I bought every LED Diffuser channel on Amazon to find the best one. Mission Accomplished.

[@eltonnoway7864]

The fact that he pays for everything out of his own pocket and does not have sponsored reviews wins my vote. Great to have a source for unbiased and honest reviews!

[@mt7810]

he’s an affiliate so he makes bank off the purchases in the links

[@eltonnoway7864]

@@mt7810 True, but that doesn't mean his reviews are biased or dishonest. The Amazon purchase price is the same to a buyer whether they find the product their own or use one of his affiliate links. When someone clicks and completes a purchase via one of his links he receives a commission. Amazon commissions range from 1% to 20% depending on the product category.

[@magicmulder]

@@mt7810 He's also likely a professional and does these evaluations to provide the best result to his clients anyway.

[@richardjames1402]

Plus money from the videos. That’s like saying Mr Beast pays out of pocket to give away millions of dollars… yes he does, but it’s an investment

[@FrankGraffagnino]

man... no one puts in the amount of work, and the engineering/scientific approach like you do. You've definitely found your voice when it comes to accurate reviews. Thanks so much for keeping the quality of these reviews so high!!

[@michiganmitten]

agreed 👍

[@davidamoritz]

You obviously have never been to Project Farm's channel

[@FrankGraffagnino]

@@davidamoritz I watch project farm all the time.

[@zachwerrlein2768]

@@FrankGraffagnino nerd

[@user-bp1us2kq3d]

definitely. you could also ask your electrician. but definitely.

[@adambeck7]

Thank you and keep up the incredible work. I found your channel a couple years ago when looking for the permanent holiday led setups. I just watched your golf simulator video and was blown away.

[@TheHookUp]

Thanks Adam! I was/am pretty proud of the golf sim video. It’s a shame more people didn’t watch it. lol 😭

[@StreetMisfit]

this man out here doing all the dirty work and presenting in a beautiful to watch video. what a life saver

[@dsnuts9987]

Just stumbled across your channel. You answered a question that had been burning in the back of my mind for Months now! Ive been too scared to do exactly what you just did in this review for me. God bless you kind sir... A token of my gratitude for the time & money you just saved me. 😁

[@LostFaithInMankind]

It's just such a relief to not having to buy a product and being worried about it being the right choice for the job. Comparing the most used items within a genre and comparing them the way you do is simply brilliant. I thank you, for me not having to waste time.

[@dporrasxtremeLS3]

And MONEY!!!

[@jeremywhitelaw1368]

Thanks, your videos are so thorough and unbiased. Your teaching skills definitely come through in your videos as you impart heaps of info in a really easy format to watch. Really appreciate the effort and time this must take.

[@dporrasxtremeLS3]

YES!

[@djosearth3618]

fully agree :)

[@JeremyEllwood]

Lighting designer here. A little tip... if you get the deep channel and line the back side (not the actual diffusion side) with slightly wrinkled aluminum foil, it will assist with diffusion and will improve light intensity. But it does take some work.

[@PandaPuppyFTW]

Meat hammer on carpet or cushion, softly, to quickly "dimple" the foil.

[@RealJerb]

What about metal tape? like they use on HVAC. Reflective enough? How significant would it help vs just bare aluminum, which is somewhat reflective

[@pancake8133]

@@RealJerb The metal tape will help improve the brightness but not the diffusion. You want the wrinkles to help scatter the light more. Alternatively, mask off the outside surfaces and spray the inside of the channel with matte white spray paint so you can keep a dark exterior with an efficient interior reflective surface. Matte paint will scatter the light more than glossy paint.

[@dporrasxtremeLS3]

@@pancake8133 Perfect!!! Great guidence and experience! Thanks!

[@kittycat1302]

@@pancake8133 Is it necessary for function to keep a dark exterior or is that just for aesthetics? And we are talking for use without a diffuser correct?

[@blockard0]

Wow! What a thorough, clear and comprehensive video! No "clever" wordplay, no distracting asides, just pure information presented in a very organized way. Thank you so much for all the time and effort this took. What a valuable service you provide.

[@jimbates6227]

I think I just sprained my brain trying to absorb all that info. But, you've given us tons of information and your recommendations. I would have used trial-and-error and you've eliminated that. Thanks again for the thorough work.

[@korg47237]

Hah agreed. Think I'll just write down the recommendations at then end for future reference.

[@williamterry3177]

Don't bother to write anything down, show your support by just clicking his link.

[@DRacer90]

ORRRR, you can just add his video on your favorites link (like I did) LOL

[@ryanyeackley3627]

Wait a Hawkeye fan can eat corn and learn. Iowans are evolving. I’m scared. But agree amazing content

[@a..d5518]

@@DRacer90 or do both, use his link and save this video for reference when it’s time to build your lights.

[@billcrawford4547]

These types of videos are best when I have to pause it to keep up, instead of twiddling my thumbs waiting for someone to get to the point. The pacing of this video is fantastic: quick, to the point. Subscribed right away. Keep it up!

[@joemeyers5135]

Looking to put LED stripes on a ladder that would suspend from the ceiling looking to have it over our kitchen for reading. 10ft tall ceilings. Thoughts i would like it to be as bright as possible to read at, but with the availability to dim. Thanks!

[@JakeEyz]

I needed this so much right now. No retail shop really sells these so such a risk buying online without any good information. Thanks!

[@robertsaca3512]

Paying full price to be completely unbiased, big ups for that.

[@paxwebb]

Not sure about Amazon, but here in China there are a lot more options than just these too. PC diffuser comes in various colors and thickness qualities. For example, opal, milky, frosted.… 0.8mm, 1mm and 1.2mm thickness. And the bare aluminum profile isn't bare, it's anodized. Usually it's anodized silver although there are other anodization processes too. Great job actually trying all these out. I never had the time to do that. Appreciate your work on this. I was surprised about the "tent" diffuser

[@gentledem]

i enjoyed every single second of this video. this is a dream come true for someone who cares about lighting like I do. thank you SO much

[@Hungry4Mor]

At last a comprehensive breakdown on such an important yet usually overlooked issue. Excellent work. Much appreciated.

[@John-fh3rx]

The most fantastic video I have ever seen in my life. Bravo.

[@rickhoras7797]

Thanks!

[@DIYDumpRat]

Thank you so much for making this video. I'm doing KZbin's most in-depth Home Theater build at the moment and I literally just released a video of me scrapping 60 LED backlit tv's just to get the back light diffuses as well as the acrylic diffusion layers out of to use in my audio diffuses, which I also want to have LED lights running around the perimeter of. I didn't even know these things existed. So you have done the hard work if I choose to go this route. Appreciate it 🙂👍

[@DIYDumpRat]

BTW I probably will go this route now. Looks way easier than sticking a single diffuser over each LED 😅

[@johnnyvandenelzen2250]

Oh my, this is probably the best thought-through video on this topic out there! It's pure genius! Thank you!

[@GraViTaTi0nHD]

KZbin Review Gold Award for this video!

[@kes9127]

Your videos are so good. I've watched only 2 of them and I feel like I know almost everything I need to know about LED strips.

[@SamSmithVev0]

What a comprehensive comparison. Wow. So legit.

[@qchatgreg]

my mind is spinning .. very timely for me .. thanks for your great efforts, timely, relevant, informative, …

[@theFLICKpick]

Never thought I'd find a video for exactly what I needed, great breakdown!

[@BrianLough]

What a thumbnail, I just could help but click! I have never been so invested in the performance of someone else's video

[@TheHookUp]

Hahaha

[@thepepishow9878]

@@TheHookUp now download it 1000X ;)

[@DrGeta666]

Straight forward. right to the point. side by side examples and every kind of test that i would have personally wanted performed,. amazing video! keep it up.

[@jucaviapri]

What a great video man! Thanks for all that info!

[@GustavoHernandez1]

Simon mi apa

[@Berkeloid0]

This was really interesting! It would be interesting to see comparisons against the ones from Aliexpress as there are dozens of other designs there, including shallow channels with extra thick covers, which would appear to get you better diffusion in a much shallower channel. They also have ones that fire the LED strip sideways, having it bounce off the side of the channel before hitting the cover, to further diffuse the light and allow lower density strips to be used. They also sell ones that are entirely white plastic which presumably would reflect even more light than the aluminium ones.

[@user-tr2dh4xx6u]

Thicker diffuser = less light

[@TheTwitchyBrownGuy]

As someone that does an insane amount of research for rather useless items before purchase, this video is a godsend

[@321tryagain]

Really useful to see the brightness comparison along with the effectiveness at hiding individual spots

[@yepyep111]

I can't thank you enough for posting this. It is incredibly well made and saved me a lot of time and money!

[@mikewalter]

Ahhh! Where was this a year ago? Thanks for doing this. I bought and returned a few because I couldn’t find the right ones. I ended up with some decent ones that I’m happy enough with. I hope,this helps so many others.

[@CeJayiZSicK]

You missed my favorite kind of profile: 20 mm wide angled. It's a bit harder to find but offers almost spotless diffusion at 60 led/m and it's perfect at 72 led/m because the distance to the diffuser is doubled. You can also fit 2 strips side by side, a good option if you want to do both primary lighting with a white or cct analog strip and effects with rgb digital strips. The hole in the back is also big enough to fit up to 3x12 awg wires which makes it actually usable for power injection.

[@prescriptivegrammarian8721]

This and your LED strip video together are outrageously helpful. Thanks dude.

[@jjmarogil]

Thanks for all the detail. I am considering making a large light bright and would need to make a diffuse light is at least 40" x 40". The plan was to put this behind an opaque sheet of plastic. I guess I am just going to have to test the spacing and sheets to come up with a working option.

[@mattmitchell5073]

Thank you very much for the time, effort & cost required to do this breakdown! It is very much appreciated sir

[@troykirchenbauer]

So grateful for your unbiased content. I’m using 60 per, shallow black with smoke covers. They completely disappear during the day which is my main concern. I hope this continues to evolve. Would like to try those tent covers at some point, but the white will still be an issue. Overall I love my leds on the house and I’m grateful to you, Dr. Zzzs, Quindor and of course Aircookie for paving the way!

[@BoleDaPole]

Thanking someone for not lying about led strip lighting? We truly live in the darkest timeline

[@prashant1rana]

Could you please share the channel, you used. I share same concern "They completely disappear during the day which is my main concern"

[@TC-pz4ue]

If only I had seen this before buying my strips. This is the best explanation ever. Thanks for the info. Definitely subscribed to your channel.

[@bellasignora2668]

Your Reviews are amazing, people don't need to go elsewhere

[@Electriangle]

"to avoid individual bright spots your LEDs should be farther away from the diffuser than they are from each other" Thank you for the info! I have been trying to figure out the best way to get the diffusion spacing right when I build with LED strips. I've just been guessing the spacing I need for my builds, but now I've got a simple trick I can use :D.

[@gregnelson7349]

When I installed LED channels on my house I was not chasing a perfectly diffused look, but I was looking for a channel that had room to run at least a 14awg power bus wire for injections. I ended up with 15mm high by 18mm wide channels that had room for the wire and do a decent job of diffusing my 30/m LED's. The other thing to note is the viewing distance, outside from a couple of houses away they look fully diffused.

[@WillWorkForDopamine]

this is amazing, thank you for the work and awesome that you added tiny pictures to the descriptions, it's way easier to follow!

[@logannelsen4932]

As someone with a background in stem, I greatly appreciate the readable and thorough stats :)

[@Minijuice24]

Fantastic video!! Ended up buying several different types a few months back and settled on the deep aluminium + spotless cover as well. They're indoors and I've had no issues 👍

[@kevinfletcher1999]

I needed to span a 1.5 metre gap between 2 kitchen cabinets so I chose the 45 degree angle channel and made a small dowel to slot into the triangular hole to join 2 pieces. That and offsetting the diffuser made a perfect joint. Can’t to pull ups on it but hey! It works.

[@insightilluminati]

This is exactly what I was looking for. One of my kiddos wants LEDs for his room and I wanted to see what could be done to make a nice clean installation. and well, you have the answer. Thanks for sharing - I will be using your links to get the product.

[@CarJo196]

You put so much amount of work into this video. Thank you very much.

[@SeamusHarper1234]

I've got an all-silicon diffuser (extruded silicon). These types do a "OK" job in diffusing, and you can get really creative with them, when it comes to shape.

[@DerekAllDigital]

The amount of detail you put into your testing is the type of information I enjoy. Subbed

[@TekedixXx]

Most comments are about the content of the video and here I am writing about how I just noticed the intro music changed, after being gone for a while. Good video! this is a question I always had and now I have an answer.

[@ShadowWolf1307]

thank you so much! the previous tenant of out flat left an ugly LED Strip around the biggest room. My bf didnt want to have the hassle and we both had no knoledge about LEDs before this, but i knida knew that they are expensive and wanted to reuse the thing. Thanks to you i understood what i need to get and mount in order to reuse the thing and have a nice looking living room wall :)

[@VincentPaulS]

What about painting the inside of the channel with as close to a mirror finish as possible, or gluing thin reflective material turning it into a kind of reflector?

[@peterevans8194]

The 4mm or 5mm COB LED strips are the way to go, as they don't really need any additional diffusion. The yellow strip is not pleasant to look at though, so some form of channelling will still be needed, but you can use a much lower profile.....

[@kingjamez80]

I really appreciate this video. I spent hours doing research and fretting about which aluminum channel to buy... this was such an incredible help. I went with the U108 and am super happy with the result.

[@RichardBronosky]

This is a stellar analysis. You are approaching Project Farm quality!

[@67davejb]

Well done for the effort put into this review. Saved many other people much head scratching and agonising

[@marknpb]

Thanks for this, I am planning a home bar and will be installing 8 strips, 32" long, one per shelf, using the angle bracket to light up the bottles. I was fairly sure I wanted a denser diffuser, but now I know I also want the curved diffuser and at least the 60 light density.

[@Flybert]

Thank you for doing doing this. Trying to figure this out through Amazon reviews and pics was pretty much impossible.

[@AlonaTiara]

your efforts are sooooo appreciated thank you !😅

[@MikkoRantalainen]

I would be great to have an accompanying video with different led light strips. It seems that there're huge differences in quality, especially lumens/W and CRI values. I'm trying to find high power led strips, something in ballpark of 2000 lm/m and CRI 93+ if possible. I think minimum efficiency should be around 100 lm/W to make it possible to have passive cooling with max power output.

[@Omniverse0]

They don't quite hit the mark you're looking for, but MediaLight offer some really good products in the direction you're talking about.

[@Spiriax]

Just the type of video I was hoping to find. Thanks dude.

[@travisshowalter633]

Thanks for The Hook Up on LED lighting installation options. This has answered a lot of questions I've had. Keep up the good work, much appreciated!

[@ChrisMaherDIY]

Great video as always!!! Love all the comparisons!

[@TheHookUp]

Thanks Chris!

[@ersia87]

This is the perfect video for me if I ever want to purchase LEDs and diffusers.

[@cindahaselrig4585]

I got LED strip lights for Christmas and…I LIKE the plain lights without the cover thing..so..not everyone wants the thing cover.

[@tablatronix]

Just what I needed! I am about to be doing about 50 linear feet soon. Painting the inside of the channels seems like a totally worth it thing to do.. Also I really wish you could buy these locally and not tiny short lengths for shipping, it really defeats the whole purpose of extrusions..Shipping companies should have special shipping for long stock like this..

[@TheHookUp]

Very true. Yet another example of how Amazon changed the game by handling shipping themselves.

[@digital.olimon]

From your images and just guessing, the black channels will give a deep richer colour for certain spectrums like red and orange. Where as it will dull whites and blues

[@Marc_Miller]

Thank you Robert. Always great stuff.

[@JamynShanley]

You killed this. Thanks for putting in the work and sharing with the rest of us!

[@thajoker2002]

Not all heroes wear capes. Needed a video like this to break it down ez pz for me to get the result I want!

[@uzi578]

I bought the tented diffusers based off this video with the Govee M1s. Straight hotspots not matter what. Amazon reviews said hot spots but I went with it. Well, they all got sent back and I bought the spotless ones I was originally going to buy.

[@tripives1858]

Great quantitative research! I will add this... If the lights are not viewed directly, but rather reflected off a wall (i.e., attached to the back of a television), recessed channel hidden from eye sight (i.e., in a book shelf) refraction will happen naturally. In such cases, a diffusor may not be needed at all, especially in the higher density led strips. And again, similar to the diffusor strips, the further the reflective wall/surface is from the led light source, the greater your diffusion will be.

[@ofiasdfnosdf]

What do you think about BTF-LIGHTING FCOB lighting? They seem to be about the same price for much higher density.

[@andybuck3156]

@thehookup Looks like these diffusers are only available in 1 meter sections. If used for the perimeter of a normal 15ftx15ft room, you'd have over 20 seams. I would think that this would be quite visible and thus distracting. Am I wrong to be concerned about this? Curious for your point of view. Thanks for the great work!

[@coopedup2]

You're making the assumption that brighter is better. This is most definitely not the case for me. Bright lighting has its place but there are many times that too much brightness can become overwhelming and stressful. After watching this video I've become more interested in the black channel because it is a little dimmer. Thanks. Great review.

[@turdferguson3475]

First time I've seen your channel. Very thorough. Had to play it at 3/4 speed to absorb it though, lol. Subscribed.

[@TheHookUp]

It's funny because it's an oversized hat.

[@turdferguson3475]

@@TheHookUp Nice!

[@CommonDaeze]

Wondering what it would look like if you staggered 2 30 led per meter strips in one diffuser channel. Would be much easier and cost less than 50+ ft of 60 led per meter strips (length of the strip I need) would it result in a more consistent effect similar to that of a 60 led per meter strip in a diffuser channel?

[@Madfeast]

I was thinking the same thing 1 week ago and now I found this. Amazing.

[@modelsupplies]

Thank you! I didn’t know what to call the LED diffusers to search Amazon. I’ve been watching a lot of mansion tours on Enes channel and see them in every home! They are so gorgeous! I have the LED tape, but can see the dots and definitely don’t want that look.

[@Tunometecabra96]

This is truly a Masterclass👏👏. Thank you Sir

[@feryjory]

This is such a good and informative video, many thanks for spending time and effort to help people choose correctly.

[@theheck5176]

Wow - Great work ! I didn't even know anything about led diffusers until now. Thanks...

[@the_original_fenestren]

Thanks so much for this review. Will you do a 2022 state of the art comparison between the kind of LED chip? It would be great!

[@argentaviis7381]

This video should be *everywhere*

[@schm00dz]

The main factor controlling the amount of spotlessness you get is the translucency of the cover of the diffuser channel, which you unfortunately did not change consider. Worth cheching those values as you could get less spotless results with for example the flat channels.

[@RmRoyalflush]

Could you explain it a bit further?

[@YaH_Gives_Wisdom]

@@RmRoyalflush A diffuser that absorbs more light will diffuse the individual LEDs, so a milky white diffuses more than a clear one. Image this when you're inside a car on a dark night, looking at a car's headlight. If you look through a fogged up window, (less translucency), you won't be able to make up the exact headlight & the entire window will look illuminated. If looking through a normal window, you'll clearly see the origin of the headlight. Basically, any light source gets more diffused going through a foggy window, because the fog is absorbing more of the light and spreading it out evenly within the glass of the window.

[@Omniverse0]

@@YaH_Gives_Wisdom To add onto this, all diffusion results in a drop in final lumen output, so more diffusion results in reduced lumens but a smoother look.

[@LugnutsK]

This is exactly what I want from a comparison review video, fantastic job

[@janklamer]

great info. after already installing about 50 meters of LED in various channels and forms, I appearantly made no "violations" to your advice haha. the rule of thumb distance LED = distance diffuser is a good one to remember! thanks

[@AndrejStupar]

Just tossing it out there...what about polarized films or like Fresnel lenses in conjunction with diffusers, something like monitors use? Awesome video and thanks for sharing your findings!

[@juliannguyen2946]

Thank you for such an informative review! I never leave comments, but I needed to say thank you haha.

[@kpv123]

This is Michael. Excellent review, very professional and informative

[@Dannerrrr]

Cool! Couple months late for my 150 meters of LEDs, but I'm happy with the brightness of the shallow channels.

[@RogersBenjamin]

Have you tried mounting LEDs behind a bit of crown molding that was spaced out from the wall, so it provided ambient light against the ceiling and no diffuser needed because the LEDs would never be visible unless you climbed a ladder?

[@atrium12]

Very useful. Been searching for a video like this for a couple of months now. 👍🏾

[@youtubechannel12371]

Yooo this was next level. Thanks for all your hard work. Seriously!! 🙌🏻🙌🏻

[@Mark.R.]

Super thorough and answered all my questions! Thank you! And I'm happy to use your affiliate links.

[@twinluis07]

man this is an excellent study !! This is exactly what I needed a week ago installing my kitchen LED's. For the next project :D

[@tomeuler1979]

I'm going to install outdoor under eve/ soffit lighting. I want the brightest leds I can get, most versatile, most options. All the good with none of the bad. Please advise so I can get the right stuff the first time. So far, I'm comparing Jellyfish, Trimlight, and Govee. Thankyou in advance for any help!!

[@wesheim]

Yet another extremely thorough and generally great video!