Lifx Beam or Hue Playbars

Off-Topic
1

Hi all,

I’m currently redesigning my desk space with a new widespace monitor, wooden desk etc.

Now I’m also thinking about indirect illumination. On Youtube and Instagram you often see two ways of doing that. One is the Lifx Beam on the wall or Hue Playbars at the back of your screen. I’m a heavy user of Hue so far but thanks to Homey integrating a new system would not be a big deal.

Still I’m wondering if anyone has experience with either one and can maybe share some experience.

Thank you,
Johannes

2

Well, depends on what you want to achieve I guess. Hue has the downside that the Homey app is cloud based and prone to be slow. Am a heavy LIFX user but I never tried to sync with the screen content.
Well in short:
Hue
Pro:

  • Has a sync box for HDMI signals

Con:

  • The Sync box does not seem to play nice with Homey at all (according to other posts on the forum)
  • Homey app is cloud based and I have read a lot on the forum that it is slow

LIFX
Pro:

  • You can totally use my fancy LIFX (LAN) app, so you do not rely on the cloud service at all
  • LIFX in general has few hardware build in effects which hue seems to lack (don’t know for certain, I assume that from what I read on the forum about hue)

Con:

  • Has no sync box
  • The LIFX Windows app has a sync feature but I don’t know how well it works because I never tested it

Personally I would prefer LIFX over hue at any time as also the color quality is better. But in the end it is personal taste and preference.

Cannot help you with hue but feel free to ask me anything about LIFX.

The LIFX Windows app says this:

image
image573×610 22.5 KB

3

Also this looks promising: https://community.lifx.com/t/ambilight-project/3923
The guy implemented the “ambilight” stuff for LIFX Z but LIFX Z is technically the same as the BEAM. BEAM is just like a boxed LIFX Z.

4

Thank you for the extensive replies. I do not plan to sync sound and light. It is really more about having a nice background light effect.

5

Then I would (personally) suggest you stick with hue, if you already have this eco system. Mostly because running a nother app for a single device is a bit much.