Best gear to go with a TV this holiday season

Maybe a TV is too expensive to give this year, but worthwhile stuff to connect to a TV starts at $35. Check out our favorite picks to go with a TV this year, including video streamers, universal remotes, Blu-ray players, soundbars and more.

Our favorite streamer overall by bang-for-the-buck is the Roku 2. If your gift recipient spends countless hours streaming from Netflix, Amazon and the rest, they deserve the best.

Looking for the perfect gift for that dude who went out and bought a curved TV? How about a curved Blu-ray player?

The Yamaha YAS-203 offers great price- and class-leading cinema sound with a convincingly wide soundstage from a compact unit.

All that stuff needs a coffee table worth of remotes, right? Not so fast. Behold the ultimate gift for the home theater nut who wants to control everything at once.

If you're looking to save a bit over the Roku 2, the slick, small Stick is a great alternative.

The cheapest recommendable streamer around, the Chromecast makes a great gift for people who keep their phones in-hand while watching TV.

The LG Music Flow LAS751M offers a great combination of enveloping home cinema sound and cutting-edge features. All for less than $400.

The ultimate gift for the Apple fan who has everything, the new Apple TV lets them get many of their games and other apps onto the big screen, and includes an awesome touchpad remote with Siri voice search.

So you want to get that Apple fan on your list a streaming device, but you don't want to spend $150 on the new version? No problem. The original is a lot cheaper and still a great choice.

Remember a few slides back when we described the cheaper Harmony as the ultimate control? If you can afford (to give) it, the Elite is actually even more ultimate.

Did a lucky person on your list just get a new 4K TV? With the widest access to the latest 4K videos, Roku is the best 4K device to pair with that shiny new set.

The Vizio SB4051 offers true surround sound with the convenience of a sound bar. One of the best budget sound bars on the market for those with a larger living space.

With Bluetooth audio common in devices from TVs to media streamers and beyond, a nice set of wireless cans makes listening at night, when everyone else is asleep, disturbance-free.

The Beats a bit too expensive? Here's a more affordable option, complete with sleek retractable earbuds.

Perhaps the person on your list gets all their music, TV and movies from Amazon's streaming service. Or maybe they need a streamer that works well in hotel rooms and dorms. Enter the Fire TV Stick, available both with and without a voice-operated remote.

And maybe that Amazon fan won't be satisfied with a little stick. The box adds better gaming chops and 4K capability to the festive mix.

It's not for everyone, but the relatively expensive Shield will probably please the gaming-happy, 4K TV-owning file-hoarder on your list.

Sure, it streams Netflix too, but the real appeal of the Sony is for people who still play actual discs. And maybe a game or two via PlayStation Now (controller not included).

One of our favorite sound bars from designer Andrew Jones. Now that he's jumped ship to ELAC, try to get this while you still can.