Hue Unveil All New Philips Hue Sync Box
I know, many of you have been waiting for this day. And finally, I can tell you. There is big news that I brought from Berlin.
At my appointment with Philips Hue in Berlin, I received an exclusive look at the upcoming new release for Philips Hue: The Philips Hue HDMI Sync Box. This box allows you to easily sync the images on your TV with Philips Hue bulbs and strips. The surprise 2019, which probably no one has expected!
The Philips Hue HDMI Sync Box is simply connected via HDMI cable between a player such as your game consoles like the Microsoft Xbox, Sony Playstation or Nintendo Switch, and your TV or monitor and then converts the image in the appropriate commands for the Hue lights. Of course, the HDMI Sync Box from Philips Hue also works with all other HDMI-capable devices, such as receivers, SKY boxes and all playback devices, as long as an HDMI cable was previously connected to the TV or monitor.
This is how the Philips Hue HDMI Sync Box works: The small box has four HDMI inputs on the back, with which you can connect your game console, receiver etc. via an HDMI cable. From there, an HDMI output goes back to the monitor or TV and passes the image signal accordingly.
The HDMI Sync Box now analyzes the image and forwards the commands to the desired Philips Hue bulbs and strips etc. These then change the colour and brightness as it fits the displayed image. For the small box, there will be a third app in the Apple App Store and Google Playstore to configure it. With this, cumbersome streaming via Hue Sync Software has finally come to an end and the Ambilight effect is now even better and easier to reach.
If you are worried about image quality, the HDMI Sync Box can also process and forward 4K content. In addition, there is a USB port at the back, however, what purpose this serves, I’m not yet sure. It will go on sale this year for €249,00.
The individual numbers on the back also indicate Bluetooth and WLAN connectivity. I guess the box can then synonymous with the new wireless lamps or the now available Bluetooth bulbs, without Bridge, work together.
Specifications of the HDMI Sync Box :
- Easy synchronization of image and lamps
- Is switched between player and TV
- Four HDMI inputs
- A USB port
- Full HD and 4K content
- 7.3 watts consumption
- 24 volt connection
Images and text courtesy of Jonah Schneider at smartlights.de
That is very expensive for getting lights to sync with what on screen. I’ll pass.