LED Strip lights for rear of TV - Anyone got 'em?

yeah i just bent my original kit and my USB kit and then used cellotape to secure them as the sticky stuff on them will never be good enough.

also that IKEA kit is fine and reliable, ebay kits are a complete lottery to whether or not you will get a dodgy power supply or not, IMO it's not worth the risk and best to get LED's from ebay and power supply from visual chillout to be on the safe side.
 
IMG_20140222_214924_974_zps1056fcd7.jpg


Controlled by Harmony remote

All on the cheap
Bought the psu separately and it's a huge 10A I think
 
Coloured lighting degrades Picture Quality due to the way our eyes work.

Therefore only white lighting should ever be used by enthusiasts looking to further improve PQ and reduce fatigue.

Coloured lighting is basically a gimmick, it may look cool but it's at the expense of on screen content.
 
Forgot to reply to this once I had got the LED strips fitted, took a few pics on my iphone but this was the only one which didn't look too blurry. Nicely lights up the alcove, not too bright although they are actually brighter than the photo shows IRL.

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Anyone use a USB light from the usb on the TV or monitor? I was thinking of putting one behind the TV and monitor to impove the black levels percieved. I am not a fan of colors though as i prefer to have a white background and the lights dimmed.


It tricks the brain into thinking the blacks are much deeper if it is surrounded by white so much that i am thinking of changing the wallpaper as i did it black first time around. And im not sure white bias lighting on a black background will work i really need a nice painted wall but i cant as the texture of the plaster is crap and the paper hides that.
 
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Delivered in a small sturdy package:-

http://i.imgur.com/BjxRCDZ.jpg[IMG]

Kit consists of the LED strips themselves - 5m x 5050/300 type, the remote and user guide, IR receiver and the AC adapter.

[IMG]http://i.imgur.com/MvWzvNo.jpg[IMG]

The LED strips come packaged in this thick foil resealable bag.

[IMG]http://i.imgur.com/O9sUJbK.jpg[IMG]

Once removed from the foil bag, the strip is wound round this plastic storage wheel.

[IMG]http://i.imgur.com/asEFRlm.jpg[IMG]

IR Receiver, remote and user guide.

[IMG]http://i.imgur.com/adVru0E.jpg[IMG]

CE Marked AC Adapter, not a laptop type brick as some kits seem to come with, this is more of a single plug type similar to a mobile phone charger.

[IMG]http://i.imgur.com/E4aKgWd.jpg[IMG]

Switched on to test them on default white setting.

[IMG]http://i.imgur.com/pkkqajs.jpg[IMG]

[IMG]http://i.imgur.com/lmarIMp.jpg[IMG]

Blue, being 5050 types they are certainly bright enough, pics don't do them justice.

[IMG]http://i.imgur.com/Lyha3JV.jpg[IMG]

Got these from the green jungle place, right angle 'no solder' adapters, a doddle to use and saves having to bend the strips themselves. A bit annoying they aren't supplied in the kit but at £4 for a pack of 5 they hardly break the bank.

[IMG]http://i.imgur.com/yMhm8SO.jpg[IMG]

Will update with pics of them fitted later.[/QUOTE]

Would you recommend them ? Interested in buying one of these kits myself

Can you say which ebay seller you bought them from ?
 
If anyone uses Raspbmc then take a look at boblight, pretty much does the phillips ambilight thing very well. Its next on my geeky project list ;)
 
I'm not sure what the score is with posting eBay links here but I'll post it and if it's against the rules then dons - feel free to delete and I'll message those interested in the seller I got the kit from.

I bought the kit from HERE

As far as the kit is concerned, I'm happy with it. It does exactly what it says on the tin. Although I do have a couple of observations to make on it which are as follows (apologies in advance for the wall of text)......

1. The adhesive backing on the strips is hopeless. Especially if you require at any point to 'bend' the kit around a corner (I'll come to that in a minute). It sticks on the rear surface of the TV for all of 5 minutes then starts dropping away until it completely detaches itself. This was completely cured however, by applying heavy duty 3M 'Gaffer tape' cut into thin strips all along the length of the strips at about 15-20cm intervals. Cut the tape thin enough so it fits between LED's and doesn't cover them. The corners are tricky if you have bent the strips and require a couple of extra strips of tape reinforcement. Having said all that, from what I've read on many internet forums and sites the backing tape being rubbish is fairly common so I'm prepared to give this kit the benefit of the doubt and say it isn't any worse/better than you could expect no matter what kit you purchase. Also, my LG 42" LED LN575V hasn't a completely smooth plastic finish on the rear surface so if yours is nice and smooth your mileage may vary with how successful your sticky efforts may be.

2. I bought 'solder free' connectors from the green jungle place. You can, according to the instructions with the kit, snip between LED's at the designated 'cut lines', expose the PCB underneath the plastic covering and click it into one of these 'solder free' connectors then do the same on the next piece of strip and voila - strips are joined at right angles, perfect for the shape of the rear of TV's. In practice at least in my experience, this wasn't as easy as it sounded. It started off ok, first strip was cut, then the connector fitted and the second strip fitted. Tested and all ok. Cut the next strip paying attention to the +/- connectors so they matched up and it fitted but only lit up randomly. Fiddled about with the connector and eventually it lit constantly. In the wrong colour. Fiddled some more and eventually it wouldn't light at all. The issue with the little plastic 'solder free' connectors is that they dont bite down hard enough on the PCB to ensure a steadfast connection which is tight enough to resist movement in the strip, no matter how little. I ended up binning them completely and simply bending the strip carefully when I came to each corner of the TV, applying a few pieces of tape and moving on to the next corner. Worked a treat and I wish I had done it that way right from the start. But you live and learn. So yeah, when folk say as they have already mentioned in this thread that the strip does indeed bend enough to go round corners, it does. :)

3. The IR receiver for the remote - I found the easiest way to mount this was to use a square of sticky backed velcro then mount it on a flat empty space on the rear of the TV. Unfortunately for it to operate perfectly it pretty much has to be in 'line of sight' of the remote. Where I had positioned the IR receiver hid it nicely out of sight but it didn't respond when I operated the remote. So I ended up dropping it down a little on the rear of the TV so the little receiver wire dangled slightly down at the back of the TV. After about 10 mins looking at it sat dangling there I decided it looked daft so put it back to where it was orignially, well hidden out of sight. Now all I do is when I want the remote lights on I just point the remote over the top of the TV and downwards and switch them on. I pretty much have it on one of the lighter shades of blue all the time anyway and its not real hardship to change colour is desired by just getting up and doing the same again. Although some would argue that this defeats the purpose of them being remotely controlled. They are and it works perfectly but you need to have this 'line of sight' between remote and receiver so be aware of this.

4. On the subject of the remote, on a few rare occasions I've used the TV remote (its an LG Magic Remote) to change channels, set volume etc and the colour has changed on the LED. I'm assuming it is something to do with the frequency the remote and receiver for the LED's are on. It may be only because I'm using the LG Magic Remote, I'm unsure. It's only happened a few times and I'm unable to replicate it at will so can't be fully sure.

Don't let that wall of text put you off though, these look absolutely fantastic. Pictures simply don't do them justice. The missus and I sat and watched a Blu-ray of Oblivion last night with the LED's on and we both agreed that it made the viewing experience better than without them on. We don't know why, it just did. Previous discussion in the thread will point towards the human eye and how it interprets light etc around the screen but I really don't care what the science behind it is, all I know is it made watching the movie and TV in general more enjoyable than if they weren't there at all. The kit itself is fairly inexpensive but doesn't strike me as being 'cheap' and nasty. At the end of the day, the LED strips themselves are all pretty much coming out of the same factories so its just the power unit and remote/receiver that you need to scrutinize. This kit as I already mentioned, came with a simply, small 'mobile phone type' adapter rather than a laptop power brick so its physical footprint is minimal. And I've been keeping an eye on the heat from the power adapter. There isn't any to speak of even after its been switched on powering the lights all evening. When the lights are switched off but the adapter is still plugged in to the wall, it doesn't heat up at all. Incidentally - the link within the sellers advert for the power supply shows a laptop brick type. But I received the phone type charger instead.

In summary, I'd recommend this kit. Does what it says it will do and is fairly easy to fit. I'm looking at ordering another one for the 36" TV we have upstairs in our bedroom. :cool:

**EDIT** The only major downside I've found so far is if you have an inquisitive three year old son, make sure he isn't watching you fit these things. Because all I get now is 'Daddy, daddy...!!! Put the Christmas lights on the telly!!!'. And he's managed to pull them off one side of the TV so far when I wasn't looking. :D
 
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also that IKEA kit is fine and reliable, ebay kits are a complete lottery to whether or not you will get a dodgy power supply or not, IMO it's not worth the risk and best to get LED's from ebay and power supply from visual chillout to be on the safe side.

I've just been checking out the kits visual chillout sell and comparing them to the ones on the bay.
Take for instance thier basic mood lighting kit at £34, the same kit sells on ebay for an average of £12, same power supply, controller, remote and everything.
I would bet good money that they are all buying from the same supplier but visual chillout seem to be adding huge markups to thiers for the exact same kit (including power supplys)
 
I've just been checking out the kits visual chillout sell and comparing them to the ones on the bay.
Take for instance thier basic mood lighting kit at £34, the same kit sells on ebay for an average of £12, same power supply, controller, remote and everything.
I would bet good money that they are all buying from the same supplier but visual chillout seem to be adding huge markups to thiers for the exact same kit (including power supplys)

It seems to be common practice in many places. Now, I'm not having a *pop* at OcUK in any way as I am a regular customer and have spent a lot with them over the years but this kit is identical to the one I purchased on the bay. Note the price. And all their LED lighting kits are listed as 'out of stock' at the moment.

2cf7ce9.png
 
I've just been checking out the kits visual chillout sell and comparing them to the ones on the bay.
Take for instance thier basic mood lighting kit at £34, the same kit sells on ebay for an average of £12, same power supply, controller, remote and everything.
I would bet good money that they are all buying from the same supplier but visual chillout seem to be adding huge markups to thiers for the exact same kit (including power supplys)

This is why I recommend buying everything from eBay apart from the power supply.

I'd rather spend the extra £5-10 for peace of mind and get that one specific part elsewhere from a reputable source.

There are many sellers on eBay which aren't reputable.

Everyone always bangs on about buying decent power supplies is the most important thing in a PC build, well it's even more important here IMO
 
Yeah my parent's have the lighting behind their tv and it actually looks pretty good. Not sure about the science of making the images look clearer/sharer, but they're pretty! haha
 
I have the IKEA one, its pretty weak though, especially with just one set behind a 60" screen.. but I don't really mind the more subtle effect.
 
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