It’s that easy.Īfter you’ve set it up, using the Hue HDMI Sync Box is easy, too. The sync box is just interpreting this for you. If that sounds complex, the idea is this: you’re using the lights in your room to emulate the colours of what’s happening on the TV at the time. You’re basically creating a zone that the Sync Box can be responsive on, matching the colours from around the frame of what you watch with the lighting in your home. Plug those devices in the HDMI Sync Box and then set up the box using the Hue Sync app on your phone, and you’ll find a way to connect your lights with the position of your room.

Really anything that you’re going to be using. Plus, of course, something to plug into them all, like an Apple TV or Sony PlayStation 5, if you can find one. This is a system made to sync the lights in your home with the entertainment you’re watching, so you need those lights and you need the Hue Sync Box to bring it all together. And let’s just say it out of the box, no pun intended: you really need Philips Hue lights in your home if you want to use the Hue HDMI Sync Box. It’s not just about HDMI ports, even if they’re important, because there’s 802.11b/g/n and Bluetooth 4.2 support, the latter of which is used for installation while the former is used to connect to the WiFi lights in your home. Good news, though: Dolby Vision is supported on HDR. Consider dropping it back to 4K if you want Ultra HD. The box can handle most of the resolutions you might want these days, covering Full HD to 4K, with Full HD at 120Hz and 4K at 60Hz, though there’s no support for 8K in this box. The box is fairly simple, with four HDMI inputs and one HDMI output for going back to the TV, plus a power plug that can actually share the same power source as the Hue Play lights, which itself has a plug capable of supporting three Hue devices, and the Hue HDMI Sync Box can be one of those.

Think of it as an interpreter of sorts: the Philips Hue HDMI box reads the colours found on the edges of each frame, and relays that to a synchronised set of Philips Hue lights, positioned around your room to allow the colours to bleed off, as such. One of those gadgets you may not need, the Hue HDMI Sync Box is a way to turn the signals from your TV into lights around the place. But if you already own a TV of another brand and are happy, what then?įor that, there’s a special box made to convert the colours you see on your TV into the lighting effects that can occur around you, available in the $499 Philips Hue HDMI Sync Box.

To make lighting work with a TV, you need the lights, and there’s always the software solution, or even using a dedicated TV from Philips with the tech built in. It’ll see the lighting come alive in a way that feels more connected with the movies and shows you watch, but making it have that connection is also not that easy. One way is to go all out with lighting, employing a degree of smarts to allow the TV to talk to lighting in your home, and kind of marry the two together. A great screen is nice, but a brilliant sound system is typically better, and while it’s nice if you can cater for both, we’d typically focus on the latter first, with the screen second.īut if you’re already there with both taken care of, what next? How do you make the home cinema that much more exciting? You just need to be comfy with the price.Ĭreating the perfect setup for movies at home often relies around the best screen you can afford accompanied by the best sound setup, though often it’s in reverse.

If you’ve already upgraded the sound and screen at home, the Philips Hue HDMI Sync Box gives you that little bit more for a more immersive experience.

Philips hue hdmi sync box