Govee (or similar) responsive backlights as a replacement for ambilight?

Gray2233 · 8 May 2024 at 23:27

My old TV recently gave up the ghost, which was a Philips model with Ambilight. After some wrangling I was offered either a Hisense 65U6KQTUK, or a partial refund for less than the Hisense model. After having a friend with the kit come over to calibrate the replacement, I'm actually pleasantly surprised with the screen in most respects so no issues there. Money was a tad tight or I'd have aimed to pay the extra for something more premium, but I'm not at all disappointed with the end result fortunately.

That said, I am finding myself missing the reactive backlight offered by the Ambilight so have been looking at alternatives. Govee is one of the more prominent companies that deliver a camera system for a reasonable cost, reviews look to be quite good but I figured I'd check in here to see if anyone has any experience of using such systems?

There is the option of sticking with Philips, but their solution is a lot more expensive and only works via a HDMI signal/plugin box which isn't ideal for my usage.

Opinions welcome, I'm happy to spend £100 or so but not beyond that.

Bluecube · 8 May 2024 at 23:30

I use a Govee T2 with my TV and find it perfectly adequate. I doubt it’s as responsive as Ambilight, which I’ve never experienced, but it’s an easy to set up solution that works well

Gray2233 · 8 May 2024 at 23:38

Bluecube said:
I use a Govee T2 with my TV and find it perfectly adequate. I doubt it’s as responsive as Ambilight, which I’ve never experienced, but it’s an easy to set up solution that works well

Damn, that was fast! Appreciate the response.

Gray2233 · 11 May 2024 at 21:37

I ended up ordering the Govee TV Backlight 3 Lite for £60 after looking at a few reviews, it should be here Tuesday.

I'll write up some impressions once I've had time to play with it for anyone interested.

hornetstinger · 11 May 2024 at 22:16

The only colour bias light you should use is 6500K. It's the law.

Gray2233 · 11 May 2024 at 22:27

hornetstinger said:
The only colour bias light you should use is 6500K. It's the law.

Grim5 · 13 May 2024 at 20:55

hornetstinger said:
The only colour bias light you should use is 6500K. It's the law.

Why though?

hornetstinger · 13 May 2024 at 21:52

Grim5 said:
Why though?

Colours other than 6500 will effect how your eyes see the calibrated TV image greyscale. At least that's how I understand it.

Grim5 · 13 May 2024 at 21:56

hornetstinger said:
Colours other than 6500 will effect how your eyes see the calibrated TV image greyscale. At least that's how I understand it.

I have noticed the lights do effect the image, but didn't know there was a color that doesn't affect it, I've just been dimming the lights down to the level where I can't notice any impact to the image.

I'll try with 6500k today with my bias lights behind the TV and see if its better at higher brightness than 2500k

hornetstinger · 14 May 2024 at 17:12

Which is the best LG, C1, C2, or C3?

Is 77" reasonbly priced?

Bluecube · 14 May 2024 at 17:49

Holy Thread Derailment Batman!

MarkeR · 15 May 2024 at 16:28

I've got the Govee T2, I put the camera on top of my soundbar so it wouldn't annoy me sticking out of the top of the TV, reacts more than quick enough to any colour changes on the screen. Took a few attemots to get it calibrated properly, if you do get one, when calibrating it use a youtube video (govee calibration) and set the points in slightly from the markers.
I also bought two of the govee standard upright led lights, cost me £50 from amazon each. So behind me in each corner I habe them set to the left and right side of the TV, again instant colour change.

I also use home assistant to turn off dreamview which manages the light synch when I pause anything on the TV, so the standard lamps turn white, press play and dreamview restarts

..

Gray2233 · 15 May 2024 at 21:30

Got these set up earlier, they're obviously not as responsive as ambilight, but still do a good enough job. The colour is a little off, I should be able to resolve that with calibration when I have the time.

I'm pleasantly surprised by the T3 Lite tbh, I'd initially been eyeballing the T2 as it's technically superior. I decided to take the chance given the T3 was almost half the price, I'd definitely recommend it to anyone looking to try the tech out.

Bluecube · 15 May 2024 at 21:34

There are some good YouTube videos out there regarding calibration. The main thing to do is reduce the colour saturation and brightness by quite a bit as that helps match the colours to the TV

Gray2233 · 15 May 2024 at 22:31

Bluecube said:
There are some good YouTube videos out there regarding calibration. The main thing to do is reduce the colour saturation and brightness by quite a bit as that helps match the colours to the TV

After playing around it's already showing colour improvement, there was a pretty heavy red bias to deal with.

maddness · 22 May 2024 at 22:21

Bluecube said:
There are some good YouTube videos out there regarding calibration. The main thing to do is reduce the colour saturation and brightness by quite a bit as that helps match the colours to the TV

Top 5 Tips to Calibrate Govee Dreamview and Flow Pro LED Lights

Here's my Top 5 Tips that help me calibrate my Govee setup.Videos referenced.Fluid Sim Hue Test By -MrPacMan36 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qC0vDKVPCrw&t=...

youtu.be

Will have a play at the weekend, cheers

Vandle · 23 May 2024 at 00:44

Just ordered the lite 3 myself. Cheap enough to mess around with and I'm due a new TV later this year anyway if I don't like it. Hopefully here tomorrow.

tonyt3rry · Friday at 17:36

other than going with the diy route with a raspberry pi and capture card, govee seems really good and simple alternative and often on sale too.

Gray2233 · Friday at 18:01

tonyt3rry said:
other than going with the diy route with a raspberry pi and capture card, govee seems really good and simple alternative and often on sale too.

I'm happy with mine, got £5 off the Amazon price due to a sign up voucher on the Govee website too.

For the sake of £50-60 for the T3 Lite you can't go wrong tbh.

tonyt3rry · Friday at 20:11

Gray2233 said:
I'm happy with mine, got £5 off the Amazon price due to a sign up voucher on the Govee website too.

For the sake of £50-60 for the T3 Lite you can't go wrong tbh.

ever since I seen the lite announced I wanted to try it seems like its in the middle compared to the big gap from the t1 and t2 (if i got the models right) how is the colour accuracy for you ive noticed some say its good and some not and people often mod the ir camera thing.