No HDMI needed Philips Hue's new camera-based Screen Sync system works with any source, including your TV's native streaming apps

Date:
Thu, 03 Sep 2026 08:40:13 +0000

Description:
Philips Hue Play Screen Sync lets you synchronize your smart lights with content from any source, including your smart TV's native streaming apps.

FULL STORY ======================================================================Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Reddit Pinterest Flipboard Threads Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter Subscribe to our newsletter Philips Hue smart lights just got a major upgrade, with a new system that lets you sync lights with your TV screen regardless of its source. Signify, the company behind the Hue brand, showed off a new system called Hue Play Screen Sync at an event in Berlin yesterday, and it looks set to make immersive entertainment lighting a lot more accessible.

The Philips Hue Play system lets you use smart lights (including light strips and bars) to extend the colors from your screen, creating a more immersive viewing experience. However, until now, this could only be done using a Philips Hue HDMI Sync Box, which sits in between an HDMI source and your TV. If you want to watch content via a non-HDMI source, such as a native app on your smart TV, you were out of luck. The new Philips Hue Play Screen Sync changes all that, using a fisheye camera to monitor the action on your TV screen and synchronize it with your smart lights, regardless of the source. Latest Videos From TechRadar Watch full video here:

Similar systems already exist from rivals including Govee and Nanoleaf , so I'll be interested to see how the Hue Play Screen Sync compares. Camera-based systems usually have a few drawbacks compared to HDMI screen syncing (they
can be affected by reflections on your TV screen and tend to have more latency) but hopefully the Hue system will offer performance comparable with the HDMI Sync Box. A bright future Another big update launched at yesterday's event is Custom AI Behaviors, which lets you use natural language to describe lighting automations, rather than having to create them manually something that could be quite time-consuming or fiddly when done in the app. For example, you might choose to have your lights behave differently at the weekends, or activate a particular scene automatically after dark. You may like Philips Hue is rumored to be launching a camera-based TV lighting sync system Philips Hue unveils new lamps, upgraded candle bulbs, and smarter switches to upgrade your lighting A new lightstrip has leaked on the Philips Hue website, and we suspect we know what it is

The Philips Hue app already contained an AI assistant the let you use text or speech to describe a lighting scene (such as 'something for Christmas' or 'a tropical sunset'), and would search the existing scene library for a match.
If none existed, the assistant would create something suitable for you. This was a useful feature, but Custom AI Behaviors goes far beyond that, and
should make advanced automations much more accessible, with no need to spend time fiddling with switches and sliders. Image 1 of 5 (Image credit: Signify) (Image credit: Signify) (Image credit: Signify) (Image credit: Signify)
(Image credit: Signify) Image 1 of 5 View Original Image 2 of 5 View Original Image 3 of 5 View Original Image 4 of 5 View Original Image 5 of 5 View Original On the subject of accessibility, there is now a 4K version of the Philips Hue Sync Box, to accompany the 8K version launched in 2024. The 4K Sync Box is more affordable than the 8K model, and for the first time, you
can use it to sync a single light with your TV via Bluetooth, without a Philips Hue Bridge. Get daily insight, inspiration and deals in your inbox Sign up for breaking news, reviews, opinion, top tech deals, and more.
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Third-party collaborations are coming as well, including one leaked last
week, which allows you to integrate Nanoleaf Shapes lights into your Hue lighting setup , and a collaboration with Sonos that will let you control the brand's speakers with selected Hue switches.

There's a huge bundle of new smart lights too, including Festavia curtain, net, and icicle lights (ideal for Halloween and Christmas), a Philips Hue Liane 360-degree rope light, with LEDs around the entire circumference, and
an OmniGlow outdoor strip light. Omniglow is a technology that uses tightly packed LEDs to create an extra smooth gradient, with no visible gaps, and
this is the first time it's been available for an exterior light.

I'm hoping to test some of the new lights soon, and will bring you full hands-on reviews as soon as possible. Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our expert news, reviews, and opinion in your feeds.



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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/home/smart-lights/no-hdmi-needed-philips-hues-new-ca mera-based-screen-sync-system-works-with-any-source-including-your-tvs-native- streaming-apps


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