Stevo985 Posted August 3, 2020 VT Supporter Share Posted August 3, 2020 Hi all, I'm after some LED backlights for my TV. Friend of mine has them and I think they look pretty smart. There's plenty of options like this available for cheap. However my question is this. You can also get lights like this that are a bit more expensive but they change colour depending on what's on the screen (as opposed to the first link which are just a constant colour that you can control from an app/remote control). The issue is these ones are made for computer monitors and not TVs. So do these kind of strips that adapt to what's on the screen exist for TVs, or are they only for TV's/monitors running off computers? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KenjiOgiwara Posted August 3, 2020 Share Posted August 3, 2020 I'm about as technical as labrador, but I've seen some Phillips Hue backlighting as well. Not sure how expensive it was, but looked neat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevo985 Posted August 3, 2020 Author VT Supporter Share Posted August 3, 2020 38 minutes ago, KenjiOgiwara said: I'm about as technical as labrador, but I've seen some Phillips Hue backlighting as well. Not sure how expensive it was, but looked neat. Yeah it's the same kind of thing but the Hue stuff seems way more expensive. Which is fine if it does what I'm after but I'm not sure it does (again only seems to work with computers) It may be that there just isn't LED stuff that works that way with TVs. I assume it's because it needs a specific input. But if anyone knows, VT will know Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CardiffGreens Posted August 3, 2020 Share Posted August 3, 2020 (edited) 5 hours ago, Stevo985 said: So do these kind of strips that adapt to what's on the screen exist for TVs, or are they only for TV's/monitors running off computers? Usually these light kits run off some form of hdmi input - there's some inbuilt processing gubbins that'll work out what light needs to go what colour to match the corresponding screen edge - so short answer is anything that you can plug a HDMI cable into to get the signal to the TV ought to work with these things (so super easy if you've got an AV receiver that everything else plugs into, as the output from that would go to the light box and then another cable to the TV) EDIT : Scratch all that, looks like the stuff you've listed is indeed PC only. I'll have a dig as there are kits out there for TVs, but it might still be a bit more involved than plug and play. Edit 2: Lightberry were going to be my initial follow up, but it looks like they aren't doing much/at all these days. In the meantime, there are some highly technical instructions for building your own solution Found a couple of alternatives: Ambiscreen, Ambivision (both appear to require some sort of device to stare at your TV to control the lights), Lightpack (which appears to be a little thin on the ground in terms of technical details) Philips have a bunch of options; firstly they've got ambilight TVs that do most of that ambient lighting out of the box (so anything that'll plug into the TV can control the lights. There are also a few screen-off modes that'll still allow the lights to change colours - so if you're playing some music through the TV and want a slightly crap disco effect you can do it). Philips TVs also come with "Ambilight plus Hue", which will allow you to connect your existing Hue lighting into the ambilight set up of your TV, so you can extent the ambient lighting across a number of lights/rooms if you so wish. Philips also offer a HDMI sync box, which looks like it will connect your smart lighting to one of the four connected HDMI inputs (I presume this is then connected to the TV) - and they also do some Play Light Bars for the backs of TVs (though these need the Hue Bridge in order to get the colours to match the screen) - though the sync box looks like it'll connect to any of your Hue bulbs, not necessarily the play bars. There's also the desktop PC "sync app" that basically syncs your lights to match whats on your PC screen (or rest of your PC components if you think static coloured cold cathode tech is so 2002) - though I've found it pretty underwhelming for the couple of tests I've done with it. Apologies, as this suddenly sprawled out of control! tl;dr - get a philips TV with ambilight and ignore everything I've just written! Edited August 3, 2020 by CardiffGreens 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevo985 Posted August 3, 2020 Author VT Supporter Share Posted August 3, 2020 Cheers! I'll have a dig into that tomorrow. I have a TV already so can't really justify a whole new TV Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davkaus Posted August 4, 2020 Share Posted August 4, 2020 Be interested to see what you make of it, @Stevo985. I've just got some of the cheapo ones that I just leave slowly cycling through colours, and I quite like them. I've never thought "I wish it matched what was on the telly", but now I'm wondering what I'm missing out on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevo985 Posted August 4, 2020 Author VT Supporter Share Posted August 4, 2020 2 minutes ago, Davkaus said: Be interested to see what you make of it, @Stevo985. I've just got some of the cheapo ones that I just leave slowly cycling through colours, and I quite like them. I've never thought "I wish it matched what was on the telly", but now I'm wondering what I'm missing out on. Yeah and those "cheap" ones are the ones my mate has and they look really nice. But I'm aware that some exist that do react to what's on the screen which seems really cool so that would be my preference. I won't be paying hundreds of pounds or buying a new TV for it though! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dubbs Posted August 8, 2020 Share Posted August 8, 2020 Isn't there some new box which Phillips have brought out which syncs your smart lights to what's happening on the screen? Guessing they'll have to be Phillips Hue or compatible with it to work though? I did have an app on my phone which uses the camera to sync the lights and screen - maybe it would have been better to have a light strip behind the TV rather than syncing the living room lights though Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CardiffGreens Posted September 3, 2020 Share Posted September 3, 2020 Bit of news from Philips via techradar: https://www.techradar.com/amp/news/philips-hue-now-lets-you-turn-any-tv-into-an-ambilight-tv Quote The Philips Hue Play gradient light strip is an LED strip you can mount to the back of your television, "creating a halo of reactive, dynamic light". Philips announced the new tech at IFA 2020, building on its catalogue of Philips Hue smart bulbs and lighting solutions. We're told it features five-channel LED elements, for a variety of colors and combinations, and is "optimized to be mounted to the back of a television for the entertainment experience [using] easy adhesive mounting brackets." It comes in three distinct sizes for the most common TV measurements: 55-inch, 65-inch, and 75-inch ... Pricing starts at £159 / $199 for the 55-60 inch size, going up to £179 / $219 for the 65-70 inch and £199 / $240 for the 75-85 inch respectively – and is available from October 6. One downside is that for the full dynamic-matching-whats-on-the-TV-mode you'll still need the HDMI Sync box. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davkaus Posted September 4, 2020 Share Posted September 4, 2020 Don't get me wrong, I really like the effect and I have a budget version on my TV and my monitors. I can't imagine spending £160 to have some pretty lights around the telly though, that's obscene. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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