Philips Ambilight TV
By Simon Spagnoletti 
posted July 8th 2004 10:24AM
posted July 8th 2004 10:24AM
Remember how you were always supposed to have another light on
while you were watching TV? Or you'd go blind or something? We didn't either until we saw the Philips Ambilight flat
screen TV. It throws an "intelligent" light behind the TV that can change colors with the program you're watching, a
feature we've certainly never missed. Comes in 32', 37', 42 and 50' models starting at $5,500 and going up to $11,000,
which seems to be a bit pricey for what amounts to cheesy mood lighting. The speaker panels are actually the outer
surface of the TV, which is pretty cool. Maybe that's where your money's going.
I knew that a soft light behind the television helps reduce eye strain; but shifting colors? That seems a bit annoying.
I believe that this is an attempt to include a bias light, not a mood light. A prober bias light is exactly 6500k in temp and theoretically improves contrast by introducing more ambient light (dialates your pupils) without washing out the screen. I tested out bias lighting with a front projection home theater system I installed in my house a few years ago. I did make a difference in contrast and percieved black levels.
You state that this TV 'seems to be a bit pricey', however it is worth commenting that these TV's are LCD and hence have the costs related to that technology. This taken into account I do not think the pricing is way off.
Cheezy moodlighting - check out the latest edition of sound & visions magazine - Philips might have come up with another great idea!