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

HDR10+ Advanced logo on a white background

Samsung's next-gen HDR10+ Advanced is launching on Prime Video this month — surprisingly beating Dolby Vision 2 to the punch, though with some huge unanswered questions remaining

By Carrie Marshall Published

Prime Video and Samsung are launching HDR10+ Advanced in August 2026 for selected content on the streaming service

Hue Omniglow lightstrip held in a hand

Philips Hue may be bringing its best ever lightstrip to the back of your TV — but we're primed for a painful price

By Carrie Marshall Published

Hue has mentioned a new Play Pro lightstrip for TVs that isn't currently available to buy. Could it be a TV Omniglow?

Giant bowl of popcorn in front of TV screen with Disney+ logo displayed

Disney+ brings 4K streaming back to European customers, but HDR is still on the to-do list

By Carrie Marshall Published

Disney+ has changed its streaming platform in Europe to restore 4K viewing to Premium subscribers, but HDR hasn't been restored just yet

A photo of the interior of Kurt Martinez's DIY Dolby Atmos garden studio

What does a backyard Dolby Atmos home music studio look like when you’re a sound engineer for major artists? The shed of my dreams, that’s what

By Carrie Marshall Published

The shed of my dreams is very very spatial — and it was all done as a DIY project.

Image of Disney Plus being watched on a TV with a hand holding a remote control

Disney+ just lost 4K and all HDR support in parts of Europe, so you have to ask what the point of a Premium subscription is — and this is exactly why physical media is on the rise

By Carrie Marshall Published

What happens when you're paying extra for 4K and HDR and your streaming provider stops providing it?

Roborock Qrevo Curv robot vacuum in reviewer's home

First drones, now robot vacuums — the US government's ban on foreign robots is confirmed to include many of the best robovacs and robot lawn mowers on the market, and brands may have been caught off-guard

By Carrie Marshall Published

The FCC has confirmed that the US ban on foreign-made advanced robotic devices includes robot vacuums and similar bots

A man wearing old red-blue paper 3D glasses on a color-split countryside background.

'I refused to let 3D die!': Someone built a custom player for all 3D movie formats — and is even futureproofing it to preserve the grandeur of 3D for whatever the future of projectors and TVs holds

By Carrie Marshall Published

An intrepid Redditor has built a 3D movie player that supports three different generations of 3D, with an eye to the future of TV and projector tech.

A man wearing Beyerdynamic DT 275 Pro headphones while recording video footage outdoors

One of the best wired headphones makers launches new ‘pro’ cans that are way cheaper than I expected — Beyerdynamic’s latest on-ears are lightweight, neutral and seem like a steal

By Carrie Marshall Published

The new Beyerdynamic DT 275 Pro headphones promise pro-level performance without the price tag — and with solid noise isolation.

A Panasonic DP-UB820 4K Blu-ray player, with its disc tray open, and copy of Top Gun Maverick on 4K Blu-ray disc in the tray

Someone polled 4K Blu-ray player owners about the reliability of different models over time, and there's a clear winner

By Carrie Marshall Published

A reddit poll of Blu-ray owners shows a big difference in the reliability of different firms' devices over time

3 Comments
The LG C6 OLED TV with a canyon in the sunlight on screen, taken from an angle. The shot shows off the C6's bold brightness

LG's latest OLED TVs will have a 'Creator Original' mode that works with Prime Video: it seems to take some of Dolby Vision 2's best features, but may arrive sooner — and unlike DV2, will be supported on LG's TVs…

By Carrie Marshall Published

LG is rolling out a new picture mode, Creator Original, to 2026 C6, G6 and W6 series TVs. It has similar features to Dolby Vision 2.

The Ring Peephole Camera 2K mounted on a grey door underneath the number 24

Ring has upgraded two of its cameras and the new peephole model looks like it'll be perfect for apartment-dwellers — its no-drill installation won't damage your door, so it's ideal for renters

By Carrie Marshall Published

Ring has updated its Outdoor Camera and Peephole Camera with 2K resolution and 6x enhanced zoom.

2 Comments
A hand holds a single AirPod

Did you know you can use an AirPod to make an 'over-engineered frisbee stat tracker' that calculates spin and speed? No, of course you didn't — but someone's done it, and it works really well

By Carrie Marshall Published

Pavlo Sharhan has created a smart Frisbee that records performance via an attached AirPod

The LG C6 OLED TV with the webOS 26 home page on screen. Apps are well laid out but there is a large banner ad at the top of the screen

'Whoever came up with this is a massive idiot': LG's gaming monitors and TVs are facing a user revolt, due to seemingly installing adware on PCs — and telling you to warn guests they may be recorded by AI features, to comply with 'wiretapping' laws

By Carrie Marshall Last updated

Updated LG's terms and conditions say you need to get consent from visitors because its TVs can listen to you.

5 Comments
Dimplex FlexBlade photographed outside on a sunny day

The Dimplex FlexBlade Multi-Directional Bladeless Fan looks like it's part of a plane, but despite its propeller-like design it may struggle to cool your aircraft hangar

By Carrie Marshall Published

The FlexBlade is clever and very flexible, but it's best experienced fairly close – especially in bi-directional mode.

A model holding up the Shark CryoGlow Plus

Shark upgrades its acclaimed CryoGlow blemish-busting LED face mask – it costs a little more but it delivers better coverage around the crows' feet area and its battery life is better too

By Carrie Marshall Published

Shark's CryoGlow Plus promises 120% better coverage plus the brand's InstaChill Cold technology to help soothe and de-puff

Promotional photo of the McIntosh MX124 A/V Processor with an amber-colored light behind it

McIntosh’s new AV processor can handle 9.4.4 channels of Dolby Atmos and 7x 4K 120Hz HDMI ports for ‘today’s most advanced home cinema systems’ – but you’ll need to add your own amps for all those speakers…

By Carrie Marshall Published

The McIntosh MX124 is a very flexible AV processor with 17 audio channels and seven 8K HDMI inputs

Lifestyle image of the Loewe Antares TV in a neutrally decorated living room

Loewe's new OLED TV wants to be the ultimate AV experience: each panel is 'individually calibrated before leaving the factory', and you can choose custom speaker setups — including the TV being the center of a wireless surround system

By Carrie Marshall Published

Loewe's latest luxury TV, the Antares, comes with a dizzying range of setup options and easy customisation too

Marantz Model 70 amp and CD 70 CD player on a wooden surface

I love my Marantz CD player, and its new upgraded version was just unveiled — and the matching amp with aptX Bluetooth, HDMI and MM phono looks irresistible too

By Carrie Marshall Published

Marantz introduces a new generation of affordable audio excellence in the perfect home hi-fi pairing

The UI of the new Sonos app navigation

'I've been waiting for this for ages!': The Sonos app's new navigation, volume controls and speaker ordering are finally rolling out — though you might not get them right away

By Carrie Marshall Published

Sonos has announced a key update to its app, and it's rolling out to everybody over the next two weeks

Photo of the Dimplex Rechargeable Cordless Desk Fan on a wooden bench table

The Dimplex Rechargeable Cordless Desk Fan is a good go-anywhere fan, but you might want to play some music to drown out its drone

By Carrie Marshall Published

This Dimplex fan is very portable and runs for up to 15 hours on battery, but it's a little noisy if you're sitting close to it

A PS5 disc for 007 First Light on the left, a photo of the Sonos logo on a speaker on the right

The PlayStation physical games debacle is taking over everything Sony does — it’s the biggest tech PR disaster since Sonos’ app update, so will Sony learn the lessons that turned Sonos around?

By Carrie Marshall Published

PlayStation gamers are furious and they're making that plain on Sony's socials. Will Sony do a Sonos and eat humble pie?

5 Comments
close-up of soundbar mesh with Sonos branding

Sonos is finally improving its app — but it's not moving fast enough, so people are building new alternatives to solve big gripes about home theater setups and more customizable sound

By Carrie Marshall Published

Sonos users are making their own alternatives to the official app and sharing them on the Sonos subreddit

3 Comments
A close-up of the Apple Music screen for Brother in Arms, showing that it plays in Dolby Atmos, which is positioned next to an image of Dire Straits producer Guy Fletcher

‘Dolby Atmos has a curious ability to reveal not just the details within a recording, but also the memories embedded within it’: Dire Straits’ producer says that mixing spatial audio rescues lost elements that were ‘sacrificed’ for stereo

By Carrie Marshall Published

Dire Straits' Guy Fletcher says that Atmos can deliver more emotion from the music you love

A collage showing the Sonos Play, Tribit Stormbox 3 and JBL Go 5 Bluetooth speakers, all held in a person's hands

I'm an audio obsessive and gigging musician, and these are the 5 best Bluetooth speakers we've tested in 2026 — from portables to party speakers and everything in between

By Carrie Marshall Published

We've tested tons of Bluetooth speakers. These are the best ones launched in 2026 so far

LG G5 OLED with Ben-Hur 4K Blu-ray on screen, showing roman soldiers conversing

The 6 best 4K Blu-rays released in 2026 that we've tested — which movies make the most of your TV and soundbar or speakers?

By Carrie Marshall, James Davidson Published

We recommend six great Blu-ray discs that make the most of the medium, and the most of your home AV setup.

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