Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[JimH]

I often go to Best Buy on the weekend to see what's new.  Usually nothing much.  Today was an exception.

If you don't have $200 to blow, don't read any further.  It will just make you unhappy.

If you want to be happy, what's better than magic colored lights?  That you can change with a button.... on your phone.

It's a little silly.  I can see that.  At least part of it is.  Lighting control isn't.  Maybe colored lighting control is.

So the starter pack is $200.  It has

3 bulbs.  They're not normal bulbs.  They're heavy.  They're intelligent

1 "bridge".  It's a round thing that connects to your network, and it lets you talk to the lights

Screw in the bulbs, connect the round thing.  Download an app for Android or iOS, and voila, you can turn your lights on and off.

But it isn't just turning them on or off.  It has scenes, like Hawaii.  Sometimes the three bulbs are the same color.  Sometimes not.

I have to laugh.  It's useful, but it's intriguing, as well.  I loved colored lights when I was a sophomore in college, for the impressive effect on my dates (sort of), but it has been a very long time since I had a blue light bulb.

Still, it's fun.  It's possibly useful.

It was probably  a bargain.  I might have spent $3000 on a new curved 4K TV.  

Philips has an entertaining web site, called meethue.





More pictures

[JimH]

There is also a round switch for about $80.

[kensn]

I like it... A lot.

[kensn]

Yea... Thanks Jim.. Ordered myself a set. Found online offer with extra bulb included.

Ken

[Hilton]

Last week I looked at these too when I picked up a Logitech Harmony One with a Harmony Hub and extra remote.  The Harmony Hub supports the Hue which prompted me to look into it again and I discovered these other options.

Let me know what you think of it after a couple weeks. Im still undecided which direction to take.

GE have announced there 1st zigbee compatible products too at the other end of the price scale:
The Link is available in three different bulb designs, an A19 60-watt replacement in soft white, a soft-white indoor floodlight, and an indoor/outdoor bright white spotlight. The bulbs are priced at under $15, $20 and $25, respectively. A starter kit with the GE Link hub and two A19, 60-watt replacements will sell for less than $50.

Belkin have a whole suite of WeMo app enabled lights and switches too with a starter kit starting at $99.
http://www.belkin.com/us/Products/Smartphone-&-Tablet/c/WSSTAEA/

I think Belkin have a more comprehensive offering at the moment, but no colour lights.

10 years ago I used to use X10 lighting with an Slink-e, homeseer with cinemar automation with touch screens throughout my whole house
Amazing how much simpler the same thing can be achieved today!

[Hendrik]

Intelligent Bulbs have been flowing around various parts of the web, also saw a bunch of projects for them on Kickstarter, but while they look funky, not sure about the actual practical use .. at least for me.

[robydago]

for the impressive effect on my dates

I bought them some months ago then I used a script app (Tasker) on my Android phone so that I could tell my date (voice recognition listening in the background): "would you like my bedroom more if it was painted [whatever color I knew she liked more]?" and that triggered Tasker to send the command to the hue light in my bedroom to turn to the requested color...  

[Hilton]

You ultimate geek!

Here's a demo of the Harmony Remote driving the Hue from a guy in the UK.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OsCCagOa99g#t=975

[JimH]

I bought them some months ago then I used a script app (Tasker) on my Android phone so that I could tell my date (voice recognition listening in the background): "would you like my bedroom more if it was painted [whatever color I knew she liked more]?" and that triggered Tasker to send the command to the hue light in my bedroom to turn to the requested color... 

Brilliant!

[kensn]

Jim,

 Are you enjoying your Hues?

Do you have the team working on a plugin to control the lights during audio playback?? .. oh please...Pull those strings.

Ken

[JimH]

I can't wait to show my date.  She gets home tomorrow.

[audunth]

I just bought myself a Hue starter pack. Is there currently any way to make lights turn off when I press play in MC, and back on when I press pause or stop? I mean without using my phone/tablet or a Logitech remote, just directly from the computer.

[CountryBumkin]

I am now using the Harmony "Ultimate Home" remote, which has control over these Hue/Philips bulbs (and thermostat, and shades, and other stuff), so now you can program the movie to start and dim the room lights and close the shades with one button.

Now if it would just bring me some popcorn and a drink... 

[audunth]

Yeah, I read that you can do that with Logitech hub based remotes (and I'll probably get one in the future). However, the XBMC media player has a plugin which controls Hue lights directly, and if you place a Hue Lightstrip behind your TV/screen it can even fungtion as and Ambilight. Also it can sync the lights to the music. I don't see why the same shouldn't be possible with MC, especially since Jim's using the lights himself 

Even if I do get a Logitech remote, it would be nice for the lights to be controlled directly from MC, so it'll work even if controlling MC with the keyboard or Gizmo, for example. And the Ambilight function seems awesome!

Here's a link to the XBMC plugin https://github.com/cees-elzinga/script.xbmc.hue.ambilight/

[JimH]

After using this for a while, I don't think I'd buy it again.  It's interesting.

[audunth]

So I got myself a Logitech Harmony Ultimate remote, and it controls the HUE lights nicely, but only after I updated the firmware to the unofficial 4.xx version (the same as for the Ultimate Home, which is only available in the US). But what it won't do, to my big frustration, is allow me to map a light function to a button. It can only map a light function to an activity, so it can turn off the lights when I start the watch a movie activity, but it can't turn on the lights when I press pause to get a drink or go for a piss. So how about a MC plugin? The API is http based and so easy that even I, a non-programmer, can understand it and send commands with my web browser! So making MC send a http string that turns on or off a light or group of lights, or even dim to a specified percentage, upon pressing the pause/play button should be a fairly easy thing...

The API can be found here http://www.developers.meethue.com/

Jim, why wouldn't you buy again? Did you try integrating the HUE lights with IFTTT? Even though the functionality is super basic, it does have some nice features, like having a Wemo motion sensor turning the lights on when you enter the room. Or blink the lights if you get a missed call or sms when watching a loud movie.

Man, this makes me wish MC had an IFTTT channel...imagine making the movie pause automatically upon recieving a call or sms from a specified number...