Philips Hue Play HDMI Sync Box will coordinate your lights with the television

Posted:
in General Discussion edited September 2019
If you're looking for a fun, new way to experience your media, check out the Philips Hue Play HDMI Sync Box and take your home theater experience to the next level.

Hue Play HDMI Sync Box


Connect up to four HDMI devices to the Philips Hue Play HDMI Sync Box, including gaming consoles, smart TVs, streaming equipment like the Apple TV, audio equipment, and more. Users can sync up to ten color-capable Philips Hue lights, which will respond to the content being played through the HDMI connection.

This means that users be able to enjoy fully immersive movies, games, TV shows, and music. Enjoy your favorite Netflix and Apple TV+ shows with dynamic, responsive lighting, or experience your music with an added visual element.

Philips Hue


"People love to escape the pressures of everyday life by getting lost in their entertainment," said Jasper Vervoort, Business Leader, Home Systems & Luminaires, Philips Hue at Signify. "We are proud to present the new Philips Hue Play HDMI Sync Box and give them a simple way to make that possible."

The Sync Box itself is a small, unobtrusive box that tucks away in your media center without drawing much attention to itself. Setup is easy, though it does require a Hue Bridge in order to work.

The Philips Hue Play HDMI Sync Box can be controlled from the Philips Hue Sync app, giving users the chance to personalize and control the lighting to fit their preferences. This includes the brightness, speed, and intensity of the effects. Users will also be able to configure the default settings, making it even easier to enjoy the synced content every day.

If you're interested in getting your own Philips Hue Play HDMI Sync Box, you can pre-order the sync box from Philips for $229.99. Orders will ship on October 15.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 16
    It wouldn’t be Hue unless it is twice the price it should be, and still requires a bridge.
    dkhaleylkruppneo-techllamalorin schultzwatto_cobra
  • Reply 2 of 16
    Honestly, I prefer this: https://www.tele-kohlgraf.de/dreamscreen


    watto_cobra
  • Reply 3 of 16
    So I am actually interested in this, as I often play "lighting VJ" and set Hue scenes based on content lighting. (I love flooding the house in red & blue for space sci-fi, or club scenes, etc). But 300 bucks? They're out of their minds. 
    razorpithmurchisonneo-techllamawatto_cobra
  • Reply 4 of 16
    Is the decimal point in the wrong place? $300?!?! That is insane
    razorpitneo-techwatto_cobra
  • Reply 5 of 16
    razorpitrazorpit Posts: 1,796member
    Cool product but $300? As they would say on Beats1, Phillips be cray cray.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 6 of 16
    I'm hoping the price on this comes down. I have 12 hue bulbs right now (6 of which are full on colour changers) and I've genuinely been wanting something like this for a long time. But this is about three times the price that I'd be willing to pay for it. I feel like maybe it's so expensive because ir probably has a decently powerful ARM SOC inside that's doing some stuff. But damn 300 USD is kind of insane. If it drops down to around 150 CND on sale I'll totally buy one. I feel like this could be amazing for Smash Bros. (Though I'll also have to check what kind of latency it has.) But 300 USD puts it so far out of the range of normal people and firmly into the range of people who are massive home theatre buffs and who have spent more on their seating than I make in a year.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 7 of 16
    It's too expensive.
    Plus, it does not support Dolby Vision, which is a NoGo for me.

    I have a few Philips Hue bulbs and a Hue LightStrip+ in my living room.

    I used to have a Philips TV with ambilight, which also synced the Tv's content with the Hue lights.
    I found it fun at the beginning but after a few months I turned the sync off.
    I only used a static warm white light from the ambilight, which helped with black tones (the TV was a LCD with no local dimming although the brochure advertized dimming zones!).

    I now switched to an OLED TV and don't need this warm white light anymore.

    There is another solution to sync lightstrips (but no Philips Hue or bulbs) with the content of your TV. It's the Diva or X4 by HDFury, which do other things beside lighting
    It"s even more expensive at 289 USD for the 1080p only X4 or 449 for the Diva plus 99 USD for the light strips but I bet it would be more reliable than Philips's solution.
    And it certainly works with Dolby Vision and HDR10+.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 8 of 16
    If this sells, then my idea, which doesn't require any *new* hardware, probably should be brought to market too. I've said too much already.
  • Reply 9 of 16
    You had me until $299.
    llamawatto_cobra
  • Reply 10 of 16
    macguimacgui Posts: 2,358member
    So I am actually interested in this, as I often play "lighting VJ" and set Hue scenes based on content lighting. (I love flooding the house in red & blue for space sci-fi, or club scenes, etc). But 300 bucks? They're out of their minds. 
    I was keenly interested until I saw the bottom line. YIKES! I'd like to see exactly what such a thing can do. There are apparently apps that connect a TV to Hue lights, but it's mood lighting. The tv shows a beach sunrise and Hue lights approximate that?

    I want lights that have orange and red bright flashes of light when a show's car bomb goes off. Or a bright white flash when the shows hero tosses a flash bang into the room, all more dynamic scenarios than what I've seen to date.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 11 of 16
    $300 is laughable 
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 12 of 16
    Once I get my projector setup I'm in.  

    I'm guessing that Dolby support will come in a future upgrade but it's not essential.   10 light support,  easy setup and 4 more HDMI ports.  
    That's a steal for people that know they want the pizzaz. 


    watto_cobra
  • Reply 13 of 16
    Steve HumistonSteve Humiston Posts: 14unconfirmed, member
    - I find it funny that a group of people that justifies apple pricing are mad at a 230 device.


    since I own a dreamscreen and will be replacing it since everything indoors and out is philips hue in my home...

    this adds to the tv viewing...it adds lighting outside of the tv that matches what the tv produces...

    in dreamscreen you have a light strip that it knows where it is on the back of the tv... what I don't know, is how this coordinates the lighting...
  • Reply 14 of 16
    - I find it funny that a group of people that justifies apple pricing are mad at a 230 device.


    since I own a dreamscreen and will be replacing it since everything indoors and out is philips hue in my home...

    this adds to the tv viewing...it adds lighting outside of the tv that matches what the tv produces...

    in dreamscreen you have a light strip that it knows where it is on the back of the tv... what I don't know, is how this coordinates the lighting...
    In all fairness $230 is getting a little better. I might even get one at that price. The complaining is mostly on the $300 retail price.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 15 of 16
    Is there an English version of this site?
  • Reply 16 of 16
    razorpitrazorpit Posts: 1,796member
    mld53a said:
    Is there an English version of this site?
    Don't know, but I noticed it's compatible with the Wii. I'm ordering one anyways...  ;)
    watto_cobra
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