The 4 best home theater products to achieve that movie theater vibe from your living room, all tested and reviewed

As the most affordable TV in the Sony Bravia lineup, this bad boy delivers in ways that I wasn’t expecting, but also underperformed in areas where I anticipated excellence.

On those cozy fall nights, all you want to do is curl up on the couch and get your TV binge on, and for most medium-to-large sized living rooms, a 55- or 65-inch television marks the sweet spot for comfortable viewing. Right out of the box, I was pleased to see that the bezels were extremely thin, giving you the most screen real estate possible.

Upon attaching the legs, I ran into an issue where their depth monopolized the space on my entertainment center, when paired with my soundbar. This forced me to have to push the back end of the feet over the back of my TV stand for both devices to fit comfortably. After doing so, though, everything was stable and the TV felt reinforced.

While initially testing this 2025-released TV, I found that it functioned pretty similarly to its 2024 predecessor: the Bravia 2. Despite these similarities, the Bravia 2 II’s successes come in its Google TV smart features, impressive 4K panel, thoughtful gaming features (which pair particularly well with the PS5 console) and Sony’s signature image processing that, based on the Sony studio’s exclusive technology, make this an automatic high achiever when viewing film.

In terms of its design, this TV is very understated, which, in my opinion, in more of a pro than a con. Whether you’re streaming videos, watching movies or gaming, your TV should be more of a neutral vessel and not a distracting art piece. The bezels are slim, the lines are clean and the screen just feels luxe. While it’s not a design stunner, it’s does a stellar job of blending into a room with ease.

Read more about my thoughts on this TV below.

I’ve tested my fair share of soundbars over the years from brands like Sony, Yamaha, Polk, Vizio, JBL and more, and the Sonos Arc Ultra, despite a few challenges and drawbacks, blows them all out of the water.

This is, hands down, the most well-rounded soundbar that I’ve reviewed to date. It brings the same vibrancy to movie viewing that it does to music streaming — with neither taking a back seat to the other.

While I have tested the now-discontinued original Sonos Arc, upon reviewing this new model, I’ve noticed that while it doesn’t show much noticeable improvements in bass, it does deliver a more controlled and defined lower sound emission than its predecessor. The overall sound is just much crisper and more precise than the Arc and it makes for a seamless and enjoyable movie-watching experience.

There are a few features that I’ve found make this a one-of-a-kind home theater sound product. Night Sound is a feature that came in handy when watching movies or a late night-episode of ‘House Hunters’ at night when my husband was asleep. This feature just reduces loud sound effects like large thuds and explosions while simultaneously increasing the volume of quieter sounds and dialogue. This way, everybody wins!

Another feature I enjoyed was the product’s Trueplay calibration (a feature that’s supported both on iOS and Android phones). This feature allows you to quick-tune the speaker system to the room so you’re able to accurately hear dialogue and low-fi tones at various angles, no matter where you’re sitting in the space. It’s honestly one of the most impressive features I’ve discovered in any soundbar setup.

When paired with the Sub 4 subwoofer, this system creates the true essence of an at-home movie theater. It’s so powerful at its normal setting that I had to lower the sub audio’s volume a bit out of fear that it was shaking my downstairs neighbor’s ceiling. All in all, this is the system to buy to achieve that seamless movie theater feel at home.

“A monster sound in a mini package” — that’s what I tell folks when they ask about this unique soundbar. This was one of my longtime home theater favorites a few years ago after initially testing it for a story, and to say it pleasantly left me dumbfounded would be an understatement.

Despite its size, this 3.1-channel speaker has left, right and center channels that drive decent sound quality. And while it doesn’t boast upward-firing drivers like the Sonos Arc Ultra, it makes up for this shortcoming with its subwoofer which doesn’t hold back on the bass.

In addition to its larger-than-life sound performance, it also offers lots of wireless streaming options for music, making it an audiophile’s dream come true.

Overall, you certainly get your money’s worth with the Polk MagniFi Mini AX, and it helps a great deal that it automatically comes with a subwoofer that just massively ups the ante. A two-for-one special that’s sure to be the gift that keeps on giving.

Over the years, I’ve tested my fair share of media streamers, from the Amazon Fire Stick to the Roku Ultra, and the Apple TV 4K remains my favorite. However, as a longtime iPhone user and Apple ecosystem participant, this particular streaming device just easily aligns with my daily practices and most regularly used products.

If you’re an Apple device user, the Apple TV may be the best fit for your everyday streaming needs. Its operating system is simple and has a similar feel and design to iOS, making it ideal for those who prefer a minimal and clutter-free screen that’s easy to navigate.

The home screen displays five quick-launch apps at the top (which you’re able to rearrange at your leisure), and below those, any other apps that you download are displayed.

Setting up this device is also a walk in the park, especially if you’re an iPhone user. Once your iPhone’s Bluetooth is turned on and is connected to the same Wi-Fi network as your new Apple TV 4K, all you need to do is hold your phone near the streamer and a prompt will appear asking if you want to set up your new device. Follow the simple on-screen instructions and you’ll be all set in a matter of minutes.

This streaming box also has built-in features like HDR10, HLG and Dolby Vision. Apple also recently added HDR10+ to the roster which comes in handy for Samsung TV owners since Samsung is yet to include Dolby Vision in its televisions. The Apple TV also also supports Dolby Atmos and Apple’s signature Spatial Audio for movies, music and TV.

While the Apple TV 4K doesn’t reinvent the media streaming box wheel, it does do what the brand does best: perfects what already exists and fine-tunes it until something better comes along — which, oftentimes, comes in the form of a future Apple release.