Articles by 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

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 15 July 26

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

'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 14 July 26

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 13 July 26

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

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 12 July 26

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 8 July 26

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 8 July 26

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 5 July 26

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 3 July 26

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

Klipsch The Odyssey speaker, with leather-like detailing, surrounded by smoke and sparks

Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey is getting a limited-edition Bluetooth speaker from Klipsch — there's custom detailing, but the price might be its Achilles' heel

By Carrie Marshall Published 1 July 26

Klipsch has created a limited edition version of its Detroit Bluetooth speaker to celebrate The Odyssey movie

A still showing Christopher Lee in the 2026 4K restoration of Dracula by Hammer Films

The original Christopher Lee Dracula is coming to 4K Blu-ray in a new 'painstakingly restored' version with 'long-lost' footage 'sourced from around the world' that was never seen in the UK or US

By Carrie Marshall Published 30 June 26

Hammer Films has restored the original Dracula in 4K, including footage the censors tried to bury

The notification sent to people who've bought StudioCanal movies or shows from the PlayStation Store

'This should be illegal': Sony is deleting over 500 purchased movies from PlayStation Store accounts — and it's the ultimate warning to buy 4K Blu-rays instead

By Carrie Marshall Published 29 June 26

Sony is removing hundreds of StudioCanal titles from customers' libraries on September 1, 2026, without compensation.

Promotional photo of The Sopranos: The Complete Series 4K Blu-Ray showing the box and the book-style packaging

Bada bing! The Sopranos is one of the best TV shows ever made, and it's finally coming to 4K Blu-ray

By Carrie Marshall Published 26 June 26

The ultimate set for super-fans?

Screenshot of The Closet, a virtual version of The Criterion Closet

I absolutely love this virtual Criterion Closet, where you can explore the Blu-ray range in 3D from your web browser — pull out your favorites to take a look at the box art (waxing lyrical about them like you're a famous actor is optional)

By Carrie Marshall Published 25 June 26

A redditor has created a virtual version of The Criterion Closet, enabling you to browse the shelves, pick the flicks and stream or buy the movies

'The world's highest-fidelity movie player': Kaleidescape's new 'Cinematic 4K' format movie player gives us a glimpse of what could be next after 4K Blu-rays — and it's also the first 8K-certified movie player

By Carrie Marshall Published 23 June 26

Kaleidescape has launched the first 8K movie player to be certified by the 8K Association, but the new 4K Cinematic format may be the real star here

Screenshot showing modeling in roomtreatment.diy

Someone made a website that simulates sonic reflections in a room and spots how acoustic treatment affects them, so you can design your perfect home theater or hi-fi listening space

By Carrie Marshall Published 22 June 26

Roomtreatment.diy can help you plan where to put your home cinema and/or hi-fi speakers

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

What are the ultimate Dolby Atmos movies? This website has a list of the top 100 made by collating recommendations from reviewers and Reddit — perfect for your 4K Blu-ray wishlist, and to show off your home theater's sound

By Carrie Marshall Published 22 June 26

Amazing Atmos adventures to justify all that money spent on your sweet speakers.

4 Comments

I regret to inform you that Dolby Vision HDR has once again been dropped from Disney+ in parts of Europe

By Carrie Marshall Published 18 June 26

Disney+ drops Dolby Vision in multiple European countries after losing a patent dispute in court — and also 3D movies, but not so many people care about that

A row of HDMI ports on the back of a TV, with two cables attached in specific ports, with an empty port labelled 'HDMI ARC'

HDMI 2.2 is set to arrive in TVs and monitors next year, bringing uncompressed 4K at ridiculous frame rates — here's what to expect from the next-gen connector, and who it's actually most useful for

By Carrie Marshall Published 17 June 26

HDMI 2.2 doubles the bandwidth of HDMI 2.1 and the first products should arrive in late 2026 or into 2027

3 Comments

‘Not a new app, but a new way of navigating’: The Sonos app is finally getting its long-awaited improvements to volume control, player listings and content organization — and you can try it this week, if you want

By Carrie Marshall Published 16 June 26

After 'hundreds of hours' studying Sonos users, the latest beta of the Sonos app will feature significant improvements to navigation, volume and more.

3 Comments

'Set picture mode to Sport': Gemini on Google TVs is getting its most useful upgrade yet — you can now tell it to change picture settings instantly, or even just tell it what's wrong with the picture and it'll (try to) fix it for you

By Carrie Marshall Published 15 June 26

Google is rolling out an update to its Gemini TV platform that will enable you to control your TV's settings via voice — but it's on TCL TVs in the US at first.

Woman's hands holding cup of espresso coffee

Who needs hot water? Researchers made an ultrasonic espresso machine that brews coffee without heat, and drinkers couldn't notice any difference

By Carrie Marshall Published 15 June 26

Scientists have found a way to make excellent espresso without using hot water via the power of ultrasound

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 11 June 26

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

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 10 June 26

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 10 June 26

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 8 June 26

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

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