Get dramatic desk lighting with Philips Hue Play

[@myHomeKithome]

I do appreciate the wide variety of lighting types and accessories that Hue offers, but I have to say that I am phasing it out of my setup. For me, the benefits don't outweigh the cost and lack of brightness. Adaptive lighting has been a pretty sweet HomeKit addition.

[@EricWelander]

While I still enjoy Hue products, I can see where you are coming from.

[@ShaneCreates]

Great video Eric! The setup looks great!

[@EricWelander]

Thanks Shane!

[@OurAppleHome]

What a great video, we've been looking to get the playbars, but the Sync app on the computer makes this a fun project. We've been working a sync + gradient lightstrip video, but this may have to come first!

[@JoshOwens98]

Agreed Brayden, this would be fun to try with the gaming PC too.

[@EricWelander]

Thanks! Yeah, it's nice to have the option of the app and not have to spend extra money on the sync box for every kind of Play setup.

[@JoshRoche-j8g]

Great breakdown, one of the best walkthroughs I’ve seen to date.

[@TheBradLloyd]

This desk set up looks awesome, Eric! Diffused lighting makes a big difference, especially since you’ve synced these with your Mac. I love that one light bar wasn’t quite enough for you. Impressive!!

[@EricWelander]

Thanks Brad! Since I spend a lot of time down here I do put an inordinate amount of effort to make it just so. My Nanoleaf essential bulb is working well in here too.

[@sunshineprogamer]

I bought these Hue Play lights (2) a while ago and even though I'm 100% Homekit user, I don't own a mac, I'm a PC gamer and I have the Hue sync app installed and always works like a charm, even when I'm gaming some very demanding games, I know they are expensive but as every Hue light, they are very reliable

[@EricWelander]

That's great to hear! Thanks for sharing.

[@HeyTechi]

Great video! I’d love a set of these to really finish off my Xbox set up... but the additional cost is off putting... I might just have to stick to traditional RGB LEDs for now!

[@EricWelander]

Nice! Yeah I would love these on my Xbox too, but the cost of the Hue Sync box is a little much for me.

[@alexgreer1479]

I am wanting to get a sync box but in the UK they seem to be out of stock absolutely everywhere

[@EricWelander]

Yeah there are a number of smart home tech products in short supply these days. Back in December it was really hard to find Hue Play products here in the US.

[@3212Dre]

I removed three of these from my desktop setup simply because they were too dim. I liked them at first and used them with the app but wanted more intense lighting behind my monitors so I replaced them with the Hue light strips. I'm not sure what I'm going to do with Hue Play lights, I'll repurpose them somewhere else in the future.

[@EricWelander]

You could maybe use them as accent lights in the kitchen or bedroom

[@3212Dre]

@@EricWelander I took your advice and put them in the bedroom.

[@Weppo.]

Hey maybe you will read this, did you put a 1m or 2m strip behind? The normal or play variant? And how many zones does the light strip give? The bars only have 1 color zone :( Also is the light strip much brighter?

[@3212Dre]

@@Weppo. Moved the Hue Play lights to the Master bedroom behind the headboard since they were so dim, seemed more appropriate than behind my monitors. Just used the normal light strips behind my widescreen monitors that provide plenty of brightness and color. I don't use zones.

[@uniqueflh2941]

Am I incorrect in viewing this type stuff as nothing more than a novelty? I mean, I guess they are fine...but it seems to me like a 'product looking for a market' - and using 'reduced eyestrain' as the sales pitch. Maybe it actually does reduce eyestrain. Dunno. But. What I DO know is that decades have been spent trying to improve screen brightness, dark levels, contrast ratios, etc on televisions and monitors - and putting lights behind a screen seems sorta counterintuitive to those efforts. Just my $0.02. Maybe I am totally wrong about all of it. Either way. Another good video. Always like seeing the notifications for your stuff.

[@samuelgomez974]

It’s a novelty, but it’s a good one when watching movies. That being said, as it’s a novelty I would go with a cheaper alternative, try looking for videos here about the goove immersion

[@EricWelander]

Hey Bradley! I agree it's a non-essential luxury for sure, but one I enjoy.

[@EricWelander]

That's a great point Samuel. I don't love how the Govee one requires a camera sensor looking at the TV to match the color, and it doesn't work with HomeKit. But I agree there's a market for something lower cost here.

[@samuelgomez974]

@@EricWelander well, aesthetics wise they are not the prettiest, but for those that don’t use an external smart box for streaming and instead use the software of their smart tv it’s better as Philips need an external source to work. And you can’t compare the $70 price tag of govee against the total amount you’ll spend on Philips (around $470 for the sync box and 3 play bars to give the same results as govee from all 4 sides or $419 with their newest play gradient) On the HomeKit side, well that would be the only positive of Philips but it can’t beats the negatives. And also, you should be able to make a Siri shortcut or in worse case option, activate it from a widget on the iOS screen

[@JasonColdham]

Awesome video, I going to get these today now that I've seen this video! I do have one question though, what are the desktop wallpapers you are using? They look great with the lights!

[@EricWelander]

Thos wallpapers are from macOS Big Sur. They are the dynamic pictures that change over the course of the day and dark / light mode with your Mac. I think these are from dark mode in the early morning or evening.

[@pelaomaster96]

Hi! Dou you know if it is necessary to own the bridge to use the sync app or is it possible to use the sync app with the bluetooth?

[@GreeniusGenius]

You need a bridge.

[@ModernDayTech]

Cool Stuff Eric. Do the Hue Play lights get hot after a while?

[@EricWelander]

They do not get hot. Thanks Eric!

[@Shadowfynx]

Amazing technology these days

[@michaeleorias]

For audio/music sync, do the light bars get the audio through HDMI or are there built in mics on them? Also, do you have the HDMI sync box and know if using it would reduce CPU utilization vs using the app? Nice and informative video. Thanks!

[@samuelgomez974]

For Music They use the app/sync box on the mac/pc/tv not a mic. That being said, there are many good apps that can make it work with Music player directly from your phone/tablet

[@EricWelander]

It's monitoring the system audio output from your Mac. I don't have the sync box, but I would imagine it monitors the audio coming through HDMI. The sync box removes the need for the computer to do the processing as it's color matching with the data coming over HDMI.

[@alexgreer1479]

Can you use the play bar as a normal Philips hue light??

[@EricWelander]

Yes you can! And it's a unique little light for doing so that could work in a lot of random places.

[@mdwhite85]

Can you do a video with regards to these play bars (the hue sync box) and a living room TV (preferable an Apple TV) curious how my ATV would with hue play bars if I got the sync box

[@EricWelander]

Thanks for the request. I might try that at some point.

[@ShaneKranenburg]

Your videos are all good but please don’t say ‘smash’ the like button. I have pressed it for this video. But youtubers saying ‘smash the like button’ are a bit cringe. Otherwise keep it up!!

[@EricWelander]

That's a good point Shane thanks for the feedback. The term "smash" is very trite at this point and a little cringe worthy. Thanks for your continued support of my channel!

[@zeza8603]

Wow, just wow.. lol

[@Keza82]

Straight up not worth the money and all the cables/hassle for what you get