Review: Eve's New Light Strip is a Great HomeKit-Enabled Hub-Free Accent Lighting Option

[MacRumors]

Eve (formerly known as Elgato) was one of the first companies to come out with HomeKit accessories when HomeKit was announced in 2014, and since then, Eve has been expanding its portfolio of HomeKit-connected products.

The newest addition to the Eve HomeKit lineup is the Eve Light Strip, first introduced at CES and launched in February. The Eve Light Strip is one of several HomeKit-connected LED-based light strip options on the market, but Eve has a few new innovations worth noting.

Design

Design wise, the Eve Light Strip looks similar to many other light strips on the market, including the Philips Hue version, which is probably one of the closest competitors in terms of price and functionality.

The Eve Light Strip measures in at 6.6 feet, though it can be cut at one foot intervals. It also includes a connector at the end which is designed to allow for extension strips to be attached, and the extension strips are more affordable. A single Eve Light Strip can be extended to 32.8 feet via the extension options.

As with all light strip-style products, this is a thin, flexible strip that has interspersed LEDs in different colors along the strip that are used to make up different color shades when it's turned on.

Colors are accurate, with the Light Strip able to reproduce red, pink, orange, yellow, green, and blue accurately, along with in-between shades. Purple is more of a blue or a pink, but that's true of most LED lights.


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Article Link: Review: Eve's New Light Strip is a Great HomeKit-Enabled Hub-Free Accent Lighting Option

 

[intensifi]

Eve (formerly known as Elgato) was one of the first companies to come out with HomeKit accessories when HomeKit was announced in 2014, and since then, Eve has been expanding its portfolio of HomeKit-connected products.

The newest addition to the Eve HomeKit lineup is the Eve Light Strip, first introduced at CES and launched in February. The Eve Light Strip is one of several HomeKit-connected LED-based light strip options on the market, but Eve has a few new innovations worth noting.

Design

Design wise, the Eve Light Strip looks similar to many other light strips on the market, including the Philips Hue version, which is probably one of the closest competitors in terms of price and functionality.

The Eve Light Strip measures in at 6.6 feet, though it can be cut at one foot intervals. It also includes a connector at the end which is designed to allow for extension strips to be attached, and the extension strips are more affordable. One power source can power up to 72 feet.

As with all light strip-style products, this is a thin, flexible strip that has interspersed LEDs in different colors along the strip that are used to make up different color shades when it's turned on.

Colors are accurate, with the Light Strip able to reproduce red, pink, orange, yellow, green, and blue accurately, along with in-between shades. Purple is more of a blue or a pink, but that's true of most LED lights.


Click here to read more...

Article Link: Review: Eve's New Light Strip is a Great HomeKit-Enabled Hub-Free Accent Lighting Option

Nice write-up!

What is the connection between the control module and the lightstrip? Philips Hue lights used to support a ribbon style cable. The current variant removed the ribbon cable for a hard wired connection.

If the reviewed light has a ribbon style connector, that is great because you can then purchase extension ribbon cable to keep the control module remote, accessible and out of the way.

On my Hue lightstrips I use ribbon extensions to install the light strips in aluminum rails under upper kitchen cabinets and in floor toe kick areas.

This could be a great replacement for the Hue lightstrip since Philips changed the connector.

 

[jclo]

There's a ribbon connection between the end of the Light Strip and the little white power module. The white end of the Light Strip plugs into it. My Hue Lightstrip Plus uses the same kind of connection between light strip and power brick, though, so I wonder when that change was made. Here's a pic of the connection between light strip and box:

 

[sirchain]

This was a really great review - thank you for sharing. I did have one question - in your article you said that "One power source can power up to 72 feet." - is that through the power-pack add on? I've read in the specs that it can daisy-chain only up to 32.8 feet, so wanted to clarify if the power-pack supports two fully daisy-chained strips simultaneously. Thanks!

 

[jclo]

This was a really great review - thank you for sharing. I did have one question - in your article you said that "One power source can power up to 72 feet." - is that through the power-pack add on? I've read in the specs that it can daisy-chain only up to 32.8 feet, so wanted to clarify if the power-pack supports two fully daisy-chained strips simultaneously. Thanks!

You're totally right. I have the wrong info here, sorry about that. I'm going to update right away. It looks like it's going to max out at 32.8 feet. Apologies for the misleading error!

 

[groovyd]

I got 2 and they work pretty well though there is a considerable delay when changing colors and I had some trouble with it not able to connect to a mixed 2/5ghz wifi network. Would have been nicer if the power adapter and strip controller were integrated into a single box and not as a wall-wart so it doesn't hog up the outlet space so much.

 

[sos47]

eve is only bluetooth. mhhm

 

[OVERTASK]

Addressable LEDs would be nice in 2019...

 

[jclo]

eve is only bluetooth. mhhm

It's true that a lot of Eve products are Bluetooth, but there are a few now that connect to WiFi, including this one.
[doublepost=1550897514][/doublepost]

I got 2 and they work pretty well though there is a considerable delay when changing colors and I had some trouble with it not able to connect to a mixed 2/5ghz wifi network. Would have been nicer if the power adapter and strip controller were integrated into a single box and not as a wall-wart so it doesn't hog up the outlet space so much.

Yeah, the 2.4GHz thing is always frustrating. I have my networks named separately just so I don't have to struggle with the smart home products. I haven't noticed much of a delay, though. Mine seem to be pretty quick and pretty similar in response time to my other lights.

Thanks for adding your experience

 

[tallscot]

I got 2 and they work pretty well though there is a considerable delay when changing colors and I had some trouble with it not able to connect to a mixed 2/5ghz wifi network. Would have been nicer if the power adapter and strip controller were integrated into a single box and not as a wall-wart so it doesn't hog up the outlet space so much.

Separate your 2 and 5 ghz into two different networks. I did with my Airport Extreme. It’s easy. (I found my iphone choosing 802.11g mode instead of .ac and this fixed it).
[doublepost=1550986168][/doublepost]

It's true that a lot of Eve products are Bluetooth, but there are a few now that connect to WiFi, including this one.
[doublepost=1550897514][/doublepost]

Yeah, the 2.4GHz thing is always frustrating. I have my networks named separately just so I don't have to struggle with the smart home products. I haven't noticed much of a delay, though. Mine seem to be pretty quick and pretty similar in response time to my other lights.

Thanks for adding your experience

Ha, should have read the whole thread before replying.

 

[mcfrazieriv]

Elgato? The cat?

 

[Jkingsle]

If the power is shut off to the unit, when the power is restored, does it turn back on again with the same color/brightness settings?

 

[Powerbooky]

If the power is shut off to the unit, when the power is restored, does it turn back on again with the same color/brightness settings?

Short answer: yes.
The power-on behaviour can be set in the Eve app, and the default is the last colour/brightness that was set before shut off. The other option is that it restores to the factory white setting.

Good to known is that when the power is restored, the controller always runs a short test sequence first. All LED's will light up brightly in a pattern for a couple of seconds before it returns to the desired colour/brightness.

 

[Powerbooky]

Adding a note here: I have one Eve Light Strip in use for 5 months and this is what I found so far (firmware 1.0.9):

Transition duration is very limited: a duration called "calm" is just about a second. It would be nicer to have transitions from a fraction of a second to several minutes.
Transition between colours are not very smooth, there can be bright flashes during the transition depending on the begin and end colour. This can be annoying for some light scenes.

Firmware 1.09 still has problems with transitions. After powerup everything is normal for week or 2, then all of sudden transitions stutter extremely. Pulling the power for a few seconds, resetting the strip, help but the problem returns after a while.

Currently, no HomeKit iOS14 NightShift support.