Took several minutes to locate it, and now both work like a charm. The first step is to decide where to place your light bars, and here’s where you get to be creative. The Hue Play Bars delivered rich colors and a nice range of white color temperatures in my tests. I connected both lights to the power supply, plugged it in, and opened the Hue app. Tap the Settings button to connect to your lights from anywhere using your phone, configure the Hue Bridge, add a new Bridge, and set up rooms. Use the Explore button to find out about controlling the Play Bars with Amazon Alexa, Microsoft Cortana, Apple Siri, and Google Assistant voice commands, and how to make them work with other smart home platforms including SmartThings, Vivint, Logitech Harmony, and Nest. You may unsubscribe from the newsletters at any time. There are tons of new additions to Philips Hue's lineup of smart lights this year, including a couple that want to serve as color-changing accent lights for your living room or bedroom. Mount behind your TV When setting up a lighting system for my computer, my only solution was using a light strip attached to the back of my desk. If you’re using th… © 1996-2020 Ziff Davis, LLC. So the Philips Hue Play Light bar has landed, lights that are designed specifically with Hue sync in mind, the Philips app that syncs on-screen action and music with your lights. You can connect three to a single power supply to help cut down on cord clutter around your surge protector. The stadium shaped units are smaller than I expected, fronted by a diffusing panel and coming to a point on the back so they can be angled slightly towards a wall. I set up both LED bars behind my TV using the 3M tape to attach the bars. Bottom line: The Philips Hue Play Bar is a versatile lighting solution that offers bright, vivid colors in a compact and light form factor. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Syncs well with movies and music. The more accurate and precise the syncing is, the more immersive the experience. At this point you can rename the bars or go back and do it later. Additional light bars cost $60 (£65) each. Inside is a 530-lumen LED bulb capable of displaying 16 million colors and 50,000 shades of white. Each bar measures 10.0 inches long, 1.4 inches high, and 1.7 inches wide, and has a white translucent lens covering, a rubberized base with three mounting holes, and a 78-inch power cable. The hue bulb is for floor lamp and I have fixed both play light next to my monitor, on the table. With a directional design that draws attention to the pool of light that these fixtures cast instead of drawing it to the fixtures themselves, the Play light bars offer an interesting change from the usual bulb-based Philips Hue approach. These are some of the most appealing new Hue lights of the year, but they're too pricey to recommend just yet. The bulbs are dimmable and rated to last up to 25,000 hours. PCMag Digital Group. We review the Philips Hue Play. Bottom Line: The Philips Hue Play Light Bars make it easy to bathe your walls in colorful lighting and add some pop to your movie, music, and gaming … Hue Sync is a Windows PC/Mac desktop app that lets you sync the Play Bars (and other Hue lights) with music, movies, and gaming action. Both are part of an “Entertainment Area” configured in the Hue app, and require either the Hue Play HDMI Sync Box or Hue Sync for PC to synchronize with content on your screen.. The Philips Hue Play Gradient Lightstrip is certainly not the ultimate ambilight retrofit solution, because there are still too many restrictions: You need the Hue Sync Box and only external HDMI sources are supported. Each light bar comes with a six-foot cable that plugs into a single power adapter. Despite a high price tag, the starter kit doesn't come with the mandatory Hue Bridge. Th Philips Hue Play light bar can be mounted to a wall or TV, laid flat on any surface, or stood upright. The Hue Play Bar goes perfect with my Samsung Q70 65’ TV. Super quick and easy setup. The Play lights don't feature built-in batteries or any other unique extra features. Each bar is about ten inches long and just under two inches wide and is bright. As a Contributing Editor for PCMag, John Delaney has been testing and reviewing monitors, TVs, PCs, networking and smart home gear, and other assorted hardware and peripherals for almost 20 years. The Good The Philips Hue Play light bars are well designed and easy to mount in a variety of ways, making them a good fit for spots where bulbs aren't an option. A versatile smart light, it makes the perfect accent piece for any living room, entertainment space, or media room. Here you can also add new lights and accessories such as Hue dimmer switches and motion sensors, create entertainment areas for use with Hue Sync, and enable HomeKit and Siri control. 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. Philips Hue has a number of different lighting solutions for your home. Of course, there’s a school of thought that says such “responsive” TV bias lighting is more … They're a breeze to install, deliver excellent color, and work well with the Hue Sync app. https://www.pcmag.com/reviews/philips-hue-play-light-bar. Transform the way you experience light with Philips Hue. If you click an affiliate link and buy a product or service, we may be paid a fee by that merchant. Getting started with the Philips Hue Play kit is a surprisingly simple process. Apple's Mac Mini is killing my Hackintosh hobby, 2020: The year in pictures, from lockdowns and protests to vaccines and hope, Discuss: Philips Hue Play Light Bar review: Great, but too expensive. You can connect three to a single power supply to help cut down on cord clutter around your surge protector. The different Philips Hue bulbs. Need help picking out the best home security system for your home? https://www.cnet.com/reviews/philips-hue-play-light-bar-review What is a Philips Hue Play Light Bar? 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PCMag.com is a leading authority on technology, delivering Labs-based, independent reviews of the latest products and services. © 2020 CNET, A RED VENTURES COMPANY. This is an office light (in addition to 2 hue bulbs in the living room). The Amazon Echo Show 5 combines the best parts of the full-sized Echo Show with a smart... Arlo's $150 Video Doorbell is still an excellent doorbell at a reasonable price. The display of third-party trademarks and trade names on this site does not necessarily indicate any affiliation or the endorsement of PCMag. This newsletter may contain advertising, deals, or affiliate links. Ultimately, you'll be rewarded with some very cool mood lighting. We delete comments that violate our policy, which we encourage you to read. The Philips Hue App makes it easy for you to get the most out of your Hue lights and accessories. He then worked for the now defunct ComputerLand chain of PC dealers before joining PC Magazine in 1987. The lights also synced nicely with Spotify music played on the laptop, though it would be nice to be able to sync up with my music from my iPhone, which I play through my entertainment system. As with the Hue Lily Outdoor Spot Lights, the Play Light Bars are all about ambience and are meant to provide accent lighting rather than whole room illumination. Keep an eye on your inbox! They're a bit pricey, especially when you consider you need a Hue Bridge to use them, but they're a nice addition to Hue-centric households. There are four buttons at the bottom of the screen. This section also contains how-to videos and a link to Hue Labs where you can try out and vote for new formulas and scenes. While the lights aren't very bright, they're perfect for mood lighting and they respond quickly to color changes made using the app. And the amount of light is just perfect for me. There are actually two units used here, one on the left and one on the right side of the TV. A versatile smart light, it makes the perfect accent piece for … Your subscription has been confirmed. Hue Play Light bars in action The lights change quickly with little lag. On the left is the “regular” Hue Lightstrip Plus ($80 U.S.). It is a bar 253 x 36 x 44mm x 420g that has two mounting bases (vertical or horizontal) to add up to 530 lumens (office light). PCMag, PCMag.com and PC Magazine are among the federally registered trademarks of Ziff Davis, LLC and may not be used by third parties without explicit permission. Play 2 within seconds to attach the bars to illuminate a white wall in my tests long and just two... Hue lightstrip Plus ( $ 80 U.S. ) i tapped the three dots in the right... Reviews of the latest products and services t for everyone and vote for new formulas and scenes despite a price! To install, deliver excellent color, and here ’ s where you get to be creative all! Then worked for the now defunct ComputerLand chain of PC dealers before joining Magazine! 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