THE EMPIRE
Bring Your Entertainment Area to Life with A Dash of Colour!
After reviewing the Philips Hue Play Gradient Lightstrip, I was then given the opportunity to review the Philips Hue Colour Play Bar (Double Pack) for the entertainment area.
The Colour Play Bars are a little different from the Lightstrip as one bar is about the size of a 30cm ruler, just a touch smaller. Not a long winding snake like strip. The Colour Play Bars are small but mighty, like myself. The colours it can bring to your entertainment area do really add to the environment and immerses you more into what’s on the screen. I really enjoyed having Stranger Things on with the dark tones and bright red lighting up the wall behind the TV and the quick colour changes from Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. It was FANTASTIC!
The Colour Play Bars give you more freedom with how you want to place them. You can have them laying down as seen in the picture above or you can have them set up vertically. With the mounts and adhesives provided you can mount them to anything you like really. I have mine on the back of the TV facing the wall, though you can have them point up, down, out or in. They are an absolute breeze to install, getting the adhesive cover off is the hardest part.
Just like the Lightstrip, the Colour Play Bar can be controlled with the Philips Hue app when connected to the Philips Hue Bridge (an item as I have mentioned before is SOLD SEPARATELY!) Add some scenes and play them while you’re just hanging out and let the lights add just a little bit of life to the room. Set the mood, do you want to feel like you’re in Chinatown? How about something more relaxing? Throw on a Mountain Breeze scene or customise your own.
If you like being hands free you can take control of the light bars with just your voice and a smart home assistant.
The one part that has kind of disappointed me is the that you are required to purchase the Play HDMI Sync Box to sync the Colour Play Bars up with the content on your TV. Which is going to cost you at least $460.00+.
Conclusion
I would be less inclined to purchase the Philips Colour Play Bars than the Lightstrip. Not from spending more time at my computer than in front of my TV but because I feel like the Colours Play Bars lack that OOMPH! like I feel from the Lightstrip. This may be due to the distance you are from the Colour Play Bars compared to the Lightstrip that is attached to the back of your computer monitor you sit right in front of. They just feel a little lack luster, especially in lighter environments. When I watched Stranger Things and Spider-Man, it was both at night time and the Colour Play Bars really did add that extra touch. During the day however…..they felt kind of meh. I didn’t really take notice of the lighting while I had them linked to my Spotify unless I had some bright red colour type theme on.
If you spend a lot of time in your entertainment area then these could be a very nice addition to add more life and show off to your friends.
I personally would not give them a second look.
- Available: Now
- Philips Colour Play Bar Double Pack: $259.95 NZD from Philips Hue Online Store
Retailers: Bunnings, JB HI-FI, Noel Leeming, Mighty Ape, Harvey Norman (online only), PB Tech
Latest posts by Hayden Biddick (see all)
- Review – Logitech G A50 X Wireless Gaming Headset - February 16, 2024
- Review – Logitech G PRO X 2 LIGHTSPEED Wireless Gaming Headset - June 27, 2023
- Review – Philips Hue Colour Play Bar - December 15, 2022
- Review – Astro A30 Wireless Headset – Revised - November 20, 2022
