Rick Baron
28 years installing AV and smart-home systems. Owner of SWAT A/V (22 years). Every recommendation on this site is what Rick actually installs in real client homes — not what an affiliate program pays best.
The short version
Rick has spent 28 years installing residential AV and smart-home systems. Over that time he's installed thousands of streaming devices, hundreds of mesh networks, dozens of whole-home audio systems, and more universal remotes than he can count.
He started UntangledStreaming because clients kept asking him the same questions: "Am I overpaying for cable?" "Which streaming box should I get?" "Why is my Wi-Fi so bad?" The answers were the same week after week — but most homeowners don't have a trusted installer to ask. This site is his answer.
Why these reviews are different
Every recommendation comes from real install experience. The boxes Rick keeps in stock, the routers he wires into clients' homes, the soundbars he hangs on walls. If he wouldn't install it for a paying client, it doesn't get recommended here.
No manufacturer payments. UntangledStreaming is not a Roku partner, an Apple partner, an Amazon partner, or anyone else's partner. We don't accept money to feature products. We don't accept hardware in exchange for reviews. We're a small editorial team applying decades of real install work to help families spend their technology budget on the things that actually matter.
Affiliate links, fully disclosed. Some links on this site are affiliate links — when you buy through one, we earn a small commission at no cost to you. That money never influences which products we recommend. Where we send you to is always based on which retailer has the best price and the cleanest return policy — not which one pays us the most.
What Rick installs
Across 28 years of residential work:
- Streaming devices and smart TVs — Roku, Apple TV, Fire TV, Google TV, Nvidia Shield, plus cable-operator boxes (Xfinity X1, Fios TV One, Spectrum)
- Home networking — multi-AP Wi-Fi 6/7 mesh systems, structured Cat6/Cat6a wiring, 2.5 Gig and 10 Gig switches, network closets and rack design
- Audio systems — Sonos multi-zone, Bluesound, Denon HEOS, in-wall speakers, AVRs, home theaters built from scratch
- Smart home — Lutron Caseta and RadioRA lighting, Lutron Serena and Hunter Douglas PowerView shades, Ring/SimpliSafe/Alarm.com security, Apple HomeKit, Alexa, Google Home
- Whole-home control — Control4, Crestron, Savant, ELAN, URC, and Sofabaton
Every review on UntangledStreaming gets filtered through that experience.
Why "we"?
Most of the writing on this site is Rick's. The editing, photo sourcing, and site maintenance are a small team behind the scenes. Where you see "we install" or "we recommend," that's Rick's direct experience speaking through a small editorial pen.
Want to suggest a product or correct something?
Email: [email protected]
We read every message. Bugs and factual errors get fixed within 24 hours. Product suggestions go into a queue we review weekly.