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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’ll first need to download the Hue Sync program to your laptop or desktop computer (both Windows 10 and macOS versions are available). Of course, the Play Bar does require the Philips Hue Hub for things such as turning them on and off, dimming, and changing colors, but if you are in the market for colorful lighting, then you should already be looking in the direction of Hue. You can then integrate these versatile devices into any lighting scenes you create using other Hue bulbs.
Sign up to receive daily breaking news, reviews, opinion, analysis, deals and more from the world of tech. 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. The bias lighting scene I created for my TV worked nicely with my PC, but I also enjoyed syncing the lights with the images on my monitor, which I’ll describe in more detail in a moment. Philips Hue Play light bars are sort of capable of syncing with the colors on your TV screen, but you’ll need to jump through some hoops to make that work.If you already have a Philips Hue Bridge, the Philips Hue Play makes for a nifty way to add bias lighting to your home theater setup, or (even better) as a responsive bias light for your computer monitor. That said, the lights are very easy to install and can be controlled with the user-friendly Hue mobile app and with multiple voice commands. Enjoy different styles throughout the year, whether it's the crisp white light reminding you of a spring breeze, the warm white light of a summer sun or the ice-cool daylight of winter. The Hue Play HDMI Sync Box makes Hue lights explode from behind your TV and shouldn't fail to pull you into most movies and shows. 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.
To use and set up your Hue Play, you do need a Hue bridge,if you are new to Philips Hue, the bridge connects your bulbs to your network and allows you to operate them. 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. At first, I paired the Play Bars with a HomeKit remote and had it set to simply change it to a single color. I’ve been working with computers for ages, starting with a multi-year stint in purchasing for a major IBM reseller in New York City before eventually landing at PCMag (back when it was still in print as PC Magazine).Here are two videos of the Hue play bars in action on an iMac using Hue sync, there is also a Hue Lightstrip in the mix too. One thing that stands out is the light itself, it is well diffused so there is no sign of any of the LEDs inside, unlike the Hue Light strip where the LEDs are obvious and isn’t really diffused at all. While there's no denying that Philips Ambilight TVs are fantastic for creating such an effect, there are also a few great Ambilight alternatives out there too.
I was under the impression that I could actually sync these with my tct, but just like regular Hue products, this is only possible through Hue sync.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. 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. I spent more than 14 years on staff, most recently as the director of operations for PC Labs, before hitting the freelance circuit as a contributing editor.
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