
The device's specs aren't embarrassing or even bad, but it should be a consideration.
#Philips hue sync with movies movie
The double edge sword here is that for people most likely to invest in Hue Play Bar Lights and the Sync Box to enhance their entertainment area, are probably the same ones investing in the highest quality TVs and movie watching.

(Its HDMI spec is listed as 2.0b with HDCP 2.2.) The biggest downside to the Sync Box is some of its technical specs: It will output 4K, but is limited to 60Hz and HDR10. There were times we forgot to enable the lights if they didn't start automatically, and there were times the lights were more distracting than helpful - like an episode of The Office where there was less color and mundane backdrops. We used both and this setting will be a personal preference. There are settings in the Sync app to start syncing your lights on power-on or you can manually enable syncing when you're ready. 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. The best movie we found was Into The Spider-verse, which was a magical experience when synced to the Hue HDMI Box.

Marvel movies are good examples of how color can add to the viewing experience.
#Philips hue sync with movies tv
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. 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. After a few weeks and dozens of movies we didn't see any hiccups or issues with the hardware box or effects it produced. The Hue Play Sync Box performs as advertised and the actual hardware performance has been rock solid. The Sync Box uses the same power adapter that the Play Bar Lights use so, for example, if you have two Play Bar Lights and a Sync Box, they can all be plugged into the same power adapter. 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. There are four HDMI inputs to accommodate an adequate number of sources, but be warned that may be a limiting factor for some people. 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. (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. 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's also really flexible in that you can use it for everyday use and syncing with games and movies too.Setting up the Hue Play Sync Box is straightforward, but will likely require re-doing you TV's entertainment area in some form. This new system seems to be a great improvement on the previous syncing we've seen with Razer Chroma. You also have the option of switching between subtle, moderate, high and intense effects and even getting the app to use game audio to determine lighting visuals too.

The brightness and colours displayed depend on what's happening on the screen and the syncing works really well. Sometimes the lighting is subtle, other times it's incredibly immersive. We've been giving it a whirl in various games and are thoroughly impressed with what a difference it makes to the experience. It's then just a case of booting up your favourite game and diving in. Selecting "games" and clicking "start light sync" prepares your lights to respond to the games on your screen. The app itself can then be set to launch when you turn your computer on or you can just start it when you want to use it like any other software.įor standard day-to-day use you can use this app to operate the basic light settings including brightness adjustments and switching between the four scenes (read, relax, concentrate and energize).

