SAN ANTONIO – Tech gifts and gadgets are always popular holiday presents, and experts at Consumer Reports expect many of these items to be on sale during this holiday season. That’s especially true when it comes to TVs, which are often at their lowest prices of the year.
The 65-inch TCL smart TV is a Consumer Reports best buy at $800. CR says it delivers a lot of bang for the buck, including top-notch picture quality and compelling HDR experience.
There’s also the latest generation of Amazon’s Fire TV Cube for $120. It’s a combination streaming media player and Echo Dot smart speaker. The Fire TV Cube lets you control other devices, so it’s like having a universal remote. The updated model supports both Dolby Vision and HDR10 for images with greater contrast and colors that pop.
JBL’s Link Bar, a Consumer Reports’ best buy at $400, is more than just a soundbar. It has built-in Android TV streaming capability, so you can access streaming music services, like Pandora, and streaming video services, like Netflix and Hulu.
The Link Bar also has Google’s Chromecast built-in, so you can cast content from your device to display on your TV. And if that isn’t enough, it also has Google Assistant built-in.
You can spread a little holiday cheer and a good WiFi signal with the TP Link Deco whole home mesh router. It’s a CR best buy at $160 for three units. The experts at CR say it’s easy to set up and it has good security and versatility. The product is also backed by a 24-month warranty and 24/7 tech support.