How Smart Should Your Living Room Be?

It can be tough to know when to buy, when to hold off, and when to save your money altogether. So, what is worth the investment right now—and what’s worth waiting on?

People tend to huddle around the television, so there’s a lot of opportunity for smart gadgets here. Smart TVs are now widely available, and you can augment their features with a few other gizmos to create the perfect movie night.

Streaming set-top box

Pros: Standalone streaming boxes are usually better than the smart software built into your TV. They’re often faster and easier to navigate, and they continually get software updates for increased efficiency.

Cons: It may be hard to justify the added cost of a box when your TV can already stream your favorite shows. Plus, you have to figure out an attractive setup (plugging a box into a wall-mounted TV can be especially tricky). You also still have to pay the monthly subscription fee for HBO, Netflix, or other streaming services.

Bottom line: It’s not an imperative, but a streaming box can enhance your TV-watching experience, especially if your TV’s smart system is slow and clunky—which is often the case with older or lower-cost sets.

 

Soundbar

Pros: As TVs have gotten thinner and lighter, their speakers have gotten smaller (hence those 70-inch monsters you have to strain to hear). A soundbar is a compact speaker that raises volume, sharpens sound, and creates more immersive action scenes.

Cons: Soundbars introduce more complexity to your setup. While they’re much simpler to install than a receiver with individual speakers, you may still have to fiddle with cable configurations and settings to get everything working. Plus, unless you have a universal remote, you’re stuck with one more clicker.

Bottom line: After you try a soundbar, you’ll never go back to relying solely on TV speakers. The clearer dialogue alone makes this a must-have.

Smart shades

Pros: If you’re constantly adjusting the blinds to keep the sun from shining in your eyes, motorized shades might be worthwhile. You can set them to open and close on a schedule, or control them with your voice using Alexa or Google Assistant. You can even create a single voice command to turn on the TV and lower the blinds at the same time.

Cons: Smart blinds can get very costly, especially if you need custom sizes and professional installation.

Bottom line: If your blinds are a pain point in your day, smart shades could be worth the price—and they might even lower your energy bill.

 

This is No Time for Wimpy Wi-Fi

Gadgets are only as good as your Wi-Fi signal: The more smart devices you have, the more robust your Wi-Fi needs to be. “Keep your router out in the open, away from any obstructions,” says Joel Crane, a certified wireless network expert. “If you still experience connection issues, then a home mesh Wi-Fi solution, like Eero, Google Wifi ($99; amazon.com), or Orbi, can fill in the dead spots fairly effortlessly.” In a power outage, some battery-operated devices may still function, though smart features won’t work if your Wi-Fi is down. When the power comes back on, most devices will reconnect automatically (if not, a quick reset should do it).

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