Philips to Sell iOS-Controlled LED Light Bulbs Exclusively Through Apple Stores

[gcrasher]

I think these are a good price. Home automation equipment is expensive. Try automating all your homes lighting, being able to schedule, remotes, it's quite a bit. They're just selling it by the bulb, sort of like what Sonos did for multi-zone audio which used to be thousands of dollars.

You have to care about lighting to appreciate these. Like sometimes I want 2800K color, not 2700K. Or a whiter 5000K looks better during the day. Incandescents have way too much color shift when dimming, and standard LEDs don't shift enough.

Even if these didn't do colors I would almost still buy them.

[Raegor]

I want them for the automation. My house is pitch black when I come home, color is a plus. Would really like the color outdoors but oh well.

[gabicava83]

Originally Posted by ipedro

Are these Hue lightbulbs compatible with Phillips' wall panels?

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Smart Interfaces

ipedro,

These look amazing, I'm unable to watch the video as I don't have a laptop with me.

Are these available now??

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Originally Posted by gabicava83

ipedro,

These look amazing, I'm unable to watch the video as I don't have a laptop with me.

Are these available now??

Scrap that, £500 for a single switch is a lot.

[Nicklaus]

I have spoken via email with a couple of divisions inside philips and they confirm that the bulbs that come in the starter kits are not reassignable to another base station.

[gcrasher]

Originally Posted by Nicklaus

I have spoken via email with a couple of divisions inside philips and they confirm that the bulbs that come in the starter kits are not reassignable to another base station.

Actually you can do this. I have bulbs from four different starter packs on the same wireless bridge. You need the remote control from a Philips Living Colors lamp (gen 2) to do this. There is a procedure outlined on Every Hue forum.

Hopefully they will build this functionality into the bridge with a firmware update at some point.

[Ed217]

Originally Posted by gcrasher

I think these are a good price. Home automation equipment is expensive. Try automating all your homes lighting, being able to schedule, remotes, it's quite a bit. They're just selling it by the bulb, sort of like what Sonos did for multi-zone audio which used to be thousands of dollars.

You have to care about lighting to appreciate these. Like sometimes I want 2800K color, not 2700K. Or a whiter 5000K looks better during the day. Incandescents have way too much color shift when dimming, and standard LEDs don't shift enough.

Even if these didn't do colors I would almost still buy them.

Home automation for lighting has been around for over 30 years. Its not expensive at all. All my lights have been automatic since the 80s. They are on a schedule via PC based on sunset/sunrise times that update automatically. I can also control them via iPhone manually by light and dim level. I get 1$ bulbs at Walmart.

[gabicava83]

Originally Posted by Ed217

Home automation for lighting has been around for over 30 years. Its not expensive at all. All my lights have been automatic since the 80s. They are on a schedule via PC based on sunset/sunrise times that update automatically. I can also control them via iPhone manually by light and dim level. I get 1$ bulbs at Walmart.

Do you have a website or a blog onto how you have set it up and what you are using? It's great that you can, but some people would like to know how you are.....

[Ed217]

Originally Posted by gabicava83

Do you have a website or a blog onto how you have set it up and what you are using? It's great that you can, but some people would like to know how you are.....

I got my initial stuff in the late 70s from BSR as they were the first I saw that introduced X10 lighting controls. X10.com is still around today.

Today I use a combination of X10 and Insteon products from SmartHome for lighting control. There are lots of PC based programs as well as similar ones for Android and iOS.

[SpyderBite]

Picked up the starter set last night. Very easy to use and the lighting options are terrific.

If you plan on putting the bridge somewhere out of the way be sure to pair up your iOS devices first or you'll wind up doing a lot of running back and forth like me. Stuck the bridge on the 3rd floor and setup the app on the 1st floor.

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Originally Posted by Raegor

I want them for the automation. My house is pitch black when I come home, color is a plus. Would really like the color outdoors but oh well.

I got to say, it was nice to come downstairs this morning to a pleasantly lit living room (Using the Sunrise Scene) without tripping over a cat while fumbling for the light switch.

[Raegor]

My local store just got more in stock, so go check yours!

Picking up a starter kit at lunch...

[AbSoluTc]

Originally Posted by gcrasher

Actually you can do this. I have bulbs from four different starter packs on the same wireless bridge. You need the remote control from a Philips Living Colors lamp (gen 2) to do this. There is a procedure outlined on Every Hue forum.

Hopefully they will build this functionality into the bridge with a firmware update at some point.

That really sucks. Apple gave me a bulb from another starter pack since my single bulb I bought was cracked. Yup, will not pair with my bridge. Would be nice to have a feature to delete bulbs and re-assign them. I like the product but these obvious issues seemed to have been overlooked. While minor, they are still a problem.

I hope they fix it. Not a fan of having to buy a $180 dollar light just to get a remote to fix an issue that shouldn't be an issue.

[PNutts]

I dropped one and broke the glass. It still works and now I know what the inside looks like: Two blue, four red, and five green LEDs.

[Raegor]

I'm going to return mine. They are lacking the functionality that I really want, so not worth the $200. The app design is just plain stupid. These bulbs are obviously able to do a multitude of functions but whoever programmed this app needs a new job. Why can't I just pick a color? Why can't I group bulbs? Why can't I just tell my bulbs to fade out slowly now? Why won't timers work when not on wifi? Sure I can wake up to a timed light but I can't come home to it! Why doesn't the app show the current settings? Why is it so hard to get a true white using the app?

If it had all of the functions I need then the price is right but alas I'll try lifx or some of the other options.

Plus one of my bulbs wouldn't respond when cold. Would have to turn the switch off and on for it to start responding.

[gcrasher]

Agree about the app. Almost want to develop something myself.

[AbSoluTc]

Originally Posted by PNutts

I dropped one and broke the glass. It still works and now I know what the inside looks like: Two blue, four red, and five green LEDs.

A picture would be cool.

Originally Posted by Raegor

I'm going to return mine. They are lacking the functionality that I really want, so not worth the $200. The app design is just plain stupid. These bulbs are obviously able to do a multitude of functions but whoever programmed this app needs a new job. Why can't I just pick a color? Why can't I group bulbs? Why can't I just tell my bulbs to fade out slowly now? Why won't timers work when not on wifi? Sure I can wake up to a timed light but I can't come home to it! Why doesn't the app show the current settings? Why is it so hard to get a true white using the app?

If it had all of the functions I need then the price is right but alas I'll try lifx or some of the other options.

Plus one of my bulbs wouldn't respond when cold. Would have to turn the switch off and on for it to start responding.

The app is lacking but it's also a first run. Give it some time to evolve into something. When it doesn't, then start complaining. You can group bulbs when you make a scene. Timers work. I set my lights to come on at 4pm EST and they are on when I get home. Lately though, it has been hit or miss and I am not sure why. I went weeks without any issues and recently the timer is not responding. It's back to working again.

What is true white to you? What is true white period? You also understand to get white, you're mixing LED colors. There will be a limitation and it's to be expected. That's with ANY led light. Unless that light is designed and calibrated for a specific kelvin.

[Raegor]

You can group them in one scene but then if you want to switch to another scene they're ungrouped. Unless of course you design tons of scenes for different colors etc... You shouldn't have to do that much work.

Its close to true white when you turn it off and on at the power switch but I couldn't find that exact color on the app to make it a setting.

Timers wouldn't work for me unless I was home in the wifi.

I really needed a fade out, no need for a fade in.

I needed to return mine anyway since 1 of the bulbs wouldn't respond when cold, I may buy them again in the future when there is better software or by then lifx may be out and better. I'm definitely interested in this sort of automation, just a matter of what solution satisfies all of my needs.

[ipedro]

To those thinking this was a gimmick that wouldn't fly, well it soared. Apple can't keep them in stock and as soon as they get them, they're all gone. Online orders are currently backordered 3-4 months!

That's too bad, I really wanted to pick these up this week. Guess I'll try my luck at the store.

[Koodauw]

Originally Posted by ipedro

To those thinking this was a gimmick that wouldn't fly, well it soared. Apple can't keep them in stock and as soon as they get them, they're all gone. Online orders are currently backordered 3-4 months!

That's too bad, I really wanted to pick these up this week. Guess I'll try my luck at the store.

I saw them at my local store. I dont think they are exactly flying off the shelves.

[ipedro]

Originally Posted by Koodauw

I saw them at my local store. I dont think they are exactly flying off the shelves.

Every market is different. Here in Toronto, I've been to all of our Apple Stores and I'm told that when they get stock (5 to 10 of the starter kits), they're all gone within hours.

The online Apple Store is enough evidence of this. There's a 3-4 month shipping backlog.

[Acari]

These things are bad@ss & are the ultimate mood lighting. Oh, and BTDubs, they won't burn out for something like 20 years....pretty good value imo

[PNutts]

Originally Posted by AbSoluTc

A picture would be cool.

Or it didn't happen? lol

Since I broke it I've found a few teardown articles on the Internet (search for Philips hue teardown) and the guts are interesting. Here's the pics. You can see the green is more of a lime-green and the red is an orange-red. They aren't true RBG to more accurately reproduce the whites (according to the smart people on the Internet).

I have the bulb in the lamp shown. The small holes in the shade act as pinhole cameras and "focus" the individual LEDs, so the groups of lights on the wall represent the individual LEDs. It's interesting to change colors and see the different LEDS brighten and dim.

[AbSoluTc]

Originally Posted by PNutts

Or it didn't happen? lol

Since I broke it I've found a few teardown articles on the Internet (search for Philips hue teardown) and the guts are interesting. Here's the pics. You can see the green is more of a lime-green and the red is an orange-red. They aren't true RBG to more accurately reproduce the whites (according to the smart people on the Internet).

I have the bulb in the lamp shown. The small holes in the shade act as pinhole cameras and "focus" the individual LEDs, so the groups of lights on the wall represent the individual LEDs. It's interesting to change colors and see the different LEDS brighten and dim.

Attachment 379684

Attachment 379685

Thank you. That's really cool. Figured there had to be more than one of each color to get the brightness they have.

[JemTheWire]

Originally Posted by VulchR

I wonder if the next big thing isn't going to be connected mobile devices but connected domestic devices. Thermostats would be another good place to start - provided they are affordable.

WiFi room thermostats are already available here in the UK. Very tempted myself.

[dragje]

Those 'hue' lamps functionality seems to be working only on lamps equipped with a larger connection so to speak. I or we (me and my girlfriend) only have lamps with a thinner connection under it....

Does anyone has a suggestion for some other brand making the same kind of system but with lamps that can be used when you have a thinner connection where you have to turn your lamps into?

Thanks

[AbSoluTc]

Originally Posted by dragje

Those 'hue' lamps functionality seems to be working only on lamps equipped with a larger connection so to speak. I or we (me and my girlfriend) only have lamps with a thinner connection under it....

Does anyone has a suggestion for some other brand making the same kind of system but with lamps that can be used when you have a thinner connection where you have to turn your lamps into?

Thanks

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edison_screw

You mean the Edison screw - e27 medium vs e12 candelabra?