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Setting up the Hue Play Sync Box is straightforward, but will likely require re-doing you TV's entertainment area in some form. If you're on a budget though, a Nanoleaf Essentials Lightstrip will also do the job, if not with as much style. 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. After a little testing to ensure that each light is on the correct side in relation to each other, you’re ready to start playing with “scenes” (basically color and brightness presets) or “routines” (lighting arrangements based on the time of day, your arrivals and departures, timers, and other events) using the Hue app. If you have other Philips Hue smart bulbs in your home, you can add the Hue Play light bars to your existing scenes or routines. Setting the scene
That said, the constant glow on every show, movie, or onscreen content could be distracting depending on if you keep the lighting effect on all the time. Nanoleaf Shapes look absolutely fantastic on your wall. You'll need to spend some time arranging them so that you can create your desired shape out of the hexagonal pieces. Once you do though, they'll look great either beyond or above your TV, mirroring what goes on during the movie or game and adding some much-needed atmosphere to your setup. 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. Since I went with the lights to complement my room lighting and desk setup, I utilized the included stands to place both lights in a vertical position on each side of my monitor. The plain, thin, design makes the lights look like speakers on my desk and doesn't scream "smart connected lighting", which is exactly what I was trying to avoid. The lights "face" the wall behind my desk, and when illuminated, they give off just the right amount of light, and do not cause any visual distractions. 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.
Amp up your movie nights with this HDMI-powered light show
After a little fiddling, I created a “scene” for the Philips Hue Play light bars that served nicely as a static TV bias light. If you want your Hue lights to match what's on the screen from your cable box, Apple TV, and Xbox, then each of those has to be plugged into the Sync Box. The biggest downside to the Sync Box is some of its technical specs: It will output 4K, but is limited to 60Hz and HDR10. (Its HDMI spec is listed as 2.0b with HDCP 2.2.) You can operate the Hue light bars just like a Hue bulb, they are completely adjustable just like other Hue lights, so you can set one to blue and the other to green. So if you don’t plan to use them with Hue sync or behind your TV you can use them just like other Hue lights and position them where you would like a nice light effect. How they work 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.
Just like with all of the Philips Hue line, along with all color lighting in general, the Play Bar struggles to represent one color in particular, which is green. Sure the lights are capable of displaying bright lime greens on demand, however a darker shade just seems to be the one color that manages to miss out on the fun, which is sad to see even after all of the advancements in the area over the years. You'll need to commit to a set size light strip that works for you and your TV – 55-inch, 65-inch, or 75-inch – so if you’re planning to upgrade soon, it's a wise idea to hold off till you know what size you're getting. Also, bear in mind you'll need to have a couple of apps installed – Hue and Hue Sync – to work the controls fully, but that's not a tremendous hardship when the results look this good. 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. 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
Fancy a light show to go along with your tunes? The Hue Play lights will also sync with your music, provided that you’re playing your songs, stations, or playlists on your PC. Conclusion
Thanks to Nanoleaf's software, all its panels can mirror the colors on your TV screen, but we've focused on the Nanoleaf Shapes thanks to their extensive flexibility. 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. To get Hue lights to mimic whatever content is showing on your TV screen, you'll need to connect a source device, like an Apple TV, into the Sync Box. (It is essentially a fancy splitter that connects to Hue lights.) The content passing through is analyzed and translated to flashes of color on any connected Hue lights.
Philips Hue Play Review
If you've already got a few Philips Hue bits and pieces in your smart home, then the Philips Hue Play Gradient Light Strip is a bit of a no-brainer option. That's because it works brilliantly alongside Hue bulbs, and it requires the use of the Philips HDMI Sync Box to work correctly with your TV content. That's why Philips’ Ambilight TVs– which project onscreen colors onto the wall behind the television – are so appealing, allowing you to enjoy a dynamic light show that syncs up with what you're watching, adding an extra dimension to the coziness of your living room. 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. 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.
I love Hue lights and these are great, they are designed really well, nicely built and the light effects are really good. The Philips Hue Play light bars can cast an attractive splash of color onto the wall behind your powered-off TV. The Hue Play can sync with the colors on your PC monitor with help from the Hue Sync app for Windows 10 and macOS. The beauty of Nanoleaf Shapes is that you don't have to buy a specific size for your TV – you can simply rearrange how they look to cover a smaller or larger area – meaning they'll adapt well to any future TV upgrades you may have in mind. If you change your mind about an Ambilight alternative, you can place them in a different room too and they'll still look great.
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 Are they worth it? Yes and no, if you are into gaming then yes, they certainly add a new dimension. If you want to use them on the big screen for watching films on Netflix or with your TV, then not at the moment, until there is official support making it easier to work with these services it doesn’t seem worth it. 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? Each Play Bar is capable of producing up to 530 lumens of brightness, which is plenty for accent and bias installations, but not quite enough to light up an entire room. Of course, being a Philips Hue product, the Play Bar supports the company's gold standard of up to 16 million shades of colors and whites along with dimming capabilities. So the Philips Hue Play Light bar has landed, lights that are designed specifically with Hue sync in mind, the Philips app that syncs on-screen action and music with your lights. Philips Hue Play Review
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