- The Philips Screen Sync is available in the UK and Europe in two sizes
- Unlike the Philips Hue version, it uses the Wiz Wi-Fi platform and app
- Prices start at £79.99 (about $110 / AU$150)
The Philips Hue Play Screen Sync, which launched last month, is a more affordable way to synchronize your smart lights with your TV than using a Hue Play HDMI Sync Box. However, before you grab one, you should know that it now has an even more affordable rival — and, perhaps confusingly, that rival also comes from Philips.
The new system isn't Hue, however. It's branded as Philips Smart Lighting, and the Philips Smart Lighting Screen Sync with Lightstrip runs on the WiZ platform and app over your home's Wi-Fi network.
The big draw here is the price. There are two sizes, with the smallest coming in at £79.99 (about $110 / AU$150), making it significantly cheaper than the Hue Screen Sync — which also requires you to buy a separate light strip. Here, the light strip is part of the package.
If you're looking for a syncing solution for an existing Hue setup, this isn't for you. But if you want a Hue-esque sync system for not very much money, it's definitely worth a look.
As with the Hue Screen Sync system, the core of the setup is a camera. It's a fisheye lens to capture the entire screen, and once you calibrate it in the accompanying app it then syncs the on-screen colors on its four-sided RBGIC strip mounted behind your TV. There's also a built-in mic so you can sync the lights with music if you wish.
Other than the price, the big benefit here is simplicity: stick it on your TV, use the calibration tool, and you're ready to enjoy a more immersive viewing experience, even if you're not using an HDMI source. Whether it's a native streaming app, a PS5, or an Apple TV 4K, if it's on the screen it's extended to your wall.
Writer, broadcaster, musician and kitchen gadget obsessive Carrie Marshall has been writing about tech since 1998, contributing sage advice and odd opinions to all kinds of magazines and websites as well as writing more than twenty books. Her latest, a love letter to music titled .