Now that TV manufacturer TP Vision has completely abolished the Ambilight+Hue function in the latest TV generation and the “smart” app is still only available for Samsung TVs, the Philips Hue Play HDMI Sync Box is currently the best way to have up to ten Hue lamps light up to match the content on the TV.
“Never change a running system” – this is a more than well-known wisdom from the IT world. The Philips Hue Play HDMI Sync Box, for example, has not received a single firmware update in the past year, with the last update dating back to 29 October 2021. If you have encountered one problem or another during this time, you might be helped with an update now.
It's a topic I've stumbled across again and again in the past. Be it on social media or in emails to me: again and again people ask after a new purchase of the Philips Hue Play HDMI Sync Box and a Gradient Light Strip why the apps on their TV are not compatible.
It had been announced for a long time, but now the time has come: If you use the Philips Hue Play HDMI Sync Box, you no longer have to use the Hue Sync App to control it. With the update to version 4.31, the functions have been integrated into the Sync section of the Hue app.
I was able to tell you a few weeks ago that Philips Hue is planning to kill off the Sync app as well, following the end of the Bluetooth app. Instead of a separate app for the Philips Hue Play HDMI Sync Box, the entire functionality is to be integrated into the normal Hue app.
For some time now, Philips Hue has been working on making its separate apps redundant. Since the end of February, it has been possible to pair Hue lights within the Hue app via Bluetooth and no longer have to use the separate Bluetooth app. Back in March, I reported that Philips Hue had also started work on integrating the Sync Box into the regular Hue app.
With the latest update to version 4.13 of the Philips Hue app, the Eindhoven-based manufacturer allows Bluetooth lamps to be paired directly in the “normal” Hue app for the first time. Soon it should also be possible to transfer your lamps paired with the Bluetooth app to the main app as well, to make the switch even easier for existing users.
At the beginning of the month, Philips Hue announced it, and now, according to official statements on various social media platforms, the time has come. Although there is still nothing to be read in the release notes, which are never updated very quickly – it should, however, be possible to use the Philips Hue Play HDMI Sync Box with a refresh rate of 120 hertz with the latest firmware update.
In addition to the many new products and the launch of the new Spotify integration, Philips Hue has even more in store today. Not only are there two more new features for the Philips Hue app, but there's also an update promise for the Philips Hue Play HDMI Sync Box that will especially please PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X owners.
With the Philips Hue Play HDMI Sync Box, our favourite manufacturer launched an exciting new product two years ago, which was supplemented last autumn by the Philips Hue Play Gradient Lightstrip. The perfect combination to be able to offer something like Ambilight on any TV with external sources. There is only one problem with the whole thing: the “Hue Ambilight” is only three-sided.
Fabian