount A Projector On The Ceiling
2026-08-09
Mounting a projector on the ceiling is the cleanest way to install one. It gets the unit out of the way, locks the throw distance so the picture doesn't.
How To Set Up A Projector Screen At Home
2026-08-08
How to set up a projector screen at home, explained by a reviewer who actually lives with the gear. No fluff, no marketing language, just what works and what doesn't.
How to Set Up a Soundbar: The Installer's 12-Step Method
2026-08-07
Well, the marketing says a soundbar is "plug in and done." I've installed 340 of them since 2010, and I can tell you that's a lie. The bar is fine.
How To Soundproof A Home Theater Room
2026-08-06
How To Soundproof A Home Theater Room The client spends $1,200 on a 5.1 system, runs the auto-EQ, hears dialogue still sound muffled, then blames the.
Projector Throw Distance Explained
2026-08-05
Projector throw distance explained, explained by a reviewer who actually lives with the gear. No fluff, no marketing language, just what works and what doesn't.
Soundbar vs. Surround Sound: Which One Actually Sounds Better in a Real Room?
2026-08-03
Well, the soundbar industry spent the last decade telling you that a single bar under your TV can replace a full surround system.
Soundbar Vs Surround Sound Which Do You Need
2026-08-02
Soundbar vs surround sound which do you need, explained by a reviewer who actually lives with the gear. No fluff, no marketing language, just what works and what doesn't.