Michael Antonoff

The announcement by Netflix that it would stop mailing out DVDs changed my behavior. I now regularly race to a street mailbox before its 9 a.m. pickup to return a disc I received the previous day. The sooner the company gets it back, the quicker it will send out the next title in my ever-expanding queue.

Summer is ending. School is starting. Transitioning into a new season is an outstanding opportunity to consider new gear like the equipment that follows. This crop includes a TV with bragging rights, a pair of stylish earbuds that the company terms in-ear computers, a THX-certified home theater in a box, noise-cancelling headphones that let in the outside—or not, and a cool turntable that plugs into the company’s speaker system or your own receiver.

The results of the Value Electronics 18th Annual TV Shootout held in New York City over the weekend are in and it’s Sony and LG by a hair in the 4K and 8K test categories, respectively. For each brand, the win is a repeat performance of last year’s Shootout when Sony was crowned king of 4K TV and LG king of 8K TV.

Summer is perfect for sitting back, relaxing and enjoying music and videos. There’s plenty of gear available to enhance the experience, including products that enable letting go on the go or while lounging on the beach or by a pool. Then, there are devices meant for inside use where you might be prone to switch on a fan or power up the AC. Just grab a cool beverage and pick your product!