I love Hue lights and these are great, they are designed really well, nicely built and the light effects are really good. I have been thinking of replacing my under cabinet lighting with these. Thoughts? January 3rd, 2019 Reply I synced the lights up to my laptop and used it to display The Avengers: Infinity Wars on my TV, and the Play Bars worked wonderfully, filling the wall area behind my TV with colors that were a very close match to what was being shown on the screen. The lights also synced nicely with Spotify music played on the laptop, though it would be nice to be able to sync up with my music from my iPhone, which I play through my entertainment system. Likewise, I'd love to be able to sync the Play Bars with Netflix movies streamed directly to my TV rather than have to use my laptop as the video source. Conclusions

In terms of the lights they are better than other Hue lights, such as light strips, they are diffused and give a good crisp color, however these are just lights like other hue products. The means to using them via your TV still isn’t here other than using Hue Sync via a computer like you say. November 17th, 2018 Reply The setup process went smoothly for us and only took about 15 minutes (including a firmware update to the Sync Box) to get everything functioning from start to finish. But if you're coming into this fresh without any prior experience, the setup and installation process will likely be more complicated needing to set up a bridge, lights, and then the Hue Play Sync Box. Tap the Settings button to connect to your lights from anywhere using your phone, configure the Hue Bridge, add a new Bridge, and set up rooms. Here you can also add new lights and accessories such as Hue dimmer switches and motion sensors, create entertainment areas for use with Hue Sync, and enable HomeKit and Siri control. Hue Sync is a Windows PC/Mac desktop app that lets you sync the Play Bars (and other Hue lights) with music, movies, and gaming action. For example, when synced with movies, the lights will mimic the predominant colors on the screen, and when synced with music the lights will change to the beat. You can also place the Play Bars behind your monitor while gaming to have them change colors that match the action. The Sync Box creates bursts of color during explosions and dramatic ambiance during tense scenes is unlike other things people do to enhance the movie watching experience. Adding pricey rear speakers, a sub, or other things to a TV area might not even be as worthwhile as adding a Sync Box would.Once all plugged in you just load the Hue app and add them as you would with any other Hue bulb. Once added, add them to a room and then you can add them to an entertainment area. To use Hue sync you need an entertainment area set up, here you can position each of the Hue play bar lights as they are positioned behind your TV. Read our guide here to setting up Hue Entertainment areas via the app. The stands and mounts do not need to be used, the bars can be placed on a flat surface without the need for a mount. As I have already alluded to, I absolutely enjoyed seeing the area around my desk lighting up with bright and vivid colors throughout the day. At first, I paired the Play Bars with a HomeKit remote and had it set to simply change it to a single color. Eventually I came around to trying some of the scenes available through the Philips Hue app, and settled on using the Colorloop formula under the Hue Labs section.

For most 2022 and newer Samsung TVs, the Hue Sync TV app lets you sync your lights to anything on the screen.1 The Play Bars use the same Hue Android and iOS app as the Hue Lily Outdoor Spot Lights, the Hue White Ambiance Being Ceiling Light, and other Hue lights. The home screen lists all of your rooms and tells you if the lights are on and what color they're set to. You can dim room lights and turn them on and off, and if you tap a room you can change color and brightness properties for individual lights and turn them on and off without changing other lights in the room. You can also assign one of the preset lighting scenes or create your scene own using the color palette tool.Misleading advertising and videos – they do not actually work with a TV, only with computer screens since there is no way to sync the colors with 99% of TV setups. October 8th, 2019 Reply While the Philips Hue Play light bars clearly have a variety of uses, let’s focus for now on how they function as bias lighting for a TV. For this particular setup, I set the light bars horizontally behind my set, which managed to throw a relatively large swath of light on the wall. Still, it's remarkably cheap for what it offers, and its LED strip can be used anywhere – not just on your TV – so it's helpful if you're not entirely sold on ambient lighting around your TV while you watch your favorite shows. Its size also means it works for anything from a 40-inch screen to a 60-inch display, so there's plenty of room for future-proofing here.

For my set up, they are magnificent and the cable length is also (just) right … April 1st, 2020 Reply If you weren't aware, Hue lights matching what's on a screen has been capable for a long time, just not for people's TVs. Hue Sync has been available for desktop computers for over a year and it was a bit confusing why this functionality wasn't available for the main place this would make sense.

Amp up your movie nights with this HDMI-powered light show

Connect up to four HDMI devices — set-top boxes, gaming consoles, and more — and plug directly into any TV. Although Hue Sync is a cool app, it only works with content that comes from your Windows or Mac PC and doesn't work with content streamed directly to your smart TV, nor does it work with Blu-ray players and gaming consoles. Installation and Performance

Marvel movies are good examples of how color can add to the viewing experience. The best movie we found was Into The Spider-verse, which was a magical experience when synced to the Hue HDMI Box. Each light is 530lm, 25.3cm in length, 4.4cm wide, and 3.6cm in height. These lights have a IP20 rating and should not be used outside. What do you do with Hue play bars?

The effect the Hue Play Box creates is stunning and makes certain movies and shows really fun to watch. It will engage you in a way that should delight most people. The setup was simple enough for anyone who already owns Hue lights and feels comfortable unplugging an HDMI cable or two. This box draws no attention to itself and is all about the presentation it creates. There are four HDMI inputs to accommodate an adequate number of sources, but be warned that may be a limiting factor for some people. While you don't need to plug everything into the Sync Box — just the items you want to match with the light colors — having inputs flowing through various inputs may affect how you control your TV or attached devices.