The best gear to upgrade your home theater setup

Govee's smart LED light bars can shine bright in over 16 million colors, all customizable via Govee's companion app. They can easily set the mood for a movie night, game night or party, and you can control the whole thing with Alexa or Google Assistant voice commands. There's also a fun music-sync mode that changes the lights in time with whatever music they're listening to. These can stand upright, be laid flat or even be mounted behind a TV to enhance your home entertainment setup, so there's a good chance you'll find the perfect place for them without too much hassle. — Valentina Palladino, Deputy Editor

The set-top Roku Ultra is the best device Roku makes and one of our favorite streaming devices overall. It's got all the features you'd expect from a premium streamer — comprehensive app support, 4K resolution with HDR10/10+, Dolby Vision and Atmos support, Ethernet, plus Bluetooth and Wi-Fi 6 capabilities, too. There's even a USB port for playing local media. The updated processor makes it one of the fastest players we tested and Roku's operating system is the most user-friendly interface out there. Also the remote is excellent with automatic backlighting, hands-free voice control and USB-C recharging. — Amy Skorheim, Senior Reporter

If you're congregating with a big crowd or moving the party outside, a projector can be a good replacement for a TV. This one from XGIMI packs a ton of performance without the sky-high price tag you'll see on most other projectors. The company's Halo+ technology uses 700 ISO lumens to help create a bright 1080p image, and it has two built-in 5W Harman Kardon speakers for clear sound with good bass response. It's quite portable as well, so you can bring it to wherever the party is at, or on your next camping trip, and with its 59.454Wh built-in battery, you'll get about 2.5 hours of playtime before it needs more juice. — V.P.

The TCL QM6K is widely regarded as one of 2025's better TV bargains. For a TV that's often priced below $500 for a 55-inch set, the QM6K should hold its own for the average viewer (especially if they don't care about HDR). It's a 4K Mini LED set with Google TV built in and support for Dolby Vision, HDR10, HDR10+ and HLG. Its list of gaming features is surprisingly good as well: You get a 144Hz refresh rate with the ability to go up to 288Hz at 1080p, a pair of HDMI 2.1 ports (neither of which is an eARC port), ALLM, low input lag in its game mode and support for the major VRR formats. If you simply don't want to spend more than $500 on your next TV, there's value here. — Jeff Dunn, Senior Reporter

Maybe you've been thinking about mounting your TV to the wall for a while. Well, now's a great time to do so and you don't have to spend a ton on a good TV mount. This one from Echogear can hold up to a 90-inch set (up to 135 pounds in weight) and has a three-step installation process. It even comes with pre-divided hardware and a drilling template, so you can do this yourself (maybe with the help of a partner) without needing professional installation. Once up on the wall, you can tilt your TV up to 10 degrees to get the best, glare-free viewing angle for your living room. — V.P.

If you're not interested in signing a contract for cable but still want to watch live sports, news and shows, you may want a live TV streaming service. After trying them all, our current favorite is YouTube TV. A series of price hikes (which every similar service has undergone) have pushed it to $83 per month, but it's got the best mix of channel availability, customizable settings and nice-to-have perks. These include features like multiview for live sports and news, unlimited DVR, an easy-to-build library and an excellent search function. The interface is pretty smooth too, and will be familiar to anyone familiar with the regular YouTube app. — A.S.

You're only as strong as your weakest link when it comes to streaming content in 4K. If you pay for any streaming services or live channels that broadcast in 4K, you'll want to make sure the rest of your setup is 4K-ready. That includes even the components we often overlook, like the humble HDMI cable. This one from Anker supports content at up to 8K 60Hz, but most people will likely use the 4K 120Hz support even more. Its design is capable of withstanding up to 1,000 bends, and it'll work with a bunch of devices other than TVs, including laptops, tablets, projectors and others. — V.P.

Samsung has been iterating on the Q990F for several years now, constantly improving its flagship soundbar via new features and upgraded connectivity. It's my top pick for soundbars thanks to the fact that it's an all-in-one setup. The powerful, immersive soundbar comes with rear satellite speakers and a booming subwoofer in the box. Sound quality is warm and detailed for music and deep and enveloping for movies and TV. The Q990F is a great way to fill your living room with the sounds of the game. — B.S.

I've had Sonos Era 100 speakers in my living and dining rooms for the past few years. They get used regularly and really shine when we're hosting and want floor-filling sound. I typically connect the pair in my living room with the pair in my dining room so the music truly feels immersive regardless of where you are on our first floor, and this is easy to do with AirPlay support from my iPhone. But a pair of these can also pull double duty as a home theater surround sound when connected to one of Sonos' soundbars, too. Whether you're using them for music or TV sound, they'll get a ton of play in your setup. — V.P.

Maybe you're building out your revamped home theater around a projector rather than a traditional TV. If that's the case, consider splurging a bit on the main piece of tech; we like the Nebula X1 for its excellent brightness and noticeably 4K clarity. It uses a triple-laser optical engine to deliver 3,500 ANSI lumens of brightness and 110% Rec. 2020 color. Contrast is also top-notch, and its optical zoom allows you to adjust the image size to fit pretty much any space without moving the projector itself. It also uses a feature called AI Spatial Adaptation to scan your projector surface and adjust the image to the best position, size and clarity so you can spend less time setting up your kit and more time watching movies, TV shows, sports and everything in between. — V.P.

The LG C5 is a great option if you're looking to get a high-end set. Its superb OLED panel produces the kind of deep contrast, super low input lag, clear motion and wide viewing angles expected from a good OLED TV. While it doesn't have a QD-OLED screen like the Samsung S90F — and thus can't produce the same level of vibrant colors — reviewers we trust say that it can actually get brighter with non-HDR content and that its black tones stay darker in a bright room.

This TV includes four full HDMI 2.1 ports, all of which can play 4K video at a maximum refresh rate of 144Hz, and it works with the big three VRR formats. It also supports ALLM and, unlike all Samsung TVs, Dolby Vision HDR. The latter is a nice bonus for Xbox players in particular. LG's webOS software will show you ads, meanwhile, but it also includes built-in support for cloud services like Xbox Game Pass and NVIDIA GeForce Now. — J.D.