It's been a long time coming, but the Philips Hue Play HDMI Sync Box has finally received a much-needed upgrade with support for 8K resolution TVs and HDMI 2.1. That's great news if you want to make movies more immersive. It means the system will finally play nicely with 4K and 8K content at refresh rates up to 120Hz. It also makes the box a better option for gaming — something we've long wished for.
The only downside is the price — the new Philips Hue Play HDMI Sync Box 8K is listed at $349.99 (about £270 / AU$520). Considering many people found the previous box's $300 price tag hard to justify, that might make it an even harder sell.
If you're not familiar with the Philips Hue Sync Box, it's a device that connects to up to four HDMI devices, and syncs up to 10 Philips Hue smart lights with the content displayed on your screen. This could be light strips stuck behind your TV, and lamps and bulbs elsewhere in the room.
The idea is to 'soften' the edge of the screen, making the experience more immersive. It's the same concept as the Philips Ambilight system, but doesn't require you to buy a whole new TV.
Other bright ideas
If you want to try making your home cinema or gaming setup more immersive with ambient lighting, Philips Hue and Ambilight aren't your only option. There are also various systems from rival brands that use cameras to monitor the content of your TV or monitor, and then project matching lights behind it. Our roundup of the best Ambilight alternatives includes some good options, and the Nanoleaf 4D Screen Mirror system is particularly worth investigating.
These setups are much more affordable ways to pull you into the action, but using a camera means they may suffer some latency compared to devices that connect via HDMI, and the colors can be affected by reflections on the screen. According to The Verge, Philips claims that the new Sync Box will have no latency at all.
Do those drawbacks justify the expense of the new Hue Sync Box 8K? It's up to you, but it's well worth considering all the options before splashing out. It's also worth noting that Philips offers the Hue Sync app for Windows and Mac PCs, which does pretty much the same job as the Sync Box, but for free. If you're only going to be using it for a single PC plugged into your TV, that's a much better option. We'll soon be putting the new box through its paces and bringing you a full review, so you might want to wait until then to make a decision.
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