Philips has made good on its promise to bring the Hue Sync TV application to LG’s smart TV lineup, bestowing them with an Ambilight-like display of mood lighting that shines in sync with the content being watched.
While Ambilight is one of Philips TVs’ most iconic features, integrated with all of its smart TVs, it’s possible to get the same experience on third-party televisions either by installing the Hue Sync application, or paying for its Hue Sync Box device, which works with any TV.
The Hue Sync TV application was previously only available on Samsung TVs, however, so the availability on all of LG’s 2024 webOS TVs is likely to get some interest, particularly as the Hue Sync Box has some limitations.
One of the problems with the Hue Sync Box is that, although it recently received a HDMI 2.1-friendly upgrade to bring synchronised lighting effects to 4K/120Hz gaming, it only works when the content is delivered via an external source – but not content shown by the TV itself.
On the other hand, the Hue app, which was developed by a company called Signify on behalf of Philips, works with every type of content, including that which is streamed from the TV’s built-in video streaming apps. Moreover, it supports a wide range of picture formats, including 4K and 8K resolution, HDR10 and Dolby Vision HDR content.
The downside is that setting up the app and everything else can be quite costly, and some may not feel it’s worth it. The app costs $130 to download in the U.S. (around £110, but we don’t have exact U.K. prices yet) if you want to buy it permanently, or else $3 per month via a subscription, allowing for use on up to three devices.
But you’ll need more than just the app, of course. You’ll have to purchase the actual lights, which cost around £189.99, plus a device called the Philips Hue Bridge, which links the app to those lights, and costs £49.99. So, all told, you’re looking at over £300 to get it all set up.
That said, if you’re a cinemaphile and you want the best possible viewing experience on your LG TV, the Ambilight experience is quite unlike anything else, and may be worth the money. The app is likely to interest U.S. consumers especially, considering that Philips’ Ambilight TVs are not sold in that country.
For now, the Philips Hue Sync app only works on LG’s 2024 TVs, but we’re sure it will be made compatible with its 2025 models too, once they launch later this year.
