Review on Philips Hue Play White and Color Smart Light - Single Base Kit with Hub & Power Supply (Compatible with Amazon Alexa, Apple HomeKit, and Google Home) by David Underberg

I have 2 HUE playsets, they are great. Many of you are wondering how to get HUE SYNC (PC & Mac) to work with things like ROKU (Netflix), gaming consoles (PS4, Xbox, Switch), etc etc. Let me walk you through this extensive implementation process along with the devices You will need: ****** 5/2/2019 UPDATE ****** (If you are confused, grab a piece of paper and draw it lol) 1) HDMI -Splitter with at least HDCP2.2 2 outputs (look for a splitter that automatically downscales to 1080 at 4K per second). output) If your TV is 4k, make sure the splitter you get is 4k and HDCP2.2 capable. The splitter designation should be HDCP 2.2, not just 4K or HDCP1.4! On the input side, you only need the number of devices you have (no, you shouldn't run multiple splitters in one splitter). As for me, I have all my devices hooked up to my AVR, so all I need is a 1-in 2-out (1x2) HDMI splitter. If you only have ROKU, then this is what you need. If you have ROKU and XBOX/PS4, you need an HDMI 2-in/2-out (2x2) switch. No matter how many inputs you need, you should have 2 outputs, and the second output has a 4K to 1080 conversion function. This is not a function you need if your TV is 1080p, but is very important for people with 4K because it saves you headaches during setup. 2) HDMI to USB video capture Most HDMI video captures only 1080p, there's absolutely no reason to choose 4K just for HUE Sync if you're just trying to color match a video capture. Use an HDMI cable to connect your video recording device to output 2 of the HDMI splitter on one side and to your PC/Mac on the USB side.3b) STOP! Plug in your lights that you want to sync to your TV, connect to the Hue bridge first. Update everything and make sure everything is ready BEFORE setting up the HUE Sync software on the PC/MAC.3c) On your PC/MAC, download "OBS Studio" and install the driver/software. I have Windows 10 here, so I don't know if it will work with a Chromebook or any other OS. Using the OBS Studio software, I made sure in the settings that the canvas screen is set to 1080 so that the screen ratio is correct for the video recording. It doesn't need high frame rate and it doesn't need high resolution! On the lower left side of the OBS software you will see a source box, select + and choose OEM Video Capture. Set the PREVIEW screen to full screen mode and make sure there are no clipped black areas. you can leave. What I did was turn off the music sync, the intensity too thin. A NOTICE. Turn off the backlight under Settings/General Settings/Backlight. This disrupts HUE syncing due to that faint white light when the same part of the display is showing black. Extra: I bought a Windows Mini PC to work as a dedicated TV PC. Please install CCleaner and run it automatically on startup so you never encounter the infamous Windows "slowing down" issues. In the HUE SYNC PC software, you can set specific keys on your keyboard to trigger syncing. I have to say that I ended up buying 3 different mini PCs and returning 2 of them because they just can't run in 4K without freezing. I ended up with an MSI n Cube with a 5000N CPU and 8GB of DDR4 RAM. I lowered the resolution from 4K to 2048x1152 and the refresh rate to 60Hz. It runs all day with no problems. If you do everything right, you can now watch or play anything on your TV and enjoy HUE Play, no matter the source. Don't forget to check your Xbox/PS4 pro/ROKU 4k settings to make sure 4K can be output on your 4K TV. If the splitter you are using or other components you are using other than video capture are NOT HDCP2.2 compliant, you will not be able to watch 4K. If you force 4K output on your ROKU it may work, but you get a black screen when recording video. Make sure your HDMI is at least version 2.0, Amazon cable works fine, more expensive HDMI cables are useless. I'll take my 2 cents, thanks.