He talking about bias lighting. You are talking about active ambilight type lighting. Totally different. I agree bias lighting is really good. Ambilight type loghting not so much.
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Nanoleaf's New 4D V2 Brings Zigzag Design and Better Colors to TV Backlighting
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This is the kind of innovation Apple should bring to Apple TV. Allow it to send the screen information to Homekit (and Matter)-enabled lights so you can sync them to your TV. No need for cameras, HDMI boxes etc - just a HomeKit/Matter RGB lightstrip around your screen. Just a one time calibration (so the Apple TV knows which LEDs are on which part of the screen).
Yeah, bias lighting, if I'm understanding it correctly, is just a white led at about 10% of the screen's brightness. Supposedly this does reduce eye strain and improve contrast. But in the context of this article, I do wonder if that is really what he was talking about.... not sure why you would bring it up in a discussion about these nanoleaf thingamabobs.
I hope it's more reliable than the first version. I have had nothing but problems getting it to work, or to sync with other Nanoleaf products
Immersive makes me feel like I'm immersed into the movie. Lighting up the wall behind the TV, reminding me that I'm watching a TV, does the opposite, reminds me I'm watching a TV.
The OP is asking how does this help watching TV, implying that this product does not help, because they don't need help.
Hue spent more money than they did and bought the license, built the more expensive hardware, and even then its not bulletproof and can sometimes act up in ways the camera method would avoid.
100% Hue's setup also costs noticeably more. I haven't run into any issues with it, but I'm sure there are some instances.
I use a Govee setup behind my 85" TV.
But, no moving lights. More of a variable bias light.
I do a solid color behind the TV. It is variable brightness based on the brightness of the on screen image.
Color is determined as a blend of on screen color.
Brightness is never overpowering. No reflections on screen. Just enough light to help ease eye strain. Especially when a dark image goes super bright with HDR.
I think the lights moving around the screen and changing color based on what is on screen can be distracting. The setup I have is immersive and fades into the background. It complements the viewing experience. Many skeptical folks who come to the house to watch a movie leave wanting the same setup.
But, no moving lights. More of a variable bias light.
I do a solid color behind the TV. It is variable brightness based on the brightness of the on screen image.
Color is determined as a blend of on screen color.
Brightness is never overpowering. No reflections on screen. Just enough light to help ease eye strain. Especially when a dark image goes super bright with HDR.
I think the lights moving around the screen and changing color based on what is on screen can be distracting. The setup I have is immersive and fades into the background. It complements the viewing experience. Many skeptical folks who come to the house to watch a movie leave wanting the same setup.
It can, but there is a relevant difference between front projection (movie theaters) and back projection (typical home television systems). If you watch a TV in very dark light, the light and bright colors can be both jarring and unrealistic. A blue sky displayed brightly on a TV in a dark room registers to our eyes as a blue sky, but may be jarring or even subtly painful. Bias lighting, which is what these lighting solutions amount to, can make this considerably more comfortable and natural to view. You still see the sky, but you don’t squint because of the brightness. Good bias lighting is more immersive in that it helps you take in the TV content in a more focused way.
Where many people go wrong is by making the bias lighting too bright and/or too saturated. If you actually notice colors changing around your TV screen, then it is the opposite of immersive. But if it’s sufficiently subtle, it can help a great deal.
Yes, thanks, I was replying to the person who was saying that it's encrypted etc.
The issue with using a sync box like Hue or any of the others is that they are more expensive, and they require updates whenever the HDMI standard changes. If you bought one before HDMI 2.0 (support for 4k and HDR), for instance you would have had to get an upgrade. Then again if you had a TV that uses HDMI 2.1 (4k120 , 8k60, VRR, LLM). Plus given how finicky HDMI signals can be, you are taking a chance introducing yet another link in the chain, especially if you rely on CEC. Some of the cheaper ones don't even pass CEC through at all, so you have to either get up and switch inputs by hand or use yet another remote.
And finally, a sync box is useless if you are using the internal TV apps or tuners. The camera doesn't look great and can pick up ambient light from the room, but it's a simple install and works with anything on screen. I have a Govee T1 mounted to the bottom of my Sony OLED. Love the immersion.
You're absolutely right — my workaround is not using TV apps, rather I use an TV & a Blu-Ray that are both plugged into the sync box. This way you can view anything, like DVDs/BR's and even your video files, with the function.
Try the lightning scene in Pixar's Up. The on-screen lightning flashes lit up the room with my Nanoleaf 4D. Very cool. 👍🏻👍🏻
Cool yes, immersive no. Most theaters and Home theaters spend a lot of money making sure the light from the screen does not reflect or lightup the walls, ceiling, and floors, for a more immersive feel. This does the exact opposite.
Yep. Some non-moving/flashing neutral bias lighting around the screen can help with eye strain, but blinky lights no matter how cool they might seem don't really help with the viewing experience.
Eye strain can and should be addressed with neutral-white bias lighting.