Carrie Marshall

Carrie Marshall

Contributor

Writer, broadcaster, musician and kitchen gadget obsessive Carrie Marshall has been writing about tech since 1998, contributing sage advice and odd opinions to all kinds of magazines and websites as well as writing more than twenty books. Her latest, a love letter to music titled Small Town Joy, is on sale now. She is the singer in spectacularly obscure Glaswegian rock band Unquiet Mind.

Articles by: Carrie Marshall

TCL QM8K Google TV screens

We all hate ads on today's smart TVs, but a report says they're a big part of why TV prices haven't had to rise as a result of the memory crisis — so if you're upgrading your set for the World Cup, say thanks to advertisers, I guess

By Carrie Marshall published

TVs aren't immune from the electronics component crisis – but manufacturers had already given up on making money from hardware

Sony HQ

Sony didn't learn from Bose's good example: it's ending streaming support for lots of services on tons of its speakers, soundbars and Blu-ray players — they'll still work, but you'll lose the likes of Netflix, Spotify, Prime Video and even Google Cast

By Carrie Marshall published

Nothing online lasts forever, but Sony's shutdown of services is especially severe, and affects over 70 products

An image of a strange circular electronic device with speakers embedded in it, in front of a mirror. There is also a round image of pink and blue waves floating towards a head-shape shadow — these are soundwaves being made visible by the other first piece of technology

How does 'virtual' spatial audio from a soundbar compare to an actual surround setup? Someone built a mind-blowing scanner that lets you 'see' sound waves to demonstrate it, with the help of a stuffed guinea pig and a custom-built 8-channel amp

By Carrie Marshall published

YouTuber PlasmatronX has created a simulator to test how different surround sound setups move audio around your room, and what can affect the sound you hear

EZVIZ EP4 Door Viewer superimposed on a blurry image of a front door with green pot plants on either side of the door

This clever peephole camera is perfect for renters, adding smart home video without wires, drilling, or an expensive subscription

By Carrie Marshall published

EZVIZ's new EP4 door camera looks like an excellent alternative to video doorbells, especially for rental properties

Sony Bravia 8 II showing image of landscape

A new Sony OLED TV has leaked on the company’s website — and it looks like even though it’s a cheaper model, it might actually tempt you away from the Bravia 8 II thanks to two surprising spec advantages

By Carrie Marshall published

This budget Bravia OLED is likely to be more affordable and will be available in lots of different sizes.

Photograph of the Khadas Tea Pro Headphone Amplifier on a grey fabric surface next to a MacBook Pro

What's the tea? This Khadas is a slim, stylish and punchy headphone DAC for delivering audio upgrades for phones and more

By Carrie Marshall published

Recommended

The Khadas Tea Pro attaches magnetically to your iPhone and connects via Bluetooth or USB-C to deliver a punchy, spacious audio upgrade

Image showing the Peacock TV app displaying a match via Telemundo's World Cup 2026 coverage.

The World Cup will be broadcast in Dolby Vision HDR and higher-quality Dolby Atmos using the new AC-4 streaming format for the first time — but only Peacock subscribers will be celebrating this victory

By Carrie Marshall published

Peacock will be the first major streamer to deploy Dolby's AC-4 audio codec in Telemundo's coverage of the 2026 World Cup

2 Comments
Yamaha NX-70A in a hi-fi suite at High End Vienna

Yamaha's high-end wireless hi-fi speakers could give KEF conniptions, boasting luxury listening (and they look stunning too)

By Carrie Marshall published

The new Yamaha NX-70As wireless hi-fi speakers feature materials from grand pianos and Yamaha's flagship speakers; room correction; and wide streaming support

C Seed Bugatti N1

Hey, remember that bonkers folding micro-LED TV? It’s back! And now it's a Bugatti

By Carrie Marshall, Leon Poultney published

Recently found yourself in a Brewster's Millions-style situation? Then I've got the TV for you…

The WiiM Bar in a living room on the left, a headshot of Dr Lifeng Zhao, WiiM's CEO, on the right

'We don't want to make a legacy AVR': WiiM's first soundbar is the same price as the Sonos Beam, but it's bigger, beefier and has real upfiring drivers for Dolby Atmos — and we talked to WiiM's CEO about it

By Carrie Marshall published

WiiM's first soundbar is a 3.0.2 system that can be expanded to 5.1.2 — and possibly more.

Buttons on the Majority Bowfell Halo Atmos

'Almost every mixer, without being told to, instinctively did the same thing': Dolby exec explains the subtle changes in movie soundtracks brought by the arrival of Dolby Atmos — and it really makes the case for proper surround setups over soundbars

By Carrie Marshall published

'Almost every mixer, without being told to, instinctively did the same thing'

2 Comments
Lifestyle image of the AeroPress Manual Coffee Grinder being used by a person in a dark green coat in front of a vintage white car

AeroPress just launched a stylish new manual coffee grinder with titanium burrs that you can crank by hand — or with an electric drill

By Carrie Marshall published

The latest iteration of the AeroPress Manual Coffee Grinder is tougher than ever, and even has an electric drill attachment in case your hands get tired.

Dyson Find+Follow Purifier Cool promotional image showing two women working out and the air being directed at both

Dyson's latest purifier uses AI tech to track your movements so the cool air goes wherever you do

By Carrie Marshall published

The new Dyson Find+Follow Purifier Cool uses intelligent tracking to direct air and save energy too

The Canvas L sound floating above a white surface, the uncovered panel of the bar shows its 8 speaker drivers

The best of both worlds for soundbars and loudspeakers? Canvas hi-fi's new bar is pushing the definition, by packing huge 8-inch drivers into a frame that fits below your TV — and the company boldly says it's 'the world's first audiophile soundbar'

By Carrie Marshall published

Canvas has announced its second hi-fi soundbar, the Canvas L, promising audiophile-grade sound

The LG C6 OLED TV with a sunset over a lake taken from a hillside. The shot shows the C6's contrast, detail and color accuracy, with the colors of the sunset looking authentic

'These reports are groundless': A report claimed LG wanted to exit the TV business and offload it to a Chinese brand, following similar moves from Sony and Panasonic — but LG says the story is 'entirely speculative and misleading'

By Carrie Marshall published

LG hits back at 'baseless' reports that it was looking to partner up with Hisense for the future — and the original report has disappeared.

sonos arc

The latest Sonos app update just added a new option that might be the magic bullet you need to fix problems on 'more complex home network setups' — though consider it a last resort

By Carrie Marshall published

Sonos has released an iOS and Android app update that enables you to turn off SonosNet mesh networking

Sony TVs next to each other on a very long bench

Sony's TV line-up is now both clearer and also confusingly named after launching its latest sets: here are all the official models and sizes it sells in 2026

By Carrie Marshall published

Sony's full 2026 TV line-up is here, and it involves a lot of 'Mark II' TVs, but also several 'Mark I' TVs, and all their names are numbers anyway…

A screenshot showing the new text size feature on Apple TV. An Apple TV and remote sit below the screen.

Apple is introducing useful accessibility features in tvOS 27 for Apple TV 4K that will appeal to everyone, including larger text and auto-generated subtitles — but some major streaming apps don't use Apple's own app tech that enables them

By Carrie Marshall published

Apple is introducing useful accessibility features in tvOS 27, but some streaming apps don't use Apple's app tech

close-up of soundbar mesh with Sonos branding

The Sonos app for iPhone and iPad mysteriously disappeared from the App Store — but it's back now

By Carrie Marshall last updated

Updated I hope you didn't just buy a new product you're eager to set up…

LG magic remote 2024

Looks like Google TV could get Wii-style pointy controls, just like my LG TV's Magic Remote that drives me and my kids mad

By Carrie Marshall published

Google has told app developers that Google TV will be adding support for "pointing remotes" that sound very similar to LG's Magic Remote

Dolby screening room in London

Dolby Atmos on streaming will finally sound as good as 4K Blu-ray, based on these blind test results of audio engineers — but this still won’t cause collectors to switch from physical media

By Carrie Marshall published

In double-blind listening tests, multiple audio experts preferred Dolby AC-4 to existing Dolby Digital+JOC audio streams

11 Comments
TCL QM8K showing image of fantastic landscape

Loads of TCL Google TVs are getting a great free upgrade that adds Dolby Vision Filmmaker Mode for super-accurate movie viewing — and a few other nice changes are on board too

By Carrie Marshall published

TCL is rolling out a firmware update to many TVs from 2023 onwards to deliver Dolby Vision Filmmaker Mode, upgraded FlexConnect and a fix for audio in Disney+

Wharfedale Denton 1S speakers in blue on either side of a hifi. They are atop a dark wooden sideboard, in front of a white brick wall with a brightly coloured painting on it

Two hi-fi greats just announced cool, curved new stereo speakers — one's passive, one's active, take your pick

By Carrie Marshall published

Wharfedale's Denton 1S and Fyne Audio's Cubit 5 speakers are compact, powerful and promise superb sound

A man sits on a sofa, playing the TemPolor Melo-D guitar

A lot of musicians will be infuriated by this 'world's first generative AI guitar', but I think its automatic tabulation and learning features sound genuinely smart — but only if the AI's ethical

By Carrie Marshall published

The Melo-D is a smart guitar that comes with useful AI features. It looks particularly good for beginners but I have a few concerns.

A room lit in multiple colors from various Philips Smart Lighting products, with the TV lightstrip mirroring the on-screen colors

There's a new alternative to the Philips Hue Play HDMI Sync Box 8K for immersive smart lighting synced to your TV — it's way cheaper, it still supports 4K 120Hz passthrough, it works with WiZ bulbs, and it comes from… Philips

By Carrie Marshall published

The new Philips Smart Lighting sync box works with your TV to mirror the on-screen colors in your smart lights, and it's a lot less than you'd pay for the Hue version.

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