Happy Saturday everyone! If you fancy the Yeelight strip get it below!!… BUY THE YEELIGHT OBSID LED STRIP LIGHT (affiliate link) GLOBAL: yeelightfun.pxf.io/ZQvQeK
How long are these strips, because looking on the link above it says "Extendable to 16.4 ft" which is 5m, which implies these might be 1m strips. They might be good (all my bulbs are Yeelight) but $50 for a 1m strip is taking the piss.
I'm moving away from lifx led strips also. Mine keep asking me to finish setup and will not connect to the cloud. So every time I want to do something to the led strip I have to finish setup. Thanks for this video it helped me decide what would be the best option.
We had way too many connectivity issues with LIFX but the Philips Hue & Govee have been working great for us. I also used sengled in my office which look and perform great for the price
I'm pretty impressed that when I got to the final results screen I couldn't tell which one was the sponsor of the video. And even after looking it up in the description, they didn't sweep the categories or anything! Makes me feel good for it being an honest comparison, even though it was a sponsor
Agreed. I am not a fan of sponsored reviews as they're typically very biased with lots of misleading information, but Paul manages to keep things somewhat balanced. Also without Paul I wouldn't have known lifx abandoned it's customers.
I'm a LIFX user. With Home Assistant I'm not experiencing any problems with connectivity. I guess the culprit is the LIFX app and when you want to use it remotely via their servers. The only reason for being sour is the d**k move they polled in UK. Other than that, LIFX is a pretty cool product.
@@paulhibbertThat is strange. Maybe you have a different model than I do. I have LIFX A60 Clean bulbs (those with flat top, EU version). They're running on the latest version of firmware. They're connected via Ubiquity AC Pro access point. Fortunately I don't experience connectivity issues, otherwise I would also be annoyed AF
I’m using an amplifier HD router, and some of the A60’s are fine and one isn’t, J also have two golf ball lifx bulbs and one is fine the other isn’t. So annoying! The beam that I have round my doorframe used to switch back to white at random, I ended up creating an Alexa routine to put it back to rainbow colours. Such a weird issue
I Agree, say what you want about them but the hardware inside is top notch, i have taken one apart, works perfect with alexa and HA and their app, i have 11 bulbs and 2 strips i only had 1 failure (stuck in factory mode so mostly firmware issue). The bad thing is support, it took them 6 months for them to replace a bulb in warranty. Feit electic bought the company but i don't see any improvement yet anywhere.
I started using LIFX bulbs because I wanted a device with an open API for fast local control. I use Node-RED for home automation to control the LIFX lights , and connectivity hasn't been an issue for me. Still haven't found a more capable device. Other light brands I've tried use Tuya based control, which is a pain for local connectivity. It can be done, but it takes a bit of mucking around and a Tuya developer account. LIFX colour / luminance is still a clear winner. Thanks for your balanced review Paul.
I love their colour, for some reason even though I’m using Lifx locally through home assistant, the same bulbs keep failing, it’s as though there’s an IP conflict, but I’ve looked through my amplifi Hd router config and it all looks fine 🤷🏻♂️
@@paulhibbert I have my LIFX bulbs configured with a static (reserved) IP in my router. This ensures the same IP address can be used for control, rather than having to locate them every time. If the same bulbs keep going offline, I’d check in your router that each has a static address.
I have a LIFX strip that has given me no end of problems. Sometimes it would work flawlessly, other times it would drop my network, refuse to reconnect and I'd spend an hour troubleshooting it only to give up. Then the next day it would work fine. Eventually half the strip stopped lighting up which I assume was a power supply issue, LIFX support were useless, so I've got a dead LED strip under my couch. Been put off LED strips following that experience but I'm looking at using the Aqara ones so I may give it a shot!
I cant get over how much more expensive these are compared to a ATHOM WLED controller and some WS2812B you can get like 5 of these for 1 of them options listed
Some notes/corrections. LIFX didn't go bust, their holding company, Buddy Technologies did. LIFX was sold off to Feit Electric and is still going strong. Closing down in the UK was probably not a good idea, but probably required by the new holding company. Anyway, there are definitely some things that can be improved product wise. I have several LIFX products and they all work great. I don't use features like music sync etc. but I guess different things are important to different people.
I first starting using LIFX bulbs in 2017. I put LIFX through out my house 4 years ago when we added an extension and re-did the kitchen (just over £700 of kit). I chose LIFX strips and downlights. Every one of the bulbs still works perfectly. I've had less than a dozen sync issues over than time, all easily resolvable. I'm still very happy with my choice.
I have to chime in on that I've never had connectivity problems with my lifx bulbs and I'm planning to get a 2m strip for my son's remake of his room. Nice vid tho!
That Harold and Madge scene cracked me up. My lifx randomly disappear from the app also. At the same time home assistant can still control them. Go figure
Yep, fair play at 4:10 haha. (PS We (Govee) do have our own Govee Desktop App (plus ChromaRGB) to allow for PC syncing without the camera or AI Gaming Sync Box. Should also work with M1)
I have had a lifx strip for years and was needing another. I looked at all the stuff that had come out since and went for the nanoleaf. It had loads bettter features. Thing is though that the main job of a light is to light things. The Lifx is a country mile better at this and so i would advise sticking with them.
I have had nothing but great luck with all their lights have used them for four or five years with zero issues just got the path lights. They are amazing. I don’t get the bad reviews. What are you people doing?
All the pixels from all these devices will be made by WorldSemi (yes I chuckled when I first learned the name too). The difference between them is, some of the strip brands will be using the "reject" pixels so the brightness might be dimmer or the colours might be off. Some might be using the eco versions of the pixels too but you would need to check the power usage of each strip on max brightness per colour channel. The controllers are most likely made in house by the strip manufacturers hence why they differ so much with connectivity. Personally, I would always make my own strip lights but, all of these will be hackable by using an ESP32 and WLED which will give you more features and compatibility for your smart home. I strongly recommend anyone doing that, to watch a few videos on how to make a diy rgbic light strip with WLED as you could fry your strip, your esp32 or your house if you wire them up incorrectly.
Thanks for this dude, I’m curious, I assume then it would be possible to wire for example an aqara controller to the lifx strip then? Would the quality of light then be drastically improved in line or would the power output from the controller not be enough?
@paulhibbert if the strip length is the same and both of the plugs have the same rating, look on the plug socket for something like: 12v = 3.0A 36.0w then it should work. You will need to figure out which wires are your live, neutral, and data lines as some strips are made differently and even like to mix the coloured wires up just for fun. The LEDs (pixels) will all generally come from the same factory. One difference you may encounter is pixels that also contain a white diode. Sometimes, they can even have 2 (warm white & cold white) These won't be compatible with a strip with only RGB. 5v strips won't be compatible with 12v or 24v strips either. If you have 2 plugs, both the same voltage but one has a higher max watt rating, then use that one to power the strip and controller as it is fine to use a PSU with higher wattage but never lower. The wattage is basically how much load the PSU can handle. If you fancy playing about, get some wago connectors and some wire strippers and a basic multimeter. You should be able to figure out which is your live, neutral, and data then.
Using a different controller shouldn't make a difference to brightness or colour accuracy. That will be down to if the strip manufacturer used the rejected pixels (and what grade of rejected pixels they used). The only way a controller could reduce the brightness of the strip is if the manufacturer decided to implement some sort of power limit to the pixels to increase longevity of the strip. I would personally recommend looking into WLED. The Dig2Go controller by QuinLED might be a much better introduction to WLED as they come pre-set up and ready for your strip lights. I can't link, but you know how to use a search engine lol.
I think the main hurdle in making a hybrid from a lifx strip is their slightly unusual approach of batching the addressable LEDs into groups of 6. Not sure how other controller software would cope with this. Having said that, I've got a slightly broken 1m lifx strip and an ESP32 sitting in my project bin waiting for me to get around to it, so you never know
I was gutted when my lifx stuff started acting up. Worked great for about 6 months then just wouldn't connect. Had to reset them daily, would be connected for about 30 minutes then they work cut off again. Was like that for so long that I ended up having to replace both of them. It's annoying because I don't think there is another LED strip available from any other manufacturer that's on the same level for brightness and saturation.
I’ve had 2 1100 watt RGB bulbs for a couple years now with zero issues. Would I buy LIFX again? No, as setting up new devices is now a nightmare, but these have been solid
I have 1 strip that doesn’t work right and my other strips work fine. But the fact that u have to compare all the new ones to the OLD AF lifx clearly suggest that it was the one to beat
Glad it’s not just me. I have one LifX bulb that I got for cheap as an Amazon add-on order. It has never worked for more than a week before needing a power cycle to work again.
Mine was dropping off constantly. Bought an EAX20 mesh extender and suddenly they are rock solid. Shouldn't really have to shell out an extra £100 though to ensure smart bulb connectivity if we're honest. And the original company after collapse was bought by an American one which is why they are still trading. Support is still active - been dealing with them recently.
Morning sir! I have to say ive had lifx for years and never had a problem with my google assistant connection i haven't t used the lifx app for years though wich may be somehting to do with it. Lol and to be fair mostly have the bubs set to one colour and then just turn off and on. So not exactly pushing them
I haven't purchased lifx in a long time but the several I do have have been working for many many years and have zero drops or failures. Can't say the same about any of the other brands. I would have much more lifx if they had remained price competitive after the few massive sales I purchased during. As far as matter I think that only matters with apple? And I give a rats about apple control connectivity.
I refuse to use anything that requires a connection to the cloud. Been building my own lighting system with WLED and Home Assistant and am VERY happy with their reliability and the effects are amazing. Comes with music modes and support for 2D panels too. I would like to know how these homemade strips using the WS8212b strips are stacking up against these your reviewing. The WS8212b stripts are blinding and, I have nithing to compare it to, the purple seems very nice. But im no pro.
prefer white led strips cause it helps diffusion more for my white furniture and PC components. Hey Paul, did you notice the extreme price change with the Govee AI box Kit with light bars? The Kit used to be $400 on Amazon Canada when it first dropped but now its like $150. I mean what the hell is up with that bs? Did Govee try to Gouge us with that ridiculous pricing? They tried to pull a Philips Hue!
It must be nice to wake up with those lights simulating sunrise, or with Switchbot’s curtains moving super slowly, but with 3 dogs I get to wake up when it’s still dark and cold outside 😅 maybe someday
bought a LIFX smart bulb years ago and could never get to to remain connected to my WiFi. Been using cheap chinse bulbs for a third of the price which work effortlessly. Not surprised to hear they went bust.
Wtf??? RUclips says I watched this video…..but it came out while I was sleeping and I am at work and haven’t watched RUclips yet. WHAT SORCERY IS THIS!!!!!!!
The only reason I still buy LIFX equipment is because of the brightness. I have several types of lights and LIFX are so bright in any colour. They may have gone bust but I am sure they have been acquired by an Australian company. I have noticed the prices in the bulbs have gone up.
Our new owners Feit Electric are US based, but we still have our LIFX team and head office in Australia. We continue to sell via Clever House (our distributor), JB Hi-Fi, Bunnings and Amazon.
Hi, Paul thanks for another great comical clip video. Lifx is a product I use & I know what you mean about connectivity. It happens to me when customising the strip light or the Beam lights So I've given up trying. But when it works it's better then any of the 3 products you had just mentioned for colour & DIY desgins & effects if Lifx can make the app easier to use like the others you got on display. Apart from Yeelight I have not got that strip to know. Quick question can the yeelight strip be connected to the Yeelight Station app? Are you going do Xmas video ? Cos got a couple of beers with your name on it. he he. Pls & thxs.
@@paulhibbert I checked older videos of yours including one where you were sponsored by Lifx (LOL), but that video was from 2019 and I would assume that this would change over the years.
Hi Paul could we challenge you to "create" diy solution with Wled and addressable led and then compare with all those strips? Your are famous at DIY... 😂
Should consider that if LIFX is in some difficulty as you state, it is normal to sell off stock to ensure that monies can be paid to whom it is owed. Regarding the prices you show are they all based on a certain length? I really like the Aqara stuff, but the LEDs is only for 2m and you can extend it which adds up really quick. I had previously purchased Govee LEDs and had 5m out of the box. Connected to a matter smart plug its a really cheap option as I just want lights on or off.
Moved into a new house 4 years ago, purchased a number of Lifx.... and WOW, considering the price they should work. Then I had an issue, was told it was warrantee, YAY.... then the wait for 6+ months . They; "we have no stock" and yet they were selling stock. F! them. Moved to Govee, more options, cheaper price. Easy choice
How do LIFX get away with this? Not sure about UK, but in Australia it is illegal not to honour the warranty. Saturation and brightness have tradeoffs with LED's. By pushing the LED's that hard, their life span is reduced. I'd rather have a slightly less bright strip that will work properly, and last longer.
Hi mate brilliant vid again 👍 I noticed on the previous vid u mentioned u bought a couple Phillips hue tvs. Being as u also have the lights and hub could u possibly do a vid about the best ambi light set up?
I am unable, for 2 years, to get the lifx app to show ANYTHING other than one bulb in the outside group (there are 2 bulbs). As a result the second bulb, which is always on, and cannot be controlled through the app, is being talen down. So is the lone first bulb. So is the app. I have 16 other bulbs inside the house that are Tapo and TPlink and all can be controlled through those apps and Alexa. I think Lifx is a menace to society and my patience. I still need 2 smart bulbs for the outside of the house which can take extreme weather temperatures.
So basically LiFX are the best at being a light and the others are better at the other functions? Asking because I bought 2 heaps of lifx downlighting a few and few more years ago but haven’t got an electrician to install them yet...
I just came across this video. You will love this idea if you have not already seen it. Keep up the great videos. Zac Builds channel: RIP Philips Hue & Govee - from 8 months ago
Same! Kept going dark and was so annoying as it was the only light in my room... I managed to get a return and bought nanoleaf, works perfect so far. Just wish I could find physical switches for them :/
Paul - How do you integrate Govee lights into your Home Assistant? It's been a while since I last messed with my config with regards to Govee - but what I am still using is horribly rate limited and fails if my family accidentally send two commands after each other or brighten/dim using remotes I have setup in HA... has that improved since or is there a better way of doing it now?
Sadly, I have LIFX strip lights. The good news for me is I’m old, and just want light over my counter to read by- white light, no blinking, no colors, no formality of turning on the cell phone. In fact, a light switch or button to press is the only thing that would of made me happier. Amazingly, the 3M peel and stick tape has remain stuck to the plywood edge I tacked it on… Annoyingly, these LEDs generate heat. My LED kitchen track lights generate heat I can feel also, but they were there when we moved in.
Why never any mention of APIs in these comparisons? My #1 concern when looking at new tech is if I can use an HTTP method, UDP, MQTT, or some other protocol to control it directly, so that I don't have to use the app. Bad business practices and cloud-required control aside, I like that I can PUT & POST to LIFX (and GET to Philips Hue) for all manner of home automation. With all of the strip moves and panel morphs I have set up in the app I don't understand criticizing it for that. Now, for all of my requests having to go through their servers, though, criticize away!
Paul, please figure out how to get the Aqara strip to recognize extensions when directly added to Home Assistant in ZHA!! The full strip lights up when selecting color temperature, but not an RGB color..
I find lifx a bit hit and miss, some work fine some loose connection on their app but work with Alexa. Unfortunately there isn’t much that has decent whites that are bright and work in HomeKit (bulbs not strips) I have been thinking about getting the Aqara strip as they have a dedicated white chip. How did the whites compare between the Govee and Aqara ?
Shame you don't get along with razer synapse software. It has a feature that I believe yeelight software does not. While yeelight software allows you to choose one of the 4 screen borders, razer allows you to select an actual part of the screen. I used one of the yeelight bulbs with razer, selected a specific area where a space game was showing a loading bar for "warp speed", and it gets very immersive to see the bulb increasing color intensity as the bar fills, and going dark again (if I am facing empty dark space) or whatever color it picks from the screen (if I am facing a bright star, or a planet). Also can pick each screen border individually as the yeelight software and also can use full screen capture to replicate it somehow (using this feature for keyboard).
The big downside of razer synapse is that it's a pc only software, in my opinion. Has a bit of a learning curve, but i wouldn't say it sucks balls, it's as far I know the only one with the most 3rd party brands integration (yeelight, Philips hue, lifx, twinkle, etc).
The major issue with synapse is that most brands can only have all lights assigned to one portion of the screen in the ambilight mode, if you have two Yeelight’s or two lifx bulbs you can only assign them both to one portion which is super lame. 😒
@@paulhibbert that i agree, they work as a single "unit". Also the latest software from yeelight dont simulate black, the previous software would turn lights off to go dark and simulate black screen color, the new one keeps the last used color when screen goes dark. dont know if it does the same with other brands/software.
wait ... Someone contacted your sponsor directly to complain about the ''Rocket'' Jokes ... Ok Present Yourself AT ONCE.. I would like to know who A has the Time to do That and B what happened to you in life to be offended by a ''Rocket'' Joke thats the most shocking part of this video not the fact LIFX are rubbish Team Govee all the Way !
And C, if you are so easily offended, what are you doing watching Paul in the first place?!? You literally have the power to put anything you like on! 😂 🤯 🔫
Does the camera based BIAS lighting work with projectors screens? Been debating switching to a projector system but currently use the old DreamScreen box to manage background lighting on my TV. Would love to see a video with this test.
I use Lifx bulbs in my house - Have a good Wifi connection is my tip :) i run 8 bulbs 1 of them outside and I dont have any drop outs. Agreed The other stuff with lifx is is useless. I wanted smart bright lights with some colours sometimes without hubs and other rubbish :)
I generally dislike wifi smart home products and go full ZigBee, but lifx bulbs through home assistant have been very reliable for me, and have yet to be beaten for max brightness, minimum brightness and colour. They easily beat out other expensive brands like Philips hue, which for me have been unreliable and have a much too high minimum brightness.
Hello paul I watch channel all the time I have a question I have a few smart home items in my home all have their own hub and as you are my smart home guru I am looking for one hub that will control all of them any help would be greatly appreciated
I wonder if Phillips is intentionally underpowering to have more longevity...🤔 And lifx is now in home depot after all this time...they, like all products, i learned, pay to be on hd selves, like in supermarkets...
I received my Yeelight Obsid strip with extension a couple of weeks ago and there....OK. Software to connect to pc is abysmal, the amount of hoops you have to go through is ridiculous not to mention its not even detected as "Obsid" according to the pc its a "Chameleon 2". Unless ive missed is there no editing the individual LEDs in the app, scenes are boring and setting up the amibilight is a faf. After saying all this the lights themselves are very good, the mobile app is useful and after tinkering im sure getting the lights into Home Assistant will be beneficial. If your wanting a nice LED strip these are worth it esp if you got the discount, failing that i think im going to get a strip of WS2812's and an ESP32 and make my own.
We need another manufacturer to do a "night vision" bulb with IR. No one else has a product like theirs that you can have on during the day then have "invisible" IR at night for your cameras. Perfect for light post/porch light
Couldn't you just use an IR floodlight and a normal light sensor switch to turn it on when dark, or even Home Assistant with a sunset/sunrise automation to turn it on/off?
@@gordon861 I haven't found a IR floodlight or A19 that isn't visible "red" IR. If you did can you link me. I have one of their lights at my lightpole, it's normal light at dusk/then IR later in the night. Extension of my doorbell cams IR capabilities.
You won't normally find them because of the safety. The human eye will not react to IR or UV light, and will fully let you fry your retina. You can find individual modules that are IR only because they are intended for non consumer use. When you do see consumer devices with low red or purple for UV, it's because they have a filter added. This may not be legal everywhere. (This was explained to me by a supplier when I was trying to get replacement parts for a IR led transmitter, I needed a specific wavelength)
As a bulb, LIFX are great. But the software is horrible, I'll never buy LIFX again. Like you said, they'll disconnect like you've never met. Edit: Also will never buy Govee again either. Nice strips, but constantly getting lost from Home Assistant (even after using suitable polling intervals, that's not the problem).
Good morning Paul, hope you're well, I would like to put an LED strip light outside, I have a Philips Hue Light, Would that work if I put it outside on my roof pointing down to my front door?
Unlisted video is visible in your playlists lol - make it private if it’s not released yet ya muppet! (Great video btw, I feel special being able to watch it early). Have an awesome December Paul!
Happy Saturday everyone! If you fancy the Yeelight strip get it below!!…
BUY THE YEELIGHT OBSID LED STRIP LIGHT (affiliate link)
GLOBAL: yeelightfun.pxf.io/ZQvQeK
How long are these strips, because looking on the link above it says "Extendable to 16.4 ft" which is 5m, which implies these might be 1m strips. They might be good (all my bulbs are Yeelight) but $50 for a 1m strip is taking the piss.
I'm moving away from lifx led strips also. Mine keep asking me to finish setup and will not connect to the cloud. So every time I want to do something to the led strip I have to finish setup. Thanks for this video it helped me decide what would be the best option.
@@nolashadowsDo a search for WLED, full local control via app or webpage.
We had way too many connectivity issues with LIFX but the Philips Hue & Govee have been working great for us. I also used sengled in my office which look and perform great for the price
I'm pretty impressed that when I got to the final results screen I couldn't tell which one was the sponsor of the video.
And even after looking it up in the description, they didn't sweep the categories or anything!
Makes me feel good for it being an honest comparison, even though it was a sponsor
Agreed. I am not a fan of sponsored reviews as they're typically very biased with lots of misleading information, but Paul manages to keep things somewhat balanced. Also without Paul I wouldn't have known lifx abandoned it's customers.
Why would you need to look it up in the description, when Paul literally had stated who the sponsor was is in the video?
I'm a LIFX user. With Home Assistant I'm not experiencing any problems with connectivity. I guess the culprit is the LIFX app and when you want to use it remotely via their servers. The only reason for being sour is the d**k move they polled in UK. Other than that, LIFX is a pretty cool product.
I use it with home assistant too, The LED strip works flawlessly through HA, but the bulbs drop off all the time, it’s weird!
@@paulhibbertThat is strange. Maybe you have a different model than I do. I have LIFX A60 Clean bulbs (those with flat top, EU version). They're running on the latest version of firmware. They're connected via Ubiquity AC Pro access point. Fortunately I don't experience connectivity issues, otherwise I would also be annoyed AF
I’m using an amplifier HD router, and some of the A60’s are fine and one isn’t, J also have two golf ball lifx bulbs and one is fine the other isn’t. So annoying! The beam that I have round my doorframe used to switch back to white at random, I ended up creating an Alexa routine to put it back to rainbow colours. Such a weird issue
@@paulhibbert Yeah, I can see why You're so pissed about the guarantee in UK.
I Agree, say what you want about them but the hardware inside is top notch, i have taken one apart, works perfect with alexa and HA and their app, i have 11 bulbs and 2 strips i only had 1 failure (stuck in factory mode so mostly firmware issue). The bad thing is support, it took them 6 months for them to replace a bulb in warranty. Feit electic bought the company but i don't see any improvement yet anywhere.
I started using LIFX bulbs because I wanted a device with an open API for fast local control.
I use Node-RED for home automation to control the LIFX lights , and connectivity hasn't been an issue for me. Still haven't found a more capable device.
Other light brands I've tried use Tuya based control, which is a pain for local connectivity. It can be done, but it takes a bit of mucking around and a Tuya developer account.
LIFX colour / luminance is still a clear winner.
Thanks for your balanced review Paul.
I love their colour, for some reason even though I’m using Lifx locally through home assistant, the same bulbs keep failing, it’s as though there’s an IP conflict, but I’ve looked through my amplifi Hd router config and it all looks fine 🤷🏻♂️
@@paulhibbert I have my LIFX bulbs configured with a static (reserved) IP in my router. This ensures the same IP address can be used for control, rather than having to locate them every time.
If the same bulbs keep going offline, I’d check in your router that each has a static address.
@@paulhibbert Awwww, and you shit on Hue so much and have praised LIFX in the past. My sympathy levels are 0. How's LIFX going for you now?
It just werrrrrrrrks
I have a LIFX strip that has given me no end of problems. Sometimes it would work flawlessly, other times it would drop my network, refuse to reconnect and I'd spend an hour troubleshooting it only to give up. Then the next day it would work fine. Eventually half the strip stopped lighting up which I assume was a power supply issue, LIFX support were useless, so I've got a dead LED strip under my couch. Been put off LED strips following that experience but I'm looking at using the Aqara ones so I may give it a shot!
I cant get over how much more expensive these are compared to a ATHOM WLED controller and some WS2812B you can get like 5 of these for 1 of them options listed
Some notes/corrections. LIFX didn't go bust, their holding company, Buddy Technologies did. LIFX was sold off to Feit Electric and is still going strong. Closing down in the UK was probably not a good idea, but probably required by the new holding company. Anyway, there are definitely some things that can be improved product wise. I have several LIFX products and they all work great. I don't use features like music sync etc. but I guess different things are important to different people.
Thanks mate, I was aware about the Feit thing, just easier to explain in the video without explaining who Feit are.
I first starting using LIFX bulbs in 2017. I put LIFX through out my house 4 years ago when we added an extension and re-did the kitchen (just over £700 of kit). I chose LIFX strips and downlights. Every one of the bulbs still works perfectly. I've had less than a dozen sync issues over than time, all easily resolvable. I'm still very happy with my choice.
I have to chime in on that I've never had connectivity problems with my lifx bulbs and I'm planning to get a 2m strip for my son's remake of his room. Nice vid tho!
That Harold and Madge scene cracked me up. My lifx randomly disappear from the app also. At the same time home assistant can still control them. Go figure
Yep, fair play at 4:10 haha. (PS We (Govee) do have our own Govee Desktop App (plus ChromaRGB) to allow for PC syncing without the camera or AI Gaming Sync Box. Should also work with M1)
Shame you did include BFT led strips with WLED. Great comparison video though 👍🏻
He does really need to look at WLED.
Dear algorithm. Please save unsuspecting call centre workers from having to work with this man!!!! Make sure everybody gets to watch this video!!
What I find funny is I bought Govee light strips in the past as they were the better value option. O how the turns have tabled!
Mine are about 4 or 5 years old now. No issues at all
yay mr socky has made appearance we have missed you
I have had a lifx strip for years and was needing another. I looked at all the stuff that had come out since and went for the nanoleaf. It had loads bettter features. Thing is though that the main job of a light is to light things. The Lifx is a country mile better at this and so i would advise sticking with them.
Mr. Sockee said, "Big Ol Bag of Turds!" Ha! Ha! Ha! My day is complete! Thanks Paul.
The Good : Mr Socky !
The Bad : LIFX went and died.
The Ugly : LIFX Still selling whilst being bust.
He’s an angry little puppet! (Mr. Socky wrote this, I’m talking about Paul)
I have had nothing but great luck with all their lights have used them for four or five years with zero issues just got the path lights. They are amazing. I don’t get the bad reviews. What are you people doing?
You're on to me! Stupefy!
Hahaha, only just stumbled on this comment! 🤣
Got to admire Mr. Sockie's ventriloquism skills. The Hibbert dummy's lip movements are completely realistic!
All the pixels from all these devices will be made by WorldSemi (yes I chuckled when I first learned the name too). The difference between them is, some of the strip brands will be using the "reject" pixels so the brightness might be dimmer or the colours might be off.
Some might be using the eco versions of the pixels too but you would need to check the power usage of each strip on max brightness per colour channel. The controllers are most likely made in house by the strip manufacturers hence why they differ so much with connectivity.
Personally, I would always make my own strip lights but, all of these will be hackable by using an ESP32 and WLED which will give you more features and compatibility for your smart home. I strongly recommend anyone doing that, to watch a few videos on how to make a diy rgbic light strip with WLED as you could fry your strip, your esp32 or your house if you wire them up incorrectly.
Thanks for this dude, I’m curious, I assume then it would be possible to wire for example an aqara controller to the lifx strip then? Would the quality of light then be drastically improved in line or would the power output from the controller not be enough?
@@paulhibbert Found the subject for next week's video😁😁😁😁
@paulhibbert if the strip length is the same and both of the plugs have the same rating, look on the plug socket for something like: 12v = 3.0A 36.0w then it should work. You will need to figure out which wires are your live, neutral, and data lines as some strips are made differently and even like to mix the coloured wires up just for fun. The LEDs (pixels) will all generally come from the same factory.
One difference you may encounter is pixels that also contain a white diode. Sometimes, they can even have 2 (warm white & cold white)
These won't be compatible with a strip with only RGB.
5v strips won't be compatible with 12v or 24v strips either.
If you have 2 plugs, both the same voltage but one has a higher max watt rating, then use that one to power the strip and controller as it is fine to use a PSU with higher wattage but never lower. The wattage is basically how much load the PSU can handle.
If you fancy playing about, get some wago connectors and some wire strippers and a basic multimeter. You should be able to figure out which is your live, neutral, and data then.
Using a different controller shouldn't make a difference to brightness or colour accuracy. That will be down to if the strip manufacturer used the rejected pixels (and what grade of rejected pixels they used).
The only way a controller could reduce the brightness of the strip is if the manufacturer decided to implement some sort of power limit to the pixels to increase longevity of the strip.
I would personally recommend looking into WLED. The Dig2Go controller by QuinLED might be a much better introduction to WLED as they come pre-set up and ready for your strip lights. I can't link, but you know how to use a search engine lol.
I think the main hurdle in making a hybrid from a lifx strip is their slightly unusual approach of batching the addressable LEDs into groups of 6. Not sure how other controller software would cope with this. Having said that, I've got a slightly broken 1m lifx strip and an ESP32 sitting in my project bin waiting for me to get around to it, so you never know
I was gutted when my lifx stuff started acting up. Worked great for about 6 months then just wouldn't connect. Had to reset them daily, would be connected for about 30 minutes then they work cut off again. Was like that for so long that I ended up having to replace both of them. It's annoying because I don't think there is another LED strip available from any other manufacturer that's on the same level for brightness and saturation.
I’ve had 2 1100 watt RGB bulbs for a couple years now with zero issues. Would I buy LIFX again? No, as setting up new devices is now a nightmare, but these have been solid
The black substrate makes the LEDs look darker, possibly because the lighter substrate will help reflect light back.
I have 1 strip that doesn’t work right and my other strips work fine. But the fact that u have to compare all the new ones to the OLD AF lifx clearly suggest that it was the one to beat
Glad it’s not just me. I have one LifX bulb that I got for cheap as an Amazon add-on order. It has never worked for more than a week before needing a power cycle to work again.
Simulates sunrise? In England? Wouldn't that assume you ever SEE the sun to have it rise?! :p
I’m always a bit confused with LIFX hate I’ve just never had a problem and they work great
Mine was dropping off constantly. Bought an EAX20 mesh extender and suddenly they are rock solid. Shouldn't really have to shell out an extra £100 though to ensure smart bulb connectivity if we're honest. And the original company after collapse was bought by an American one which is why they are still trading. Support is still active - been dealing with them recently.
They can't control your home wifi performance, as you added an extender and all was well, then clearly your wifi was not sufficient before...
Morning sir! I have to say ive had lifx for years and never had a problem with my google assistant connection i haven't t used the lifx app for years though wich may be somehting to do with it. Lol and to be fair mostly have the bubs set to one colour and then just turn off and on. So not exactly pushing them
I hope you thoroughly enjoy the 'these are my exes' section, because it gets a chuckle out of me every time :)
I haven't purchased lifx in a long time but the several I do have have been working for many many years and have zero drops or failures. Can't say the same about any of the other brands. I would have much more lifx if they had remained price competitive after the few massive sales I purchased during.
As far as matter I think that only matters with apple? And I give a rats about apple control connectivity.
I refuse to use anything that requires a connection to the cloud. Been building my own lighting system with WLED and Home Assistant and am VERY happy with their reliability and the effects are amazing. Comes with music modes and support for 2D panels too. I would like to know how these homemade strips using the WS8212b strips are stacking up against these your reviewing. The WS8212b stripts are blinding and, I have nithing to compare it to, the purple seems very nice. But im no pro.
prefer white led strips cause it helps diffusion more for my white furniture and PC components. Hey Paul, did you notice the extreme price change with the Govee AI box Kit with light bars? The Kit used to be $400 on Amazon Canada when it first dropped but now its like $150. I mean what the hell is up with that bs? Did Govee try to Gouge us with that ridiculous pricing? They tried to pull a Philips Hue!
I'd like to see more of the "Sock" 😂😂👌👌
It must be nice to wake up with those lights simulating sunrise, or with Switchbot’s curtains moving super slowly, but with 3 dogs I get to wake up when it’s still dark and cold outside 😅 maybe someday
bought a LIFX smart bulb years ago and could never get to to remain connected to my WiFi. Been using cheap chinse bulbs for a third of the price which work effortlessly. Not surprised to hear they went bust.
Wtf??? RUclips says I watched this video…..but it came out while I was sleeping and I am at work and haven’t watched RUclips yet.
WHAT SORCERY IS THIS!!!!!!!
YAY! So nice to see Mr. Socky in another role than the opening title screen🥳
The only reason I still buy LIFX equipment is because of the brightness. I have several types of lights and LIFX are so bright in any colour. They may have gone bust but I am sure they have been acquired by an Australian company. I have noticed the prices in the bulbs have gone up.
Our new owners Feit Electric are US based, but we still have our LIFX team and head office in Australia. We continue to sell via Clever House (our distributor), JB Hi-Fi, Bunnings and Amazon.
Hi, Paul thanks for another great comical clip video.
Lifx is a product I use & I know what you mean about connectivity. It happens to me when customising the strip light or the Beam lights So I've given up trying. But when it works it's better then any of the 3 products you had just mentioned for colour & DIY desgins & effects if Lifx can make the app easier to use like the others you got on display.
Apart from Yeelight I have not got that strip to know.
Quick question can the yeelight strip be connected to the Yeelight Station app? Are you going do Xmas video ? Cos got a couple of beers with your name on it. he he. Pls & thxs.
I've just used your link to buy 2 Yeelight Obsid RGBIC Light Strips only cost £1 each 🤯 wow.
Er ... that £1 is to buy a $20 discount voucher, basically pay to get them cheaper when they are available.
I hear Phillips Hue is now going to make you login to their server to control your own lights. Do you know if that's true?
I just cancelled my Lifx order on amazon; I hope you're happy.
I wanted something that had very strong colors, and Lifx seemed to be best at that.
Govee is your best option 😁
@@paulhibbert Thank you Paul
@@paulhibbert I checked older videos of yours including one where you were sponsored by Lifx (LOL), but that video was from 2019 and I would assume that this would change over the years.
@@Chronically_ChiII yup, they got REALLY bad 😬
@@paulhibbert Okay, after some research went for Govee bulbs rather than Wyze.
Thank you for warning me and saving me money, King.
Cue the “You didn’t include Phillips Hue because you hate them’ crowd/stampede
Mr Socky is ready for them! 😂 xxx
Hi Paul could we challenge you to "create" diy solution with Wled and addressable led and then compare with all those strips? Your are famous at DIY... 😂
Good humour, still funny and fresh, The old jokes are not getting old either. Well done.
Wyze color bulb is on par. It's my hidden gem
Should consider that if LIFX is in some difficulty as you state, it is normal to sell off stock to ensure that monies can be paid to whom it is owed. Regarding the prices you show are they all based on a certain length? I really like the Aqara stuff, but the LEDs is only for 2m and you can extend it which adds up really quick. I had previously purchased Govee LEDs and had 5m out of the box. Connected to a matter smart plug its a really cheap option as I just want lights on or off.
Moved into a new house 4 years ago, purchased a number of Lifx.... and WOW, considering the price they should work. Then I had an issue, was told it was warrantee, YAY.... then the wait for 6+ months . They; "we have no stock" and yet they were selling stock. F! them. Moved to Govee, more options, cheaper price. Easy choice
Ahhh the long awaited return of Mr socko....😂😂😂😂
Paul,
Love the videos. Please keep it up!
Thank you my friend!
Happy Saturday Paul, I’m happy with my Govee led strips and my Philips hue lights 😊 stuff LIFX.
How do LIFX get away with this? Not sure about UK, but in Australia it is illegal not to honour the warranty.
Saturation and brightness have tradeoffs with LED's. By pushing the LED's that hard, their life span is reduced. I'd rather have a slightly less bright strip that will work properly, and last longer.
Hi mate brilliant vid again 👍 I noticed on the previous vid u mentioned u bought a couple Phillips hue tvs. Being as u also have the lights and hub could u possibly do a vid about the best ambi light set up?
Quality Picard jokes. Thank you
I am unable, for 2 years, to get the lifx app to show ANYTHING other than one bulb in the outside group (there are 2 bulbs). As a result the second bulb, which is always on, and cannot be controlled through the app, is being talen down. So is the lone first bulb. So is the app. I have 16 other bulbs inside the house that are Tapo and TPlink and all can be controlled through those apps and Alexa. I think Lifx is a menace to society and my patience. I still need 2 smart bulbs for the outside of the house which can take extreme weather temperatures.
5:18 wow. Harold and madge. I was remember watching that as a kid. Man I’m showing my age
So basically LiFX are the best at being a light and the others are better at the other functions?
Asking because I bought 2 heaps of lifx downlighting a few and few more years ago but haven’t got an electrician to install them yet...
I just came across this video. You will love this idea if you have not already seen it. Keep up the great videos.
Zac Builds channel: RIP Philips Hue & Govee - from 8 months ago
Morning Dude! Love the Govee backlight from last week. Looks amazing.
Happy Saturday brother! ❤️
All these years gone by, and no one beats LIFX Still? well, you can take a lifx strip, and put a different controller on it.
That’s an interesting idea!! Might try that, and by try that I mean give it to someone competent to try 😂👍🏻
All my LIFX bulbs died within 2 years, they constantly kept going off line. Moved to Nanoleaf. Couldn’t be happier.
They LOVE going dark! 🤪
Same! Kept going dark and was so annoying as it was the only light in my room...
I managed to get a return and bought nanoleaf, works perfect so far. Just wish I could find physical switches for them :/
Paul - How do you integrate Govee lights into your Home Assistant? It's been a while since I last messed with my config with regards to Govee - but what I am still using is horribly rate limited and fails if my family accidentally send two commands after each other or brighten/dim using remotes I have setup in HA... has that improved since or is there a better way of doing it now?
Best disco clip ever and Mr socky too 👏👏
Sadly, I have LIFX strip lights.
The good news for me is I’m old, and just want light over my counter to read by- white light, no blinking, no colors, no formality of turning on the cell phone. In fact, a light switch or button to press is the only thing that would of made me happier. Amazingly, the 3M peel and stick tape has remain stuck to the plywood edge I tacked it on… Annoyingly, these LEDs generate heat. My LED kitchen track lights generate heat I can feel also, but they were there when we moved in.
Obsidian Pour Homme is a cracking perfume name.
Someone call Yves Saint Laurent...
I like the jokes but I like a disco in my house AND I do have frie... okay, okay, you got me - I'm a "Billy no mates" - people suck anyway 😜
Why never any mention of APIs in these comparisons? My #1 concern when looking at new tech is if I can use an HTTP method, UDP, MQTT, or some other protocol to control it directly, so that I don't have to use the app. Bad business practices and cloud-required control aside, I like that I can PUT & POST to LIFX (and GET to Philips Hue) for all manner of home automation. With all of the strip moves and panel morphs I have set up in the app I don't understand criticizing it for that. Now, for all of my requests having to go through their servers, though, criticize away!
Had tons of issues with them. They routinely disconnected from my network and it was a nightmare to re-pair them. They're now in a drawer...
Great video as always Paul + Mr Socky. Is Govee natively supporting HomeKit now?
Via Matter yes
Paul, please figure out how to get the Aqara strip to recognize extensions when directly added to Home Assistant in ZHA!! The full strip lights up when selecting color temperature, but not an RGB color..
I wonder how the nanoleaf strip stacks up against these...
I find lifx a bit hit and miss, some work fine some loose connection on their app but work with Alexa. Unfortunately there isn’t much that has decent whites that are bright and work in HomeKit (bulbs not strips) I have been thinking about getting the Aqara strip as they have a dedicated white chip. How did the whites compare between the Govee and Aqara ?
Thank you for your ever so cheerful, yet informative videos! :)
Brightness and saturation all depends on power usage. Did you test that?
Shame you don't get along with razer synapse software. It has a feature that I believe yeelight software does not.
While yeelight software allows you to choose one of the 4 screen borders, razer allows you to select an actual part of the screen. I used one of the yeelight bulbs with razer, selected a specific area where a space game was showing a loading bar for "warp speed", and it gets very immersive to see the bulb increasing color intensity as the bar fills, and going dark again (if I am facing empty dark space) or whatever color it picks from the screen (if I am facing a bright star, or a planet). Also can pick each screen border individually as the yeelight software and also can use full screen capture to replicate it somehow (using this feature for keyboard).
The big downside of razer synapse is that it's a pc only software, in my opinion. Has a bit of a learning curve, but i wouldn't say it sucks balls, it's as far I know the only one with the most 3rd party brands integration (yeelight, Philips hue, lifx, twinkle, etc).
The major issue with synapse is that most brands can only have all lights assigned to one portion of the screen in the ambilight mode, if you have two Yeelight’s or two lifx bulbs you can only assign them both to one portion which is super lame. 😒
@@paulhibbert that i agree, they work as a single "unit".
Also the latest software from yeelight dont simulate black, the previous software would turn lights off to go dark and simulate black screen color, the new one keeps the last used color when screen goes dark.
dont know if it does the same with other brands/software.
wait ... Someone contacted your sponsor directly to complain about the ''Rocket'' Jokes ... Ok Present Yourself AT ONCE.. I would like to know who A has the Time to do That and B what happened to you in life to be offended by a ''Rocket'' Joke thats the most shocking part of this video not the fact LIFX are rubbish Team Govee all the Way !
This is known as a “dick move”.
And C, if you are so easily offended, what are you doing watching Paul in the first place?!? You literally have the power to put anything you like on! 😂 🤯 🔫
Does the camera based BIAS lighting work with projectors screens? Been debating switching to a projector system but currently use the old DreamScreen box to manage background lighting on my TV. Would love to see a video with this test.
Happy Saturday Paul. Thank you sir.
Happy Saturday Ron! ❤️
Wouldn't it be possible to hash a LIFX strip onto a Govee or Aqara controller?
I have so many issues with Lifx z strip.
I’m thinking of building my own controller.
I use Lifx bulbs in my house - Have a good Wifi connection is my tip :) i run 8 bulbs 1 of them outside and I dont have any drop outs. Agreed The other stuff with lifx is is useless. I wanted smart bright lights with some colours sometimes without hubs and other rubbish :)
The issue I face is that they just done work with anything else, Sensors or anything just your smart assistant and phone.
LIFX also does the sunrise turn on animation
I generally dislike wifi smart home products and go full ZigBee, but lifx bulbs through home assistant have been very reliable for me, and have yet to be beaten for max brightness, minimum brightness and colour. They easily beat out other expensive brands like Philips hue, which for me have been unreliable and have a much too high minimum brightness.
Hello paul I watch channel all the time I have a question I have a few smart home items in my home all have their own hub and as you are my smart home guru I am looking for one hub that will control all of them any help would be greatly appreciated
you fail to mention...how many LED per meter ... thats very important
I wonder if Phillips is intentionally underpowering to have more longevity...🤔 And lifx is now in home depot after all this time...they, like all products, i learned, pay to be on hd selves, like in supermarkets...
I received my Yeelight Obsid strip with extension a couple of weeks ago and there....OK. Software to connect to pc is abysmal, the amount of hoops you have to go through is ridiculous not to mention its not even detected as "Obsid" according to the pc its a "Chameleon 2". Unless ive missed is there no editing the individual LEDs in the app, scenes are boring and setting up the amibilight is a faf.
After saying all this the lights themselves are very good, the mobile app is useful and after tinkering im sure getting the lights into Home Assistant will be beneficial.
If your wanting a nice LED strip these are worth it esp if you got the discount, failing that i think im going to get a strip of WS2812's and an ESP32 and make my own.
Great to see Mr Socky back again
Sock it to the Man!!
yeelight have so many issues with their devices too, and their support doesn't even pretend to do anything to be helpful
what video do you use to test ambilight
kudos for the harold and madge clip - just perfect!
Liquidation? They just released two new products..
We need another manufacturer to do a "night vision" bulb with IR. No one else has a product like theirs that you can have on during the day then have "invisible" IR at night for your cameras. Perfect for light post/porch light
Couldn't you just use an IR floodlight and a normal light sensor switch to turn it on when dark, or even Home Assistant with a sunset/sunrise automation to turn it on/off?
@@gordon861 I haven't found a IR floodlight or A19 that isn't visible "red" IR. If you did can you link me. I have one of their lights at my lightpole, it's normal light at dusk/then IR later in the night. Extension of my doorbell cams IR capabilities.
You won't normally find them because of the safety. The human eye will not react to IR or UV light, and will fully let you fry your retina.
You can find individual modules that are IR only because they are intended for non consumer use.
When you do see consumer devices with low red or purple for UV, it's because they have a filter added. This may not be legal everywhere.
(This was explained to me by a supplier when I was trying to get replacement parts for a IR led transmitter, I needed a specific wavelength)
@@eric_has_no_idea hmmm interesting. I didn't think it was that far in the IR spectrum. I always thought they were "IR"
As a bulb, LIFX are great. But the software is horrible, I'll never buy LIFX again. Like you said, they'll disconnect like you've never met. Edit: Also will never buy Govee again either. Nice strips, but constantly getting lost from Home Assistant (even after using suitable polling intervals, that's not the problem).
Good morning Paul, hope you're well, I would like to put an LED strip light outside, I have a Philips Hue Light, Would that work if I put it outside on my roof pointing down to my front door?
Zemismart do a good outdoor LED strip that is Zigbee and is compatible with Hue! I used it on my house 😊
Unlisted video is visible in your playlists lol - make it private if it’s not released yet ya muppet! (Great video btw, I feel special being able to watch it early).
Have an awesome December Paul!
Why'd you have to go and bring up Harold and Madge?
I have a drawer full of lifx bulbs that would not work with my Orbi mesh router's.