FabianThe first images of the Philips Hue Play HDMI Sync Box 8K appeared online over a year ago. At the time, someone probably made a mistake and uploaded the product images of the new generation to the product page of the previous model. Since then, it has been quiet around the new Sync Box.
In fact, there was already talk of a launch last year, but then production was postponed and sales of the old generation were pushed ahead. Now a retailer from Italy has provided us with new information: The Hue Sync Box 8K can already be pre-ordered there, with delivery scheduled for mid-September 2024.
This would certainly fit in with Philips Hue’s usual time frame, as the company has repeatedly presented new products in recent years around the International Consumer Electronics Fair in Berlin, which takes place at the beginning of September.
Philips Hue Play HDMI Sync Box 8K offers HDMI 2.1
Philips Hue Play HDMI Sync Box 8K supports HDMI 2.1 on all four connections, enabling not only 8K resolution but also 4K at 120 hertz. The first Sync Box was limited to 60 hertz, which caused some displeasure, especially when used with current consoles.
The picture also shows the new power supply unit with just one connection instead of the previous three. This means you can no longer operate two Hue Play Lightbars together with the Sync Box from one socket. In the meantime, the Hue Play Gradient Lightstrip is probably the preferred choice anyway.
Incidentally, the price listed in the Italian online shop is 262.49 euros. This matches the current recommended retail price of the Hue Sync Box of 269.99 euros and gives me hope that there will be no price increase.
Philips Hue Play HDMI Sync Box 8K
$349.99 / £299.99 / €349.99
Cant wait! Will there be also new functionality? The current box does not work when using tv apps directly, will that remain the same?
That will remain the same, it’s technically impossible. I don’t think that there will be big new features. But lets see 😉
You can buy a Chromecast or something like that and but the sync box between that and your tv
I really hope the framerate is variable, so I can use 24000/1001 fps, 24fps, etc
I really hope the framerate is variable, so I can use 24 fps, 30000/1001 fps, etc (corrected)
FINALLY
The only thing i want to know more if it will support VRR.
And why does Philips not make the HUE app available for every TV. That is better and cheaper than the Sync Box.
Technology may not allow that. That would require a Hue APP on the TV to have access to the video output from another app. The only way I can see it working is if the Hue functionality is added outside of the APPs, but within the core TV operating system itself, where it processes the video data. This would require Hue to either license their technology with other TV manufacturers or work closely with them. I do not see that happening.
Why would they do that if they know people would pay €250,- for a sync box..
I’ve some questions. Hopefully you can answer them:
-Will it passthrough Dolby Atmos True HD and DTS:X ?
-Will it be compatible with Dolby Vision
Yes, I am waiting for Dolby Atmos support as I can’t use the game lighting feature to include the audio to affect the lights. Also, music can’t be represented with light changes with Dolby Atmos.
Can somebody explain why a new box and not a TV app like Samsung have? The TV app does everything this does and with the added benefit of it working with the TV’s inbuilt apps in addition to devices connected to the TV. What am I missing?
Some newer Samsung TVs already have sync capabilities with hue.
I’d much rather have external hardware as I can use that on any tv I want.
Also, the Samsung Hue app is tied to the TV it’s purchased on, not the account owner. That’s a deal-breaker for me.
Because buying a new box that supports all TVs is a much better option than buying a brand new TV just for the Hue Sync. I have a 77 inch LG OLED G3 which has Dolby Vision of course. Samsung TVs do not have Dolby Vision so that alone is a reason for me to avoid them. Plus this TV was 4 grand, I’m not replacing it anytime soon lol.
I’m thinking this release is for the people that don’t have those TVs, if that’s what you’re asking.
Now you only can connect 10 lamps in the app. With the new syncbox would it be able to connect more then 10 lamps???
I suspect the 10 lamps limit is not because of the Sync Box, but a Hue Entertainment protocol limitation due to ZigBee bandwidth.
To limit lag, Hue Entertainment selects a device to act as the central hub for the colors streaming. This is probably to transmit batch packets containing all the colors for the target lights from the Bridge to the Entertainment sync hub, which can then unpack them and transmit the requested colors to each light of the area.
Adding more lights would make the batch sync packets larger, and then require the sync hub device to transmit more commands to nearby lights. ZigBee is a slow radio protocol, at some point, adding lights would make processing a “frame” batch take longer than the time between two “frames”, introducing lag and making the Entertainment Area less reactive.
I think they limited to 10 lights to ensure quality of the experience.
Really hoping it supports QMS so I can go back to using Hue Sync with my Apple TV 4K and G3 OLED. The newest Apple TV and the G3 OLED both support QMS so I’ve been using it and it’s great not having the black screen for framerate matching.
In addition to QMS what I really wish for it to have it ETHERNET. The current box only supports WiFi, and only 2.4 Ghz, and it’s really limiting. Makes for a much more frustrating experience than it needed to be.,