Philips Hue is the ideal gadget to turn your home into a Smart Home, but it’s also the ideal assistant to turn your living room into a movie theater. At least, if you have a Samsung smart TV.
How nice is it that you can use smart lighting to set your home in exactly the mood you want? You do that very easily with your Smart Home app on your phone. It allows you to control Philips Hue lights very simply.
But it’s also been possible to connect your Samsung Smart TV to Philips Hue for a while now. However, it is now even easier and more accessible to do so, due to some new features. But how exactly do you do it and is it really useful?
Syncing Philips Hue with your Samsung smart TV
Philips Hue and Samsung have been working together for a while to enhance your TV experience. It matches the light in your home to the content and colors you see on your screen. You can compare it to Ambilight on regular Philips smart TVs.
Since 2022, a special Sync TV app is available on your Samsung smart TV. With it, Philips Hue synchronizes lighting with television content. Still, there is a considerable drawback to that app: it costs a one-time fee of 129.99 euros.
Philips Hue with your television. (Image: Signify)
A hefty expense for an app, where you don’t even know if it will be a real addition to your Smart Home. Surely you want to try something like that first. Fortunately, this is easier than ever, as it will soon be possible to take out a monthly subscription for 2.99 euros per month.
Philips Hue’s updated Sync TV app is rolling out on the brand’s Samsung Q60 Series and better QLED TVs. First to come to the 2024 models and later it will also be available for the so slightly older televisions.
Here’s what you can do with it
Are those costs not a problem for you? Then you’re probably curious what exactly you can do with it. As mentioned, the app syncs the lights with what’s on your smart TV. It works with native streaming apps on your TV, such as Netflix and Disney+, as well as devices you connect via HDMI cable. That means that even while gaming or watching regular TV, the colors literally pop off your screen.
While this is all done automatically through the Philips Hue Sync TV app, you can also adjust the settings manually. For example, you simply change the intensity or brightness. The updated app adds even more options for your Samsung smart TV.
Atmosphere! (Image: Signify)
Unlike the previous version, this can soon be done without pausing the series or movie. Moreover, there is the choice of even more lighting modes and you simply set when it should start and stop.
In addition, the new app also allows you to create automations for multiple devices. These are smart profiles that allow you to connect other Smart Home devices to give you an even better experience.
For example, some 2024 Samsung smart TVs get a special Music Mode, where the light reacts to the music being played. Handy, then, that you can connect those smart speakers right away, too.
Combining Philips Hue with your Samsung smart TV
Okay, so this is how you simply combine your Samsung smart TV with your Philips Hue lighting. But which lights really add to your home theater and how do you use it all?
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Fortunately, Philips Hue has specimens that go great with your Samsung smart TV. For example, you can set/mount the special Play lightbars and Play gradient strips just fine with your display for optimal lighting.
In addition to the lights, you also need the Philips Hue Bridge. The Bridge is the brain of the lighting system and you can connect up to fifty bulbs to it. Your Samsung smart TV will connect to the Sync TV app through this. That way, you’ll be all set for your next Netflix series.
