9 gift ideas for movie buffs, from Blu-ray discs to smart lights and speakers

Making your TV super smart

The Roku Streambar is a perfect device for making your ageing TV more useful. It’s a soundbar with support for Dolby Audio. It’s also a streaming device so you can easily find free and paid content such as BBC iPlayer, Netflix, and many other streaming services, all in 4K too. Voice assistant functionality also means you can instruct it through Alexa or Google Assistant, while there are different volume modes so that you can hear people speaking more clearly. 

Tiny, intelligent and powerful

The Sonos Move is a smart speaker that will also ably connect to your TV. It’s designed for both indoor and outdoor use so you can use it as a regular speaker during breaks from your movies. Offering a wide soundstage, deep bass, and perfectly balanced sound, it’s a delight to listen to. It also has Alexa support so you can more readily instruct your TV if it has voice assistant support.

Small yet mighty

The Amazon Echo Dot (5th generation) is a teeny smart speaker that will save you ever needing your TV remote again. The majority of TVs have Alexa support now so pair the two and you can ask the Echo Dot to turn your TV on, change inputs, adjust volume, and so forth. It’s more convenient than digging around for your remote while the Echo Dot is useful with all your smart home gear including smart lighting.

Spectacular light show

Smart lighting often improves a room but smart lighting that also reacts to what you’re watching is something special. That’s what the Govee Envisual LED TV Backlight T2 does with two cameras detecting what’s on screen and adjusting the lights accordingly. It sounds like it’d be gimmicky but it creates an incredibly immersive experience that’s cosy in your living room but also provides a more vivid ambience. 

Creatively bright

Place the Nanoleaf Shapes behind your TV and you gain illumination which can be brighter when you’re not watching and more subtle when you’re taking in a movie. The nine panels can be arranged however you want giving you plenty of flexibility. Also, a music visualiser feature is ideal for your playlists with hundreds of pre-saved scenes also available out of the box. It looks great.

Inexpensive illumination

Three metres worth of smart lighting will suit most TV sizes with the Govee LED TV Backlights a simple matter of stretching out the strip and placing it around your TV. It ensures your eyes focus on the screen more than usual with plenty of scenes meaning you can find just the right lighting for your room’s aesthetic. It can work independently of your TV and there’s voice assistant support.

Thrills, spills, and moodiness

The Batman is a dark and moody take on Batman, even compared to Christopher Nolan’s movies. It’s the kind of movie that makes your high-end TV shine thanks to being able to clearly see the dark parts of the scenery as well as more vibrant moments too. If you’re in need of something dark in every sense of the word, you’ll appreciate Robert Pattinson’s take on Batman along with its Dolby Atmos and Dolby Vision support. 

A true classic

Stanley Kubrick’s seminal 2001: A Space Odyssey is a work of art and a must see for cinema fans. The 4K picture uses the original camera negative with the correct widescreen aspect ratio so it looks beautiful. The detail levels are terrific along with gorgeous colors. Similarly, sound is a delight too with dialogue sounding clear and precise. It’s the ideal way to demonstrate your home cinema setup.

Far better than your TV’s OS

A smart TV has all the basics but it’s rarely that easy to browse through to find your favourite streaming apps. Instead, a dedicated device like the Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K simplifies matters. With extensive support for every app imaginable, there’s support for Dolby Vision, HDR10+ and Dolby Atmos, as well as Alexa voice controls. There are ad-supported streaming apps bundled in too so there’s plenty to view here.