1D casts an all white backlight that adjusts brightness according to screen brightness, 2D casts the dominate color along the lightstrip and adjusts brightness according to screen 3D casts multiple colors and scatters them across the lightstrip and 4D makes use of the individually addressable LEDs to cast accurate colors matching the screen along each edge. So the 4D option is the “frosted glass” option that you mentioned you thought you’d find, and is closest to something like the Philips Hue Sync Box (what most people expect from content aware backlighting).
@@EricWelander I’d recommend reaching out to Support or perusing the Nanoleaf subreddit for some troubleshooting tips. I’ve seen the 4D in action and it is certainly capable of giving the Philips Hue Sync Box a run for it’s money…
I've been doing research and alot of people are saying nano leave give more of a immersive feeling compared to the Philips hue. I was going to buy the Philips hue but nanoleaf seemed to have better reviews
@@captaincracked6173 I own the Philips Hue Sync box and believe it is more accurate than the Nanoleaf 4D, however it’s also considerably more expensive.
Thanks Eric for another great video. I am currently using Philips Hue Sync Box, which does a fantastic job for match colors precisely with no delays. Of course with the price. While Philips uses actually color information from hdmi signal, while Nanoleaf uses analog color from camera, which itself could create problem with all kinds of reflection and interference from surroundings. As you said, it is primary good for background lighting. If one to looking for true light sync, Philips Sync Box will be the way to go.
I have a Hue Sync box setup as well, and I agree that it actually delivers on the promises the Nanoleaf makes. What I also did was add ceiling BR30 lights to the entertainment zone for movies, and it really increases the immersion when watching movies. It's pretty amazing to see a green pasture or red lava and the whole room gets painted in those colors
@@elig2728I actually have my PS5 running through my Hue Sync box because they issued a firmware update to allow it to support 120Hz @ 1440p. Given that incredibly few next gen games can even run at 4K120Hz, the experience is pretty solid and I don’t notice any perceivable difference in resolution compared to when just plugged into my TV.
Why review the 4D product and only show the 2D mode? If you turn on 4D mode this gives you all that lovely zone specific colour matching that is reportedly missing. Very engaging for action movies and games. Explosions for instance fill the whole room. Not had a problem with controlling the device, just added it to my ‘Turn on/off the TV’ shortcut. Good tips on the calibration, like most things, if you invest some time you can get a really good result.
Agree 100% lack of Apple TV automation is real let down, even basic turn on tv turn on light strip. Especially when you consider the Apple TV is a home hub.
4D cinematic seems like the light follows the person talking on the tv, like if the person talking is at the left of the tv it matches the colors around them and dims the other area where the people not talking are located
The people watching this video and obviously yourself who is making this video are the target demographic for the full custom home automations that you’re talking about. But the truth is, most of the world doesn’t have these kind of smart lights. And for those of us who were interested in it, it is incredibly easy to create the automation in the Shortcuts app. Like stupid easy, just take a moment and look at it, heck, that could be a video for yourself. If you don’t make one, I will try to get to making one.
What were your solutions while pairing? Because I constantly get the following messages; - Accessory Already in Another Home - Unable to Connect to Network - Accessory Not Found. I tried the soft and hard reset, but that doesn't seem to work. I sent an email but no reply yet... I got it to work like once, but it almost instantly lost connection again.
Just hooked up my 4D Kit today. It’s definitely not as nice or accurate as the Philips Hue SyncBox, so I’m not sure what to do with it. 2D seems a little basic compared to the SyncBox and 3D seems to be too frantic. I’ll keep messing with it and hopefully get it right, but so far it’s making me wish there was a 2.1-capable SyncBox.
I’ve never understood nanoleaf. Their products always feel like they’re a couple small features away from being the best smart lights. I’m not married to the Hue ecosystem but haven’t felt like anything has surpassed them with overall reliability and user experience.
Problem I have is Phillips Hue that much better? For my 65in Samsung S95B it’s $99 from Nanoleaf for a complete system, to get a Sync Box and Gradient Lights it’s over $500… and sadly no 120hz support for 4k which makes gaming with hue pointless. Is it really 5x better or worth 5x the cost?
For me, the biggest problem with this product is the quality of the camera image. I have a TV room environment that's already got a lot of lighting elements happening, and the camera on the nanoleaf is heavily influenced by the surrounding light conditions. This camera is very easily overexposed which is disappointing because its being directly pointed at a TV with very dynamic illumination. On bright white screens and even grey areas, the camera has a greenish tinge in the image so when the image turns bright white, the camera interprets that as this minty green color. I can adjust the white balance (and trust me, I've tried everything with the calibration and controls), and adjusting the white balance can increase the accuracy of other colors, but white and grey will always be greenish because I can only calibrate other colors around the white point, I cant change how the camera interprets white, so the closer the screen image comes to white, the more greenish the 4D presentation looks.
Well said about the automation when Apple TV is being turned on/off. This is quite annoying, as I have to ask Siri on my watch / phone to turn on Nanoleaf every single time I turn on Apple TV. The rule to open Nanoleaf IF Apple TV is on does work, but it goes to a random plain setting - not to 4D mode, which is my preference. If anybody manages to get it going automatically to 4D, please let me know 🙏
Your "How I fixed my problems" section is why I bit the bullet on this. I was worried that it sucked, but it turns out the instruction could just be clearer. I'm glad I didnt just believe amazon reviews, they tend to be some of the most helpful morons who leave reviews at 1 star. Thank you Eric!!
It's unfortunate that they're no longer making the Dream Screen system... I had one for a few years before the microcontroller crapped out, and it worked really good, and I feel it was much more accurate than the systems of today that are using cameras to do it.
Probablly best to show on a wide wall with the lights out? Been using govee T2 for half a year and love it. The ad looked like it covered more of an area, but can't tell here if it's meant to
Any idea if the camera is manditory? I like how these hook up to Apple Kit but don't necessarily need the camera. But cheaper LED strips the white / warm whites aren't as accurate as Nanoleafs
Camera is used to gather screen's colour palette in order to display the matching effect on the back. So for this function yes, mandatory. Camera is the whole point of this kit. Otherwise you can just apply random app-enabled or Homekit LEDs and they will simply shine without mimicking the screen.
I think Philips patented the only way to truly get the best sync out of the display (tv, monitor, etc.), which is why all of the competitors have to use a camera to achieve the same effect. That said they have come a long way from the initial camera-based solutions. You're right about HomeKit, but I won't be as nice as you were. Apple's HomeKit is a kludgy mess of a platform. Is it getting better, sorta. Only when users scream. Otherwise, like Siri, it just sits, dying slowly in comparison to the energy, resources and teamwork other competitors put into their platforms. Until the masses scream in unison about HomeKit (and many other things Apple has left dilapidating), it is never going to be what it could be, because in Apple's hierarchy, it is near last in priority. It exists, because Apple needs certain functionality for its own systems to work, but beyond that, the efforts put into it are about on par with the efforts to integrate iMessage with other platforms.
Um if the movie projector is calibrated correctly it will not bother your eyes in complete darkness. A projector needs to be calibrated to 16ish FL and that way it will not bother your eyes
And how long did ut take for the light strips to fall of the TV? The most commen thing why i never buy tnings like this and for sure not at a price of 100 euro
I did not have any issues with it falling off the TV. I posted this video last summer and took this TV down in March to make room for a projector for a recent video project.
Try putting a diffusion strip over the lights. Not heavy diffusion, but light. It will help to dissipate the individual lights, and make it a little more even. It won't totally solve your issue, but it should make it far more usable. There is another RUclips channel that is pretty much just LED strips and other light automations that you might find interesting. The guy running it is Chris Maher.
@@EricWelander I wish if I just waited for the reviews before I made my purchase 😅 .. my devices now are 105% out of sync after getting inserting the 4d sync box in ..I raised a ticket with their support .. I hope they take serious action after famous reviewers like you raise these concerns !
Thanks for the vid. Do you know if the product can be controlled locally with the device blocked from the internet? Also in regards to colour matching, is there functionality to tell the app you have cut the strip? If not it may expect it to still be the full size and all the zones will be offset from the app’s expected placement on the TV.
@@EricWelander oh that’s handy that it all gets calibrated, I don’t think Govee can do that. If you do get a chance to test the offline access, let me know. Would prefer not to have internet connected cameras inside my house.
When you calibrate the lightstrip that is how it knows where the strip has been cut. Also, all color matching is handled locally and no video or audio is transmitted to Nanoleaf, but they do provide a privacy cap for extra peace of mind.
My Ambilight still much more responsive and accurate. Happy I didn’t wait for this product… nanoleaf are no good with the software… their essential light can’t even fade to turn on and off. Disappointing company.
1D casts an all white backlight that adjusts brightness according to screen brightness, 2D casts the dominate color along the lightstrip and adjusts brightness according to screen 3D casts multiple colors and scatters them across the lightstrip and 4D makes use of the individually addressable LEDs to cast accurate colors matching the screen along each edge. So the 4D option is the “frosted glass” option that you mentioned you thought you’d find, and is closest to something like the Philips Hue Sync Box (what most people expect from content aware backlighting).
Thanks for adding that clarification. Yeah I wasn’t ever getting anything close to perfect color matching from the 4D setting no matter what I did
@@EricWelander I’d recommend reaching out to Support or perusing the Nanoleaf subreddit for some troubleshooting tips. I’ve seen the 4D in action and it is certainly capable of giving the Philips Hue Sync Box a run for it’s money…
I've been doing research and alot of people are saying nano leave give more of a immersive feeling compared to the Philips hue. I was going to buy the Philips hue but nanoleaf seemed to have better reviews
@@captaincracked6173 I own the Philips Hue Sync box and believe it is more accurate than the Nanoleaf 4D, however it’s also considerably more expensive.
i subbed simply cause you bought these yourself...wish we had more of this on youtube, well done
Thanks Eric for another great video. I am currently using Philips Hue Sync Box, which does a fantastic job for match colors precisely with no delays. Of course with the price. While Philips uses actually color information from hdmi signal, while Nanoleaf uses analog color from camera, which itself could create problem with all kinds of reflection and interference from surroundings. As you said, it is primary good for background lighting. If one to looking for true light sync, Philips Sync Box will be the way to go.
I have a Hue Sync box setup as well, and I agree that it actually delivers on the promises the Nanoleaf makes. What I also did was add ceiling BR30 lights to the entertainment zone for movies, and it really increases the immersion when watching movies. It's pretty amazing to see a green pasture or red lava and the whole room gets painted in those colors
Thanks for sharing your setups. I guess I really should pay the money and try Sync for real
@@arolson101 any workaround for 4K 120hz? For over $500 for a 65in setup, you can’t even game with Philips hue 😅😅…
@@elig2728 they appear to be making an 8k version but that’s all I know
@@elig2728I actually have my PS5 running through my Hue Sync box because they issued a firmware update to allow it to support 120Hz @ 1440p. Given that incredibly few next gen games can even run at 4K120Hz, the experience is pretty solid and I don’t notice any perceivable difference in resolution compared to when just plugged into my TV.
Why review the 4D product and only show the 2D mode? If you turn on 4D mode this gives you all that lovely zone specific colour matching that is reportedly missing. Very engaging for action movies and games. Explosions for instance fill the whole room.
Not had a problem with controlling the device, just added it to my ‘Turn on/off the TV’ shortcut.
Good tips on the calibration, like most things, if you invest some time you can get a really good result.
Most light strips have places to cut them every 3 to 9 leds, I actually never saw a led strip which doesn’t have a place to cut it.
Great video btw!
Thanks! The Govee M1 2 meter can not be cut and Nanoleaf's Elements light strip has fewer spots to cut it than this one does
Agree 100% lack of Apple TV automation is real let down, even basic turn on tv turn on light strip. Especially when you consider the Apple TV is a home hub.
Yes exactly! It’s right there at the technical center of your smart home
@@EricWelander I’ve bought a HomeKit enabled TV from Amazon and it has this functionality.
4D cinematic seems like the light follows the person talking on the tv, like if the person talking is at the left of the tv it matches the colors around them and dims the other area where the people not talking are located
I love cinematic mode the way the colors move are amazing
The people watching this video and obviously yourself who is making this video are the target demographic for the full custom home automations that you’re talking about. But the truth is, most of the world doesn’t have these kind of smart lights. And for those of us who were interested in it, it is incredibly easy to create the automation in the Shortcuts app. Like stupid easy, just take a moment and look at it, heck, that could be a video for yourself. If you don’t make one, I will try to get to making one.
For me the setup was a pain the instructions and stuff suck, but once I got it going it works really good, especially in 4d mode
What were your solutions while pairing? Because I constantly get the following messages;
- Accessory Already in Another Home - Unable to Connect to Network
- Accessory Not Found.
I tried the soft and hard reset, but that doesn't seem to work. I sent an email but no reply yet...
I got it to work like once, but it almost instantly lost connection again.
Just hooked up my 4D Kit today. It’s definitely not as nice or accurate as the Philips Hue SyncBox, so I’m not sure what to do with it. 2D seems a little basic compared to the SyncBox and 3D seems to be too frantic. I’ll keep messing with it and hopefully get it right, but so far it’s making me wish there was a 2.1-capable SyncBox.
I’ve never understood nanoleaf. Their products always feel like they’re a couple small features away from being the best smart lights.
I’m not married to the Hue ecosystem but haven’t felt like anything has surpassed them with overall reliability and user experience.
This was a great video btw!
You have a good point
Problem I have is Phillips Hue that much better? For my 65in Samsung S95B it’s $99 from Nanoleaf for a complete system, to get a Sync Box and Gradient Lights it’s over $500… and sadly no 120hz support for 4k which makes gaming with hue pointless. Is it really 5x better or worth 5x the cost?
For me, the biggest problem with this product is the quality of the camera image. I have a TV room environment that's already got a lot of lighting elements happening, and the camera on the nanoleaf is heavily influenced by the surrounding light conditions. This camera is very easily overexposed which is disappointing because its being directly pointed at a TV with very dynamic illumination.
On bright white screens and even grey areas, the camera has a greenish tinge in the image so when the image turns bright white, the camera interprets that as this minty green color. I can adjust the white balance (and trust me, I've tried everything with the calibration and controls), and adjusting the white balance can increase the accuracy of other colors, but white and grey will always be greenish because I can only calibrate other colors around the white point, I cant change how the camera interprets white, so the closer the screen image comes to white, the more greenish the 4D presentation looks.
Well said about the automation when Apple TV is being turned on/off. This is quite annoying, as I have to ask Siri on my watch / phone to turn on Nanoleaf every single time I turn on Apple TV. The rule to open Nanoleaf IF Apple TV is on does work, but it goes to a random plain setting - not to 4D mode, which is my preference. If anybody manages to get it going automatically to 4D, please let me know 🙏
Your "How I fixed my problems" section is why I bit the bullet on this. I was worried that it sucked, but it turns out the instruction could just be clearer. I'm glad I didnt just believe amazon reviews, they tend to be some of the most helpful morons who leave reviews at 1 star. Thank you Eric!!
It's unfortunate that they're no longer making the Dream Screen system... I had one for a few years before the microcontroller crapped out, and it worked really good, and I feel it was much more accurate than the systems of today that are using cameras to do it.
Not for me but thanks for the thorough test. Great and informative video as always.
Probablly best to show on a wide wall with the lights out? Been using govee T2 for half a year and love it. The ad looked like it covered more of an area, but can't tell here if it's meant to
Any idea if the camera is manditory? I like how these hook up to Apple Kit but don't necessarily need the camera. But cheaper LED strips the white / warm whites aren't as accurate as Nanoleafs
Camera is used to gather screen's colour palette in order to display the matching effect on the back. So for this function yes, mandatory. Camera is the whole point of this kit. Otherwise you can just apply random app-enabled or Homekit LEDs and they will simply shine without mimicking the screen.
I think Philips patented the only way to truly get the best sync out of the display (tv, monitor, etc.), which is why all of the competitors have to use a camera to achieve the same effect. That said they have come a long way from the initial camera-based solutions.
You're right about HomeKit, but I won't be as nice as you were. Apple's HomeKit is a kludgy mess of a platform. Is it getting better, sorta. Only when users scream. Otherwise, like Siri, it just sits, dying slowly in comparison to the energy, resources and teamwork other competitors put into their platforms. Until the masses scream in unison about HomeKit (and many other things Apple has left dilapidating), it is never going to be what it could be, because in Apple's hierarchy, it is near last in priority. It exists, because Apple needs certain functionality for its own systems to work, but beyond that, the efforts put into it are about on par with the efforts to integrate iMessage with other platforms.
nice video. i have the same problems at the start with the stripe. i do the same with the trackingfield from the camera and boooom ist really better.
GOVEE FOR THE WIN
Nothing compares to Phillips ambilight
Um if the movie projector is calibrated correctly it will not bother your eyes in complete darkness. A projector needs to be calibrated to 16ish FL and that way it will not bother your eyes
And how long did ut take for the light strips to fall of the TV?
The most commen thing why i never buy tnings like this and for sure not at a price of 100 euro
I did not have any issues with it falling off the TV. I posted this video last summer and took this TV down in March to make room for a projector for a recent video project.
Great review.
Doesn’t seem to be as accurate as the Govee Immersion/Dreamview. Nice review btw.
Thanks and thanks for letting me know. I haven't tried the Govee Immersion / Dreamview
My problem is my cheap tv mount is too close to the tv and a good space of the lights dont display properly. 😑
Bummer.
Try putting a diffusion strip over the lights. Not heavy diffusion, but light. It will help to dissipate the individual lights, and make it a little more even. It won't totally solve your issue, but it should make it far more usable. There is another RUclips channel that is pretty much just LED strips and other light automations that you might find interesting. The guy running it is Chris Maher.
Have you tried homeassistant?
Is that a UniFi White Touch phone on your desk?
Haha yes it is!
It uses a camera 🤔but why ?
Didn’t work for me … my shapes turned off when I activate it
Bummer!
@@EricWelander I wish if I just waited for the reviews before I made my purchase 😅 .. my devices now are 105% out of sync after getting inserting the 4d sync box in ..I raised a ticket with their support .. I hope they take serious action after famous reviewers like you raise these concerns !
Thanks for the vid. Do you know if the product can be controlled locally with the device blocked from the internet?
Also in regards to colour matching, is there functionality to tell the app you have cut the strip? If not it may expect it to still be the full size and all the zones will be offset from the app’s expected placement on the TV.
The app is calibrated by setting where the corners of your TV are on the light strip when you first set it up. I did not try it in an offline scenario
@@EricWelander oh that’s handy that it all gets calibrated, I don’t think Govee can do that. If you do get a chance to test the offline access, let me know. Would prefer not to have internet connected cameras inside my house.
When you calibrate the lightstrip that is how it knows where the strip has been cut. Also, all color matching is handled locally and no video or audio is transmitted to Nanoleaf, but they do provide a privacy cap for extra peace of mind.
@@SmartLightDimwit interesting, thanks! Do you know if they work without internet connection?
Is that you Stipe Miocic?
GOVEE APP is 1000 times better!!! I gotta say that even being a Apple consumer and being stuck with Nanoleaf, I hate the App!
Just get a Phillips ambilight tv
Unless you're fucking doctor who, then these time travelling LEDs are not 4D.
Or, and hear me out here, research Hyperion and sk6812 144led per meter. And see all issues addressed.
So diy it your self for more money
@@caseychaffin5445 money is not an objection when discussing nanoleaf buddy xD
My Ambilight still much more responsive and accurate. Happy I didn’t wait for this product… nanoleaf are no good with the software… their essential light can’t even fade to turn on and off. Disappointing company.
Ditch that apple non sense and start using home assistant