We’ve seen many versions of RGB lights that sync with what’s being shown on screen, with Philips having pioneered the technology with its Ambilight range. These days, though, there are many other options and the upcoming new version of the Govee AI Sync Box kit is the best version we’ve seen yet.
There are three key features of the Govee AI Sync Box kit 2 that immediately appealed to me when I saw it demonstrated at the CES Unveiled event at CES 2024. The first is the same thing that the currently available version of the AI Sync Box – a version that is currently discounted by a massive 63% from its usual price om Amazon – can also claim, which is that it uses a HDMI hub to connect and control the lights.
In contrast, some other RGB kits that try to mimmick what’s being shown on screen do it by having a camera view the screen – like with the Nanoleaf likes of the Nanoleaf 4D screen mirror. With the box, though, there’s no weird angler fish-like camera dangling over your TV but instead you can hide the box away.
The second win for this kit is that it now supports HDMI 2.1. That means it can cope with up to 4K at 120Hz or 8K at 30Hz video signals, whereas the current version is limited to 4K at 60Hz. Considering how many screens can now do 4K at 120Hz, it was becoming an ever-increasing reason not to buy the current version if you’re at all interested in higher-resolution of refresh rates screens.
The final piece of the puzzle is the so-called AI bit, which is can detect game-events and trigger the lighting accordingly. So for compatible games such as Apex Legends, Fortnite, and League of Legends the lighting will provide an extra visual cue for what’s going on. In the Apex Legends demo it flashed red when you were getting hit, showed blue when popping a shield cell/batt, and gave an orange haze when the dreaded zone was doing its thing. It all added up to a seriously impressive demo.
The new kit will be available either with just a strip of stick-on LEDs to attach to the rear of your monitor or with two light sticks as well. These add further range to the lighting effect, allowing you to add glow all around your room.
There’s no official pricing of the kit yet but the current version retails normally for $199 (£299) so we’d expect the new kit to be similar. It will be arriving in Q2 2024.
Govee was also showing off a new highly flexible RGB rope that makes for an easy way to add a custom neon sign-like RGB display to a wall or other surface. It’s incredibly bendy, so is easy to contort into all sorts of wild shapes. Once shaped, you can take a photo of the rope and the Govee app will recognise it and allow you to program the lighting display in accordance with the shape. It also doesn’t yet have a price but will be arriving in Q1 2024.
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