Maybe this belongs in the Pit.
Have you guys seen this Ambi-Light TV by Phillips? As near as I can tell from the commercials it’s just a flat screen TV with colored lights on the back that glow on your wall to match the dominant color on the screen.
Is this a joke? This is supposed to “enhance” the TV watching experience so much that I’ll buy it instead of another brand?
Me thinkst the emperor has no clothes.
IMO, there’s not any added value to a soft halo around the back of my screen. I understand the whole ambient light concept, but it sounds like a Chia Pet to me.
Shit, a major selling point of front projectors is eliminating ambient light.
From their own website:
Should I read this to mean “makes the picture look better than it is”?
I think it means “makes the picture look better, but the actual pixels you’re seeing are the same.” So it’s relying on some quirk of human perception.
I have no idea if it works, but I know that I have a small light behind my TV that I turn on during TV-watching. I mainly do it so I feel like I’m not sitting there in the dark.
This is actually a common technique used by videophiles to improve the perceived picture quality of a TV - put a soft dim backlight on the wall behind it. I believe even the video calibration discs like Video Essentials recommend the practice.
This is completely different than the requirement for front projection to eliminate all light. You need that with a front projector to improve contrast, because the front projection screen reflects room light as well as projector light, so the best absolute contrast you can get is hurt if the ‘black’ still shows some light from the screen. This problem does not exist for rear projection or direct-view TVs.
Philip’s solution is actually pretty cool, and should result in a better viewing experience if done right.
CNET insider tips for improving TV viewing
There’s even a cool animation there showing the effect.
[hijack]Ugh, I bought one of those deer whistles about a month after totaling my old car running into a deer. I also have a rock in my room that, so far, has kept bears away :wally [/hijack]
I recently bought myself a combined CD/radio alarm clock that features a light sensitive display. It turns out that the way this works is the display is dimmed more the lower the light level in the room. So when it is dark and I am in the room and possibly looking at the time I can’t read it. During the day when I am not in bed it is easily read.
A friend owns a Philips dealership here, and he’s got one room set up with the home theater system and big-ass TV, etc. I’ve seen the effect of the ambi-light, and it’s good. It seems to make for more pleasing viewing.
I used Video Essentials a while back, I think the concept is to have a certain amount of total light in the room while viewing. If you have a totally dark room and a 32" TV, the room will be too dark, and eyestrain will reduce the perceived picture quality. This is not a problem with a movie theater or big front projection TV, because the light from the picture alone is enough.
My WAG is that the Ambilight will give you that extra lighting, without turning on a distracting lamp that will wash out the picture.
Actually the idea is good, but the execution failed.
A lot of these sets have an audible sound caused by the lights in them.
Most people might not notice it, but if the hum from fluorescent light isn’t your cup of tea you might want to switch this feature off.
They are beautiful tv-sets though.
IIRC, it is for reducing eye strain.
Mostly for eliminating eyestrain, yes (see the quote above - it has to do with your eye trying to find a focus point when the wall is invisible). But the backlight can also increase perceived contrast and prevent ‘blooming’ around the edges of the picture for people who are sensitive to bright point sources. The point is, it’s not snake oil. It’s a real feature.
Having never seen the TV, I don’t know if the implementation is good or bad, but the concept is fine.
When my parents built an addition on our house, our new family room needed to be set up. 2 walls had no windows and one had a window and one a sliding glass door. My parents wanted to put the TV in the ‘dark’ corner, but I convinced them to put it in the corner between the window and the door so that we weren’t looking at reflections in the screen. I also put a light on the table behind the TV shining up the wall. It made for less eyestrain when it was dark out since my eyes didn’t have to adjust duirng scene transitions.
The problems that I found with it was that I always could see the TV set. When the room is dark, there is a floating picture, but with the light there is always a set in front of you. It also wouldn’t win any interior design awards since the first thing you notice in the room is the TV!
Random question, can you have the halo lights on when the TV’s off, to make a sort of night-light for your living room? (I mean, I’d have to trip over the big-screen TV because I couldn’t see it… 
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