Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
New Philips Hue Play HDMI Sync Box Lets You Sync Your Lights to Your Apple TV
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
These things have the potential to be very cool. I already have 5-6 hue lights in my living room. I will probably be picking this up
Confirmed not available in The UK until the first half of 2020. Looks like a standard 24V power adaptor, so I will be looking to pick one up on holiday in the USA later this year and changing the plug.
Judging from the pack contents images it looks to use the same cable and multi-cable-capable' power plug as the Play light bars so if you have these it looks like the HDMI box power cable can plug into your existing power plug (I think each Play power supply can link to 3 cables). I would prefer if it was USB powered, but at least Philips is thinking about reducing the need for multiple mains plugs.
Definitely better for just around the TV, but the Hue box is going to let you control every light in the room - a mix of the two would be great too!
Unfortunately this box looks like it has too many limitations.
I'm starting to think it'd better to buy a cheap HDMI capture box for a Mac mini and run your HDMI input to this (with a splitter) and run the Hue Sync app. The only thing is, it would need to run full screen in it's own space and i'm not sure that would work unless its the first most "screen" running on the mac mini (I guess I can test that now)
Edit: Doesn't work, Hue Sync only matches what's on the primary screen, full screen. It's a shame you can't feed it an app, or a space, or a specific full screen app.
Last edited:
If it doesn't work with ANY signal that's being passed through it, what's the point?
Even easier. Thanks. I don't think there is going to be an issue using one bought in the USA in the UK so will definitely pick one up during my trip.
The press release says "said Jasper Vervoort, Business Leader, Home Systems & Luminaires, Philips Hue at Signify". Signify clearly wants press to start mentioning its new brand.
Philips no longer owns this line (for better or worse).
Philips is also less established in the US; their a/v stuff mostly seems to get sold as Magnavox in the US, and their shavers as Norelco.
I think this is the bigger reason - in Europe it's a big brand.
It'll always be Phillips Hue to me, Signify doesn't exist AFAIC
But of course, lets not forget that Koninklijke Philips is also the largest shareholder, not majority, but they have increased their position since last year
Bad idea. DreamScreen unceremoniously went out of business earlier this year: http://dreamscreen.boards.net/thread/1688/happened-store
Predictably, this new box is getting reamed in early reviews for its lack of Dolby Vision, HDR 10 +, and HDMI 2.1 -- not to mention its high cost.
UPDATE (4:30 PM): And now Philips have wiped out all of the existing negative reviews.
UPDATE (4:30 PM): And now Philips have wiped out all of the existing negative reviews.
Last edited:
Yes, I preordered it immediately. Currently using Plex/MrMC as a workaround and it sucks.
Taking advantage of the 99% who won't know about that limitation until after purchase, I guess. I really want one of these, but I want it to work with ALL video signals that are passed through it -- if Philips put out a firmware update that adds Dolby Vision and HDR10+ (plain HDR10 IS supported), then I will absolutely get one of these -- it's a better solution than the iPod Touch with Hue Camera app that I am using now.
this is an interesting idea but I'd rather see a controller that is just that and only that, a controller, all other signals just pass through. and for the controller to work via an embedded signal put into the content by the creator. i don't want to control the experience, I want it to sync with what i'm watching automatically. sort of like how the syfy sync app from a couple of years ago worked. i remember watching an episode of that show 12 monkeys with the app on and it was really cool cause there was a kind of color coding in the show (yellow tones for the past, blue for the future, red for the villains lair) and my lights would subtly change to match. that's what I want. without having to go in change it. i mean I can do that with my iPhone and the app
The reviews for this device over on the Philips web site are scorching -- not only for lack of Dolby Vision and HDR10+ support, but also for generally not working and for not being very compatible with home AV receivers, which many use to get their sound out to their speakers. You apparently have to connect all of your devices to the Philips box and then connect the box to your receiver, which complicates how you control your devices.
Philips needs to go back to the drawing board and try again -- next time, we need a one-input/one-output box with no switching, the latest HDMI port standard, and support for ALL video formats, including Dolby Vision and HDR10+. Ideally this v2.0 box would simply sit behind your TV and process all incoming video signals that go through it.
Philips needs to go back to the drawing board and try again -- next time, we need a one-input/one-output box with no switching, the latest HDMI port standard, and support for ALL video formats, including Dolby Vision and HDR10+. Ideally this v2.0 box would simply sit behind your TV and process all incoming video signals that go through it.
The Hue Sync box *does* automatically change the lights to match what’s on screen. You don’t have to go into any app to change anything. You just enable the sync feature, and it works.