Millions of families throughout the United States have a TV that they use for entertainment purposes like streaming, gaming, movies and more.
Since so much of our time is spent in front of TV screens, it’s important to ensure that they are as high-quality as possible.
One of the newest gadgets to hit the television market that can enhance your viewing experience are Ambilight TV kits.
If you’ve been thinking about installing an Ambilight kit for your television, we’ve found the top options.
Top Ambilight TV Kits
With many products to choose from, finding the right one for your needs can take time. However, we’ve done most of the research for you. Here are the best Ambilight TV kits that you can buy today.
1. Philips Hue Play HDMI Sync Box
Philips Hue Play HDMI Sync Box
EXPAND YOUR SMART HOME: Philips Hue Hub and hue color lights required (sold separately). The Hue Hub, the…ULTIMATE TV LIGHTING EXPERIENCE: Sync your Philips Hue smart lights to the content on your TV screen….
First on our list is the Philips Hue Play HDMI Sync Box. This product checks all the boxes, so you might not need to look any further.
The Hue Play easily connects with your other devices to provide smart lights that respond to what’s occurring on your television. Rather than giving out random colors or just lights, it matches your display to seemingly broaden your television.
Expanding your home theater with surround lighting couldn’t be easier. Bulbs can dance, flash, dim, brighten and change to match all content. Featuring connections for up to four HDMI devices, you can set up streaming dongles, gaming consoles and even multiple televisions.
The Hue Play is also compatible with any Philips Hue sync box, bulbs or fixtures.
With up to 10 color-capable smart bulbs and an easy installation, this is the quickest and easiest way to transform your viewing experience. A simple setup and user-friendly app help you control everything without lengthy installation or complicated controls.
However, this product isn’t it’s without flaws. Simply picking up a Hue Play won’t be enough. You’ll need a Philips Hue Hub and Hue Color Lights, each of which is sold separately.
It may not be your preference to buy three separate items for your Ambilight system. However, if you don’t mind the extra devices, the immersion is unmatched.
Key Features:
Four portsRequires other componentsCompatible with multiple platforms
Pros
Immersive extended lightingEasy to useRelatively low cost
2. Govee Immersion TV LED Backlights with Camera
Govee Immersion TV LED Backlights with Camera
Immersive Viewing Experience: Our 1080p intelligent camera captures the color onscreen and automatically…Smart Voice Control: Manage your LED lights for TV with simple voice commands, via Alexa and Google…
The Govee Immersion TV LED is another fantastically immersive Ambilight kit that reacts to the colors on your screen. Using a “1080p intelligent camera,” this product reads the colors on the screen and changes to match them.
Like the Philips Hue, this helps to extend your display and provide a more immersive experience through matched surround lighting.
If having a camera in your television bothers you for privacy reasons, don’t worry. The camera is only used for on-screen color capture and has no projection or audio capabilities. It’s also extremely easy to install, attaching to the center top of your television.
Smart voice controls are available to manage the LED lights for your television. These voice commands can pair with your existing Alexa or Google Assistant device to help bring your smart home together.
There’s also a Goveee Home app you can use to access more colors and features like a timer, videos and music mode to customize your ambiance.
The enhanced music mode taps into the built-in mic of your control box. You can set the lights to react to your music, helping to enhance your entertainment system. This setting is fantastic for parties, movies or simply having on in the background while you enjoy your evening.
Overall, this is a fantastic system that provides everything you need for a truly immersive system. It may overwhelm some users to have several bars to install, but most Ambilight systems will have a similar setup.
If you don’t mind installing the lights themselves, this is a great system.
Key Features:
Operate via WiFiVoice controlsOn-screen color capturing camera
Pros
Highly immersive lightingResponsive, secure cameraCan be set to music modes
Cons
Several moving partsTricky to setup
3. Govee Glide RGBIC Smart Wall Light
Govee Glide RGBIC Smart Wall Light
Customize Your Glide Shape: Connect the 7 interchangeable Glide Wall Light segments in any order you want…Breathtaking Multi-Color Lighting: Our patented RGBIC tech lets Glide Wall Light display up to 57 colors…
With the Govee Glide, you’ll receive many improvements compared to the Govee Immersion. For example, the Govee Home app is compatible with this selection.
Voice app controls are also available, letting you use your existing smart speakers to give commands to the lights. Doing so will help keep your hands free and your attention focused on your entertainment rather than having to fumble through manual controls.
Dynamic light effects come with more than 40 dynamic scene modes to use. These can completely change the vibe of your entertainment system with just a single tap, changing to multi-color moving lights and complex, gorgeous patterns.
Of course, you’re always free to just set them to your favorite color and enjoy the show.
You can even completely customize the shape of your Glide. Seven interchangeable Glide Wall Light segments are connectable in any way you prefer and in whatever quantity suits you.
For example, if you’re short on room or just don’t want too many lights, you can use fewer and enjoy your shows as you please.
Music connections are also available. A built-in microphone with 12 music modes helps to keep your gaming sessions and parties at high energy.
Plus, multi-color lighting with the RGBIC tech lets the segments display up to 57 colors at a time to give you wonderful visual combinations.
Key Features:
Voice controlsDynamic lighting and app controlReacts to music
Pros
Immersive lightingResponds to musicCustomizable setupUsable with apps and smart home speakers
Cons
Doesn’t respond to televisionsManually set lights
4. Philips Hue Bluetooth Gradient Ambiance Smart Lightstrip
The Philips Hue Bluetooth Gradient has arguably the easiest setup. Specially designed for television entertainment, this LED strip comes in three sizes to fit televisions up to 55” and larger.
Mounting brackets help to make running this strip behind your television a quick and easy installation without the hassle of adhesives or tapes.
One of the greatest selling points for this piece is its Bluetooth compatibility. Bluetooth-enabled LED bulbs are compatible with the Hue Bluetooth app. This allows you to control up to 10 lights in a single room.
It’s a great way to set the ambiance without having to bother with all the individual lights’ settings.
With colorful smart lighting, you can set the mood with up to 16,000,000 colors. Transforming a room for an immersive experience has never been easier with this device’s seamless blend of colors.
The single LED smart light strip lets colors flow together flawlessly, illuminating the area behind your television for a unique light show.
In short, this piece is wonderful for easy installation, simple use and a massive plethora of colors. While it won’t respond to your music, gaming or television, you have everything you need to set the lighting to what you prefer.
Whether you want immersion, entertainment or just home decor, this light strip has you covered.
Key Features:
Easy installationSmart lighting for seamless color blendingBluetooth capability
Pros
Easy installationEasy-to-use appSeamless color blending
Cons
Non-responsive to external systems
5. Immersion TV LED Backlight
Immersion TV LED Backlight
Immersive Experience: Our HDMI SYNC LED BACKLIGHTS features the HDMI sync controller box that enables you…Dynamic Light Effects: 16 Millions Colors with the unique and advanced “flexible trinity”algorithm, this…
The Immersion TV LED Backlight list is another product that provides a wonderful ambiance without making you struggle with a difficult installation.
These HDMI-synced LED backlights feature an HDMI sync controller box that lets you link up with any HDMI source. By doing so, the device analyzes the screen to match the colors as necessary.
It’s also compatible with music, letting your system analyze the sound and adjust accordingly. Using an advanced “flexible trinity” algorithm, the system divides three lamp beads into a group to provide chosen colors.
You can adjust these LEDs to suit your desires individually, providing more options than the average TV backlight strips and capturing dynamic changes.
Immersion flaunts that the system only takes about ten minutes to install. Using clips and adhesives, the four backlights attach firmly on all four sides of any television that fits them.
No additional sensors are required, helping to keep this system minimalist and clutter-free.
Key Features:
WiFi and HDMI connectivityDynamic lighting effects and smart controlEasy installation
Pros
Links with other devicesLight color matching compatibility
Cons
Doesn’t respond to external sources
6. Govee LED Smart Light Bars with Camera, GBIC Ambiance Backlights
The Govee LED Smart Light Bars can sync with your television to enhance your gaming, movie and musical experiences. 12 preset modes provide more than 16,000,000 colors for you to enjoy.
Using voice control, simple voice commands with your existing smart speaker can help set the mood. A built-in camera captures your screen’s colors and automatically changes the lights to suit them.
You’ll love the lagless, seamless response between the changing colors, helping to add a great amount of immersion to your entertainment system.
With a built-in mic to sync to your music, this incredibly responsive system is excellent for music, karaoke and gaming. Users can pick between Vivid, Rhythm, Strike and Vibrate modes to customize their colors.
It’s a gorgeous, easy-to-use system that’ll bring your immersion to the next level.
Key Features:
Voice controlColor-capturing on-screen cameraApp control and music syncing
Pros
Responsive to musicVoice controls
FAQs
You may still have some questions before you purchase an Ambilight TV kit. These FAQs can help clear up any confusion you have so that you can purchase the right product for your needs.
What is an Ambilight kit? Ambilight kits are light systems that focus on enhancing the ambiance of your entertainment system. They are mostly used for television and movies. Many have the ability to read the color on screen and match them. This enhances your display by making it seem larger.Ambilight systems can also be a single neutral color for ambient lighting. Setting your lights to a single color is a good way to improve your interior design. Is Ambilight only for watching TV and movies? No. Ambilight systems are also great for music and gaming. By matching the intensity of the music or game, the light systems can help make them more immersive and entertaining. How does Ambilight work? This depends on the system itself. Many will use a camera to read the colors on your television and change the colors of its lighting system accordingly. This helps to increase your immersion without jeopardizing your privacy.Others may change based on audio cues. These often use a built-in microphone to respond to the music and change to match intensity. Usually, this takes the form of switching patterns and intensity of the lights to changing colors to match the mood.A third style of Ambilight only uses solid colors. These are manual lights that you set to a certain color or pattern to match your preference rather than the entertainment. Is Ambilight a gimmick? No. Ambilight systems are fantastic for increasing your immersion and enhancing your display by making it larger.Outside of immersion, Ambilight setups are great for parties and gaming sessions for matching to music and sound. They can help make games more fun and improve the ambiance of a party by adding lights to the music. While they aren’t necessary to enjoy music or television, they undoubtedly make it much more entertaining.
Summary
Whether you’re installing an Ambilight system for music, gaming, television or just for interior decorating, you can’t go wrong with any of these options.
To find the right kit for you, consider your budget, how you will use it and any unique features you may want.
Easy to use, affordable and fantastically immersive, these options provide everything you need to make your entertainment system even better.