Philips Hue Play Assessment – Philips Hue Play affords the last word entertaiment expertise from Philips Hue vary, at worth vary. The Hue White & Color Ambiance Gentle Bar is designed particularly to reinforce your TV or film viewing expertise.
Like the opposite Hue vary, you may also choose from various hundreds of thousands totally different colors, change the color themes, and combine them into your sensible dwelling setup.
The one I’ve right here is the Philips Hue Play gentle bar double pack, containing 2 Hue Play gentle bars. You’ll be able to simply get a single gentle bar if you’d like, however belief me, simply seize each.
Philips Hue Play Assessment – Packaging
Word that the Hue bridge is required so when you’ve got not had any Hue setup at dwelling, it’s good to buy this individually. I solely have one bridge however it could actually join and deal with quite a few quantities of Philips Hue lights round my dwelling (1st Gen gentle bulbs, 2nd Gen gentle bulbs, Lily Out of doors Spotlights, Lightstrips, and Hue Lamps.
Philips Hue Play Assessment – Set up
You’ll be able to place the Hue Play in quite a lot of positions and places. You’ll be able to stick them behind your TV or PC monitor in case you like, or lie them flat on the desk, or vertically utilizing the stand. All the mandatory parts (desk stands, mounting helps) are included within the packaging so you may decide and select.
I sort of like having the sunshine bars to lie flat on the desk, projecting lights onto the partitions. The bar unit itself is barely slanted to a pleasant angle you can challenge the lights completely alongside the wall.
Philips Hue Play Assessment – Design & Options
The sunshine bars are fairly compact, flat, and don’t take plenty of house. I set these up on my gaming/work space to be synced to my gaming monitor by Hue Sync. Even if you’re not planning to make use of Hue Play in your TV or monitor, you may nonetheless use it like different Hue bulbs and lamps to create nice room ambiance.
As soon as the Hue Play gentle bars are linked to the Hue Bridge, you’ll have limitless potentials to create an aesthetically pleasing ambiance across the room they’re in. You’ll be able to set the color and brightness with the Hue app, and extra.
For instance, you may set these gentle bars to activate at a selected time day by day (say, after Sundown), or as you’re coming dwelling. These lights will be set to discourage thieves by turning them on and off with random intervals, and work nice along with your different sensible gadgets by IFTTT, Razer Chroma, Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, and Apple Siri.
Utilizing Alexa on the Amazon Echo Present 5, or Google Assistant on the Google Nest Hub, or Siri from my iPhone XS Max, I can merely say “Flip Research On/Off” to show these Hue Play gentle bars on and off. It solely takes a second.
BUT!
You don’t purchase the Philips Hue Play for the sensible gentle options alone. They will function a dynamic backlight in your tv or monitor, matching what’s on display screen. This doesn’t simply improve the viewing expertise, but in addition higher in your eyes – particularly in case you like to show your lights off to observe films or play video games.
Hue Play will sync with films, video games, and music in case you set it up accurately. The simplest method is to set it up subsequent to your PC monitor after which set up Hue Sync on Home windows. The app will mechanically detect what’s on display screen and sync the color mechanically to the Hue Play gentle bars. If you need these on the TV, sadly there isn’t a plug and play methodology. You have to hook the TV up with a Home windows laptop computer or desktop.
I’ve loved the Hue Play in quite a lot of other ways: as a tremendous room ambiance and in addition for a greater leisure expertise whereas enjoying video games and watching films on the PC. You can too use Vivaldi browser and let the sunshine bars sync to the color of the location’s theme you’re on with its direct help to Philips Hue.
However a video speaks a thousand phrases, so here’s a brief video from YouTube, syncing with Hue Play:
Or a snippet from Blizzard Overwatch recreation:
Final weekend, a bunch of buddies came visiting to my home and performed Counterstrike:World Offensive with the Hue Play on. There have been loads of praises and curiousity find out what these gentle bars had been. The one “complain” they’d was when an enemy flashbanged them and the display screen turned to white, together with the Hue Play projections – creating a really vivid gentle across the wall. To me, that’s realism and immersion, however hey, every to their opinion.
Whereas these gentle bars are cool, if you’re on the lookout for one thing tighter and might cowl all edges of the display screen, you may wish to have a look at Lightpack 2 as a substitute. Particularly if you’re planning to apply it to a TV:
The Lightpack plugs on to your TV’s HDMI, so no PC is required (additionally in case you don’t have a Philips Hue Bridge, the associated fee will finish as much as be related with higher outcomes). Nevertheless, Lightpack will not be a wise gentle in a way like Hue Play the place you may have tons of integrations and setup to match along with your sensible dwelling general setup. So, your name.
Philips Hue Play Assessment – Conclusion
Philips Hue Play is among the most attention-grabbing Hue merchandise I’ve encountered. The Hue Lamp is pretty related, however Hue Play design is extra particular and tailor-made to be the proper gentle projectors. Stick it behind the TV or monitor, use the stand, or simply lie them flat on the desk – the selection is yours.
The sunshine bar has a pleasant, compact design that doesn’t take a lot house. The sunshine projections are vivid and so they sync quick with the Hue Sync Home windows app.
Word that the display screen synchronisation can solely occur in a PC/Mac with Hue App put in. For the tv, it could actually solely be achieved in case you join your TV to a PC/Mac – which could flip some folks off.
In case you handle to set these as much as sync along with your display screen, you’ll get the last word viewing expertise with Hue Play. However even in case you don’t, you may nonetheless get an ideal atmosphere for the room and these lights make it simpler on the eyes if you change your overhead lights off. But it surely is likely to be value going for different sorts of spotlights in case you simply wish to get static backlighting behind your TV, except you actually just like the Hue Play design and its sensible dwelling integrations.
Philips Hue Play has actually enhanced the gaming expertise round my desktop PC. Not solely that, it has additionally enhanced the temper surrounding the examine space, because of its integration with different Hue lights & sensible gadgets round the home.
In case you are already a fan of Hue lights and have some arrange at dwelling, it’s a no brainer to suggest the Hue Play. The 2-pack is priced at AU$179.95 at Amazon AU | Amazon U.S.
Disclosure: Philips Hue Play evaluate samples had been provided for reviewing however all opinions are mine and never paid
