Retrofitting lights that sync with telly
Discussion
Went around a friend’s house and they have a Philips TV that comes with ambient lights at the back. I really like the effect it gives when watching shows on the telly.
I’m wondering if anyone has tried retrofitting these?
I have seen a few kits on Amazon but not sure if the sync would be as good.
I’m wondering if anyone has tried retrofitting these?
I have seen a few kits on Amazon but not sure if the sync would be as good.
p4cks said:
Has it got a USB connection at the back? I fitted a £4 eBay LED strip which comes on and goes off with the TV and it just plugs in the back
Those el-cheapo led light strips won’t mimic the screen colours adapting as the picture changes it requires an image processor to get the desired result. HRL said:
Not tried it myself but the Hue Sync got good reviews. Better than most of the cheap Chinese tat alternatives on Amazon anyway.
Hue Sync looks good indeed (4 input ports so can also sync to games console), but it's over £200 just for the box and another £100 or so for the ambiance light strip. Would love to have it but a bit too expensive. However I suppose it's cheaper than buying a new Philips Ambilight TV 
I suppose you get what you pay for. Had a read of the reviews for cheaper alternatives on Amazon and they are not too great.
I made a setup a few years back following this guide. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=urOEHzbV48A its been running faultlessly every day since. I already had a raspberry pi spare and an LED strip so it was pretty cheap to install.
ARHarh said:
I made a setup a few years back following this guide. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=urOEHzbV48A its been running faultlessly every day since. I already had a raspberry pi spare and an LED strip so it was pretty cheap to install.
Interesting, amazing that a Pi can handle video capture. I will have a look.I've got a W10 NUC connected to the TV which is currently just used as a cheap NAS/media server solution.
Suppose another solution is to run the free Hue Sync app and get some strips installed behind the telly.
I know this is completely frivolous, but I am really amazed at how the synced lighting increases immersion.
Shame only Philips does this at the moment.
Alorotom said:
p4cks said:
Has it got a USB connection at the back? I fitted a £4 eBay LED strip which comes on and goes off with the TV and it just plugs in the back
Those el-cheapo led light strips won’t mimic the screen colours adapting as the picture changes it requires an image processor to get the desired result. I have Hue Sync and love it it was a birthday present from Wifey and yes expensive.
Bought a new TV last month so did the due diligence and checked out Youtube for cabling etc. to set it all up. I came across this video that shows how to use the android app "Hue Stream" to do it without the Sync Box.................
Bought a new TV last month so did the due diligence and checked out Youtube for cabling etc. to set it all up. I came across this video that shows how to use the android app "Hue Stream" to do it without the Sync Box.................
nyt said:
Can't vouch for this guy ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cJbrxI6UlGk&t=...
Paul is good and does some decent reviews, although his humour can be "alternative"Philips hue is stupidly expensive for what it is.
anxious_ant said:
ARHarh said:
I made a setup a few years back following this guide. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=urOEHzbV48A its been running faultlessly every day since. I already had a raspberry pi spare and an LED strip so it was pretty cheap to install.
Interesting, amazing that a Pi can handle video capture. I will have a look.I've got a W10 NUC connected to the TV which is currently just used as a cheap NAS/media server solution.
Suppose another solution is to run the free Hue Sync app and get some strips installed behind the telly.
I know this is completely frivolous, but I am really amazed at how the synced lighting increases immersion.
Shame only Philips does this at the moment.
I had a Phillips TV with Ambilight and liked the concept but couldn't deal with image settings, specifically the motion processing Phillips implement (makes films unwatchable) even when everything is set to off.
I bought an LG OLED a while later and put it directly infront of the Phillips with a hdmi splitter so both screens were mirrored which worked really well but my gf complained and said it was an odd thing to do so ended up giving the Phillips to my parents, I tried to replicate the Ambilight with a device of Amazon but as the bezels so thin I couldn't mount the sensor without it looking out of place.
imo even when the sensor was on it wasn't a patch on the Ambilight as it couldn't replicate scenes with multiple colours, football or cricket would be fine but anything else looked strange, I use it now the device solely as a backlight for watching films at night and it works quite well for that.
I bought an LG OLED a while later and put it directly infront of the Phillips with a hdmi splitter so both screens were mirrored which worked really well but my gf complained and said it was an odd thing to do so ended up giving the Phillips to my parents, I tried to replicate the Ambilight with a device of Amazon but as the bezels so thin I couldn't mount the sensor without it looking out of place.
imo even when the sensor was on it wasn't a patch on the Ambilight as it couldn't replicate scenes with multiple colours, football or cricket would be fine but anything else looked strange, I use it now the device solely as a backlight for watching films at night and it works quite well for that.
ARHarh said:
Paul is good and does some decent reviews, although his humour can be "alternative"
Philips hue is stupidly expensive for what it is.
His humour is fine by me Philips hue is stupidly expensive for what it is.
I didn't recommend him because I find it hard to trust his sponsored videos and in turn didn't want to recommend this (sponsored) one to the OP. But that product did look good and I thought the review might be useful for the OP
Just my impression.
untakenname said:
I had a Phillips TV with Ambilight and liked the concept but couldn't deal with image settings, specifically the motion processing Phillips implement (makes films unwatchable) even when everything is set to off.
I bought an LG OLED a while later and put it directly infront of the Phillips with a hdmi splitter so both screens were mirrored which worked really well but my gf complained and said it was an odd thing to do so ended up giving the Phillips to my parents, I tried to replicate the Ambilight with a device of Amazon but as the bezels so thin I couldn't mount the sensor without it looking out of place.
imo even when the sensor was on it wasn't a patch on the Ambilight as it couldn't replicate scenes with multiple colours, football or cricket would be fine but anything else looked strange, I use it now the device solely as a backlight for watching films at night and it works quite well for that.
Interesting comment. I am primarily looking at the OLED Philips Ambilight models and I believe they use LG panels. I bought an LG OLED a while later and put it directly infront of the Phillips with a hdmi splitter so both screens were mirrored which worked really well but my gf complained and said it was an odd thing to do so ended up giving the Phillips to my parents, I tried to replicate the Ambilight with a device of Amazon but as the bezels so thin I couldn't mount the sensor without it looking out of place.
imo even when the sensor was on it wasn't a patch on the Ambilight as it couldn't replicate scenes with multiple colours, football or cricket would be fine but anything else looked strange, I use it now the device solely as a backlight for watching films at night and it works quite well for that.
Philips also run Android which imo is better than WebOS.
I was so close to buying one last night after few beers, luckily the missus stopped me. My current LG 55 OLED still works fine bar the one dead pixel (green dot) so it would’ve been a VERY frivolous purchase
ARHarh said:
You can run the hyperion software on windows 10 or linux so it will run on you NUC https://docs.hyperion-project.org/en/user/Installa... you will then just need a USB video capture device., some addressable LEDS and a power supply. Should be easy to setup.
Cheers, I will have a look. My initial idea was was simpler, by running the Philips PC sync app on the NUC and have it control the light strip behind the telly. However not sure how good the sync is with NUC outputting video to tv via HDMI. anxious_ant said:
untakenname said:
I had a Phillips TV with Ambilight and liked the concept but couldn't deal with image settings, specifically the motion processing Phillips implement (makes films unwatchable) even when everything is set to off.
I bought an LG OLED a while later and put it directly infront of the Phillips with a hdmi splitter so both screens were mirrored which worked really well but my gf complained and said it was an odd thing to do so ended up giving the Phillips to my parents, I tried to replicate the Ambilight with a device of Amazon but as the bezels so thin I couldn't mount the sensor without it looking out of place.
imo even when the sensor was on it wasn't a patch on the Ambilight as it couldn't replicate scenes with multiple colours, football or cricket would be fine but anything else looked strange, I use it now the device solely as a backlight for watching films at night and it works quite well for that.
Interesting comment. I am primarily looking at the OLED Philips Ambilight models and I believe they use LG panels. I bought an LG OLED a while later and put it directly infront of the Phillips with a hdmi splitter so both screens were mirrored which worked really well but my gf complained and said it was an odd thing to do so ended up giving the Phillips to my parents, I tried to replicate the Ambilight with a device of Amazon but as the bezels so thin I couldn't mount the sensor without it looking out of place.
imo even when the sensor was on it wasn't a patch on the Ambilight as it couldn't replicate scenes with multiple colours, football or cricket would be fine but anything else looked strange, I use it now the device solely as a backlight for watching films at night and it works quite well for that.
Philips also run Android which imo is better than WebOS.
I was so close to buying one last night after few beers, luckily the missus stopped me. My current LG 55 OLED still works fine bar the one dead pixel (green dot) so it would’ve been a VERY frivolous purchase
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