AV CLUB VIPs
Meet the audiovisual superlatives for the class of 2026
Picture This
Artwork makes a statement within a home and often serves as a focal point in a room. But what if, instead of a static piece, you could change that statement depending on your mood, entertaining endeavors, or seasonal decor? The Artcast app lets you do just that. For a monthly subscription fee of $5 (a free option is also available), you can stream a huge selection of high-resolution images—more than 100,000—on up to five televisions. You can control the display duration of the artwork, choose a digital frame, craft custom playlists, and even select musical soundtracks. Browse through fine art (by genre or artist), travel and culture, nature and scenic, as well as selections for specific times of the year and those designed for sleep and relaxation. artcast.tv
Sounds Good
Forget old-school clunky sound systems that you tried to hide so they wouldn’t detract from your interior design. Bang & Olufsen’s Beosound Shape is the perfect marriage of “audio” and “visual,” a scalable speaker system that transforms music into living room art. This “wall of sound” is fully customizable—from the color to the fabric cover to the arrangement of the hexagonal speakers themselves. The sound is not optimized at a fixed position but rather distributed across all speakers, creating the feeling and spatial effect of a live performance, with the wall as the stage, the frontman audible in the center, and the instruments coming in from the side and seeming to stay in place regardless of where you move. The Beosound Core connection hub is hidden behind one of the hexagonal tiles and enables wireless music streaming via your mobile device. bang-olufsen.com
Watch Party
Outdoor movie nights just got a major upgrade. The Soundcore Nebula X1 Outdoor Entertainment System is the world’s first cinema-grade 4K triple laser projector. For those not fluent in tech speak, “4K” refers to a resolution known as ultra high-definition (UHD). Triple laser projectors use three separate laser sources for the primary colors to create the image—resulting in higher brightness, a wider color gamut, and superior color accuracy ideal for home theater enthusiasts. When flicks go alfresco, the Nebula X1 allows you to take your theater outside without sacrificing quality. It is supremely portable (thanks to a retractable handle) and only requires one power cord to deliver top-quality surround sound. It also has an automatic setup feature wherein it intelligently scans your projection surface and, in one click, adjusts the image to the best position, size, and clarity. Bonus: a liquid cooling system means it is much quieter than its competitors. seenebula.com
