Smart Play Light Bar Base Kit, Black - White & Color Ambiance LED Color-Changing Light - 1 Pack - Requires Bridge - Control with App - Works with Alexa, Google Assistant and Apple HomeKit

I bought the Philips Hue Smart Play Light Bar Base Kit, Black - White & Color Ambiance LED to add some ambiance to my gaming setup. I have to say, I am very impressed with the quality and performance of these lights. They are easy to set up, sync with the Hue Bridge and app, and work with many games and apps that support Hue Sync. The colors are vibrant, the brightness is adjustable, and the effects are immersive. I love how they can create a dynamic lighting scene that matches the mood and action of the game. The only downside is that these lights are quite expensive compared to other LED strips or lamps. They cost around $130 for a set of two light bars, which is a lot for some mood lighting. However, I think they are worth it for the premium features and compatibility that they offer. They are also very durable and well-made, so they should last for a long time. If you are looking for a cheaper alternative, you might want to check out some of the third-party lights that are compatible with the Hue system. Philips has recently opened up its Hue platform to allow other manufacturers to make lights that work with the Hue Bridge and app. This means you can get some more affordable options that still offer some of the benefits of the Hue ecosystem. However, keep in mind that these lights might not have the same quality, reliability, or functionality as the official Hue products. Overall, I am very happy with my purchase of the Philips Hue Smart Play Light Bar Base Kit. They are a great addition to my gaming setup and they create a fantastic atmosphere. They are definitely on the pricey side, but they are worth it for the features and performance that they deliver. I would recommend them to anyone who wants to enhance their gaming experience with some smart lighting.

Superb! If you want the best, this is it!

If you have any hue lights before you get these, you know what to expect. They're physically solid, well packaged, and function exactly as you expect. They have a base which can be mounted on the bottom so the lights face straight up, or on the smallest end, so the lights stand up and face horizontally. I put one behind my couch and one on a shelf, both facing up to light the wall behind my couch. They connected without trouble to my hue bridge. They're what I would call a "medium" brightness - they're fine for accent lighting but not bright enough for the pair to serve as the main lighting for a room. For the price, I wish they were a bit brighter.

I have 2 sets of HUE play, it’s great. For many of you wondering how to get the HUE SYNC (pc and mac) to work with things like ROKU (Netflix), gaming consoles (PS4, Xbox, Switch)...etc etc, let me walk you through this extensive process of making it happen along with the devices you’ll need: ******5/2/2019 UPDATE****** (If you get confused, grab a piece of paper and draw it out lol) 1) HDCP2.2 HDMI Splitter with at least 2 Outputs (Look for splitter that has auto step down to 1080 from 4K for second output) If your TV is 4k, then make sure the Splitter you get is 4k and HDCP2.2 ready. It must say HDCP 2.2 and not just 4K or HDCP1.4 in the description of the splitter! As For input side, you only need the amount of devices that you have (no you shouldn’t run multiple splitters into one splitter). For me, I have all of my devices going into my AVR, so I just need 1 input with 2 outputs HDMI Splitter (1x2). If you have just a ROKU, then that’s what you need. If you have ROKU and a XBOX/PS4, then you’ll need a HDMI switch that has 2 inputs and 2 outputs (2x2). No matter how many input you need, you must have 2 outputs and the second output has the feature to convert 4K to 1080. This is not a feature you need if your TV is 1080p, but very important for the 4K people because it’ll save you a lot of headache in adjustments. 2) HDMI to USB Video Capture Device Most HDMI video capture only captures 1080p, there’s absolutely no reason for 4K just for HUE Sync if you are simply trying to pick up the color from the video capture. Connect the video capture device to the Output 2 of the HDMI splitter on one side via HDMI cable, and the USB side connect it to your PC/Mac. 3b) STOP! Before doing anything else, download the Philips Hue smartphone app, and connect the lights you want to sync with your TV to the Hue Bridge first. Update everything and make sure it’s ready BEFORE you setup with the HUE Sync software on the PC/MAC. 3c) On your PC/MAC, download “OBS Studio”, install the driver/software. I’m running Windows 10 here, so I don’t know if it will work with Chromebook or any other OS. With the OBS Studio software, what I did in the setting is to make sure the canvas screen is set to 1080 so the screen ratio of the video capture is correct. You don’t need high frame rates and you don’t need high resolution here! Lower left side of the OBS Software you’ll see the sources box, select + and select OEM Video capture. Set the PREVIEW screen to full screen, and make sure there’s no black cutoff portions. 4) HUE SYNC Install HUE Sync, there’s plenty of YouTube video telling you how to setup the HUE Sync on your computer, so just go ahead and do that and you’re good to go. What I did do is turn off music sync, intensity to subtle. NOTE: Under Settings/General-Preference/Background-lightning: Turn off background lighting. It messes with the HUE Sync with this low white light when the same section of the display is showing black. Optional: I bought a mini windows PC to run as a dedicated TV PC. Please install a CCleaner and run it automatically at start up so you won’t ever see the infamous Windows “slowing down” issues. In the HUE SYNC PC software, you can set specific buttons on the keyboard to start Syncing. I have to say, that I did end up buying 3 different mini PC and returned two of them because they simply can’t power 4K without freezing. I ended up getting a MSI cube n with a 5000N processor with 8GB ddr4 ram. I changed resolution down from 4K to 2048x1152, and refresh rate to 60Hz. It runs very smoothly all day without issue. If you do all of this correctly, you now can watch or play everything on your TV and enjoy HUE Play, regardless of the source. Remember to check your 4k setting in your Xbox/PS4 pro/ROKU to make sure it’s able to output 4K on your 4K tv. If the splitter you use or any parts you use besides the video capture is NOT HDCP2.2, you will not be able to watch 4K. If you force 4K output on your ROKU, it may work but the video capture will show a black screen. Make sure your HDMI are at least 2.0, amazon’s cable works fine, there’s no benefit with more expensive HDMI cables. I’ll take my 2 cents, thanks.

I loved it . You only have to remember that both the lights connect with the same adapter . So if you are thinking to place the light far from each other then it’s going to be a problem . Syncing with tv will need hdmi sync box .

D+++

Gives lots of light spread nicely over the wall. You need to have it far enough back to really work proper I only have it behind my tv 10" to the wall and it doesn't spread well, I figure 15 inches would be ideal. Definitely a solid piece of equipment I have many hue bulbs from 1st gen white and colour to newest only one has bit the dust after 7 years. It's a Great ecosystem to get into very expensive but high qaulity that is worth the price if you get the longevity. They work fairly flawlessly with smartthings, alexa those are the two I use. I'm sure google and home kit will be the same.

When creating a review for this, there's a metric offered of "value for money" I am inclined to just avoid that metric, because you're buying a philips hue product: you know that this isn't cheap. By no means is it a Nanoleaf product, but Philips Hue isn't cheap. What you get in turn though is a highly integrated ecosystem that utilizes a Zigbee backhaul to make sure that it can communicate to the devices even absent a WiFi network (assuming you can send the commands, like from other Zigbee devices), solid quality control, and HomeKit integrations. Its not to say that they're necessarily a perfect product for you: Until the Ambient they didn't offer individually addressable LED's, and even that I'm pretty sure is zone based. As for the Playbar's specifically? I love them: They're great, but they still have a few downsides. This kit isn't cheap (at time of writing, around $70-80 per bar), but doesn't give you the Bridge (which is mandatory for these; no bluetooth mode). You likely have a bridge already if you're looking at investing, so that does help. The lights do not have a built in battery, and personally what I found most disappointing is the lack of adjustability for their physical stands. You have a few mounting options, but they're all fixed mounts: they don't allow you to tilt or adjust them. You decide a particular orientation and you're stuck with it unless you disassemble their mounts, which considering you're using 3M pads isn't really ideal. If you're wanting to do a set-and-forget layout it is fine, but be aware it's not like you can tilt them or anything. The plug that comes with these lights supports up to three lights being plugged into it: so if you get a third play bar, you can just plug it into the same plug. Alternatively (and what is neat to me): If you get the Philips Hue Sync, you can also plug it into this 3rd port: it utilizes the same style. I think that's a relatively clever idea to minimize socket use, especially because its quite likely that you are going to be utilizing play bars with the Sync. The trade off, of course, is that a lot of people run three or more playbars for a sync - one to the left, one to the right, and one on top. If you have an orientation like that, the third plug point is going to be taken up by default. All in all though, I recommend these: They're bright. They're easily controlled via all major assistants, and there is some absolutely *great* Zigbee accessories that can be utilized. Outside of Philips Hue range itself, I really love the Lutreon Caseta control, and recommend people look into something like that to make your space more accessible to the folk in your life who are less tech-y.

I like it