FabianAmbilight for everyone? That's one way or another you could describe the new Philips Hue Play Gradient Lightstrip. The light strip is intended to be mounted behind the TV and can display several colours at the same time to create a real ambilight feeling in combination with Hue Entertainment – no matter which TV you use.
The Play Gradient Lightstrip can be pre-ordered from today and will be delivered in October. I can imagine that you have a lot of questions before you buy – and that's exactly what I want to answer in this article.
What are the requirements for using the Play Gradient Lightstrip?
You will definitely need the Hue Bridge, to which the Play Gradient Lightstrip can be connected like any other Hue lamp. In order to display colour effects, the light strip must be integrated into an entertainment area, which in turn can be controlled by the Philips Hue Play HDMI Sync Box or the Hue Sync App for Mac and Windows.
How is the Play Gradient Lightstrip mounted on the television?
Several brackets are attached to the back of the TV, including in the top corners. The Play Gradient Lightstrip also has a marker so that it can be placed exactly in the middle. You can see exactly how this works in the following video:
How long is the Play Gradient Lightstrip?
The lightstrip is available in three different lengths, suitable for TVs up to 55, 65 and 75 inches. The exact lengths of the Play Gradient Lightstrip are as follows according to the data sheet: 216.5, 254 and 304 cm. The maximum brightness for all three models is 1,100 lumens.
What about TVs that are larger than 75 inches?
If your television is larger than 75 inches, you can simply move the light strip on the back of the television a little further into the centre. In this way, the Play Gradient Lightstrip will reach to the bottom two corners.
Why doesn't the Play Gradient Lightstrip cover the bottom of the TV?
The Play Gradient Lightstrip is mounted on three sides of the television, there are no light effects on the bottom side. Philips Hue has deliberately avoided this, as most TVs do not allow the light effect to reach the bottom of the TV as well as the left, right and top. Because of the fixed division of the segments, it also makes no sense to mount a light strip for a larger TV on a small TV.
How exactly are the individual segments of the light strip divided?
The Play Gradient Lightstrip can light up in seven different colours at the same time. There are three segments on the top side that could be controlled individually, two on the left and two on the right. From a purely technical point of view, the light strip is divided into 12.5 centimetre long sections, which could even be controlled individually. In the end, however, we are probably at a performance issue of the ZigBee system.
Is it possible to let the Play Gradient Lightstrip shine in several colours without the Sync Box?
If sync with Hue Entertainment is not active, the Play Gradient Lightstrip can only light up with one colour, just like the normal Lightstrip Plus. However, Hue founder George Yianni has already announced that a future software update will enable the gradient function outside of the sync box. However, he does not yet name an exact time frame for this update.
How will the Play Gradient Lightstrip be placed in the entertainment area?
In contrast to other Hue lamps, the Play Gradient Lightstrip can only be placed at a fixed position in the entertainment area and cannot be moved – which makes sense.
Can the Play Gradient Lightstrip be placed in an entertainment area with other Hue lamps?
Although it can display seven colours simultaneously, the Play Gradient Lightstrip in Hue Entertainment only counts as one lamp. This means that nine more light sources can be placed in an entertainment area.
Does the Play Gradient Lightstrip take up a lot of space on the bridge?
On the Hue Bridge, which, as we all know, only has room for 50 lamps, the Play Gradient Lightstrip only takes up a single memory space – not seven individual ones.
Can the Play Gradient Lightstrip be connected to the Sync Box power supply?
The Play Gradient Lightstrip has the same cable and plug as the HDMI Sync Box and Play Lightbar, so theoretically they can be used together on one power supply. However, the Lightstrip requires so much power with 20 watts that it needs its own power supply unit.
Can third-party applications also access the functions of the Play Gradient Lightstrip?
The light strip with its seven segments can also be controlled by third-party developers via the Entertainment API – but only if synchronisation is active. Apps like iConnectHue already access this interface for music visualisation.
Philips Hue Play Gradient Lightstrip TV
from $249.99 / £169.99 / 199,99€
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How About TVs smaller than `55? Will there be option to properly synch corners of TV with gradient Lightstrip?
It is best if you measure the length yourself, the measurements can be found here in the article. I guess that it can still fit with 49″ or 50″.
So people that want to have a wall mounted TV with ambilight on all sides have to get a TV with ambilight build in such as the 65OLED984/12? And therefore have to spend another premium every time you want to upgrade your TV?
No, since it is part of an entertainment scene, you should be able to just add a Play bar or Lightstrip Plus to the bottom for 4-side coverage.
Great info here. Thanks a lot. Did you test the gradient strip with letterbox format movies (black bars top and bottom)? Does this have any influence on the performance?
But my TV is attached to the wall and has 4 (!) sides.
Few questions
– how does this work with screens which are very close to the wall – I have a Samsung frame
– can the applicable hue sync box apply the colors from a Kpn tv boxreceiver ( Netherlands) , to a Apple TV, to tv-built-in apps like netflix
Hi Max,
for good result the distance should be at least 10-15 centimetres in my point of view.
Sync Box is only working with external HDMI devices, not with built in tuners or apps.
Hello.
Have got me Samsung QLED Q95T and it comes with One Connect box. How do i do with the sync box working. I have connected Out tv hdmi slot to the hdmi 1 on OC. On the Sync app it says no identify hdmi?? And i have tried hdmi 1 to 1 and doesn’t work. Have the latest update and doesn’t work.
To make sure it works i hade to use my chromcast and then it work. This is not how i want it to be.
Please help asap
The Sync Box only works with external HDMI sources like Apple TV, PlayStation or any kind of external receiver.
The Connect Box isn’t an external source, it’s an internal part of the TV and can’t connected to the Sync Box.
Hello, just to make sure then, if I am not using an external source (CableTV, Satellite TV, DVD, Apple TV etc, then this will not work? I have my Samsung TV only for steaming with ethernet connected directly to the TV’s Connect Box. Am I out of luck then?
Hi
My Philips Hue Play Gradient Lightstrip won’t turn off when I turn off the TV and sync box (I’ve set the RC control) they stayed on all night.
Please check the settings in the original Philips Hue App. Go to the entertainment area you have created for the Gradient Lightstrip. There is a setting how the lights should behave when the sync stops.
Hello, just to make sure then, if I am not using an external source (CableTV, Satellite TV, DVD, Apple TV etc, then this will not work? I have my Samsung TV only for steaming with ethernet connected directly to the TV’s Connect Box. Am I out of luck then?
Got the gradient lightstrip with hue bridge and sync box but it only shows one color. I did create an entertainment area but still only shows one color at a time.
Hm, that sounds strange. How did you connected everything? What HDMI devices do you use?
Sorry – I replied to the wrong topic with my question…
Does the lightstrip function as a normal, non-gradient, non-synced light if I don’t have a sync box? Or is the sync box required even for that?
You can use it as a “normal” lightstrip without the sync box. There will be more features next year: https://hueblog.com/2020/12/23/hue-founder-george-yianni-explains-the-gradient-lightstrip/
I have a question about this. Any idea on what I can do to keep this sticking to my tv? The mounts are constantly coming off
When will the hue play 55″ light strip be back in stock.
To not have a gradient light strip solution for the bottom of the TV is surprising to me. I love the Sync Box, but this is a huge oversight. I have taken two individual regular light strips and placed them on the left and right side of the rear of the TV, but this is like putting a Toyota bumper on a Rolls Royce; anyone watching the TV will immediately notice the difference.
Come on Philips! Give us a trim-able gradient light strip to make this the Rolls Royce of immersive lighting experiences, not a Rollsota!!
I i have an old bridge is connected with play lightstrip gradient. now i bought the new bridge but i can’t connect the play lightstrip. the serial number i dont know where is it i need help plz.
I still don’t really understand why no lights across the bottom.
Trying to find the LED driver box and power supply online without luck. Any suggestions? I’ve lost mine during a move. Sigh
Unfortunately I think you have no chance 🙁
What about the power cable between the power box and led driver? It seems to be a non standard size on one end. Grrr.
I cannot find the serial number for the hue play gradient lightstrip! I have all this stuff set up but the app isn’t finding the lightstrip automatically so I need to search by serial number. I looked on strip, box, in the manuals & it’s nowhere!!