There aren’t many devices that can synchronize your surrounding lighting with the visuals on your TV. Two companies come to mind, and there’s a massive disparity in price, especially when Govee’s TV Backlight 3 Pro does a rather good job with a couple of drawbacks for cheaper.
Govee has been developing smart lighting for some time now, and the company has grown into several lighting categories over the years. If it produces colorful light and it can do it with an internet connection, Govee probably makes it.
One of the more unique products is the TV Backlight series. Unlike the Philips Hue Sync Box, Govee’s option uses a small camera set on top of your TV to read color output. Philips’ option uses the direct HDMI signal pulled from the TV, so it’s inherently going to be more accurate and faster.
However, the recently launched Philips Hue Play sync box 8K is priced at $389. Govee’s TV Backlight 3 Pro comes in at under half of that price, at just $179. That’s still pricey, but I really don’t know if the jump in performance between the two warrants spending the extra money.
It looks weird… at first
I’ve grown accustomed to the odd antenna-like camera hanging off the top of my TV, though it took a little time to delete it from my peripheral vision. The camera Govee uses in the Backlight 3 Pro kit is a triple-HDR array.
The camera, according to Govee, captures quick and long exposures, depending on the perceived color brightness. That allows it to more accurately represent darker accents in scenes that don’t produce much light.
The TV Backlight 3 Pro camera monitors three different zones on the screen and sends that signal to the paired LED strips, which are attached to the back panel, shining against the wall. The light fills the space and creates a nice visual around the TV that matches exactly what’s on screen, for the most part.
The entire kit is pretty easy to set up. It comes with everything needed, including small secure clamps that hold the LED strips down even further, where the corner cabling’s twists might want to push the adhesive from the TV. Both the camera and LED strips connect to a small power box that can also be stuck to the back. From there, a single power cord gets plugged in.
On my setup, I have a small power hub attached to the back of the TV. That allows me to run power to any accessories like streamers or lights more easily.
Lighting is almost always perfect
It took some tweaking to get everything right, thanks to Govee’s cumbersome control app. It’s not a bad app, but there are so many features available for every connected device that you can get lost in a sea of toggles and options. It took quite a while to find the setting that actually set the backlights to copy the color of the TV screen.
That button is “video,” by the way. So dead simple, I missed it entirely.
Within that lighting mode, there are even more settings. I tested a bunch of them, and I landed on some very specific preferences. My TV Backlight 3 Pro is set to Vivid with the HDR Effect set to 2. Black Bar Elimination is on.
I tried Govee’s AI mode, but I got the sense that it somewhat delayed the time between what the scene on the screen called for and what color was displayed. Leaving that off, I felt like the refresh rate was quicker and allowed for an experience where the background lights blended into the background, as they should.
I also appreciated the individual brightness settings available for each segment of the LED strip. My TV is mounted at a slight angle, so the bottom segment is closer to the wall than the top and sides. With that setting, I’m able to lower the brightness of the bottom portion to create a more even visual brightness across the wall.
One of the only major drawbacks I found with the Govee TV Backlight 3 Pro was its sensitivity. Yes, that’s meant to be a strength, but it also means that any TV with a glossy panel is going to throw color identification off very hard.
With my curtains open, not far from the TV, daytime viewing means I’ll see a lot of green from the captured reflection of the front lawn’s grass. Even at night, the ceiling light and nearby lamp will trick the HDR camera into thinking there’s an orange glow coming from the TV. Most bright TV scenes will overpower that, and the colors correct themselves, but dark scenes allow the reflections to take control of what gets shone onto the rear wall.
If you’re a visual purist looking for a way to get hue-perfect accent lighting during the day or with other neutral lights in the room, you might find that unbearable. I’m all for ambience lighting and the perfect room vibe, but I found myself getting used to this issue pretty quickly. In the daytime, I’m not as concerned with accents because I’m probably not watching a movie or a new episode that I need to be in the right mood for. I’m also not going to leave my ceiling light on in that scenario, either.
As far as connectivity goes, you’ll need Govee’s app. The lights are Matter-compatible, but you won’t be able to configure much past color options and brightness. That isn’t a massive issue for me, since the system lets me set it and forget it.
Bonus points if you have other Govee lights
There are a few products that work with the TV Backlight 3 Pro under the tech called “Dreamview.” There’s a little floating button that allows you to connect those devices and sync them, so they display the same colors. I’d even go so far as to say that Govee’s color mapping for additional lighting is ridiculously detailed.
In pairing the Trochiere Floor Lamp with the backlights, I was a little surprised at how granular the color mapping was. That lamp has three main LED lights that are perfect for bouncing off of walls and furniture. Each LED can be virtually linked to a part of the room, and the color that the app thinks will display best in that part. The 3D map allows you to fine-tune the ambience of the room.
The Trochiere Floor Lamp looks alien, but it’s such an easy way to add a little extra accent lighting without having to run strips throughout the room.
Final thoughts
Again, my entire experience is dictated by how much it costs to set up the TV Backlight 3 Pro versus other, more expensive options. Yes, they do a better job at discerning colors at pace, but they can also cost a lot more. Further, they don’t include the LED strips needed to get the job done.
For a very easy setup with everything needed for reliably good background lighting in a room, the TV Backlight 3 Pro is really not a bad option. You might find some issues with misread colors due to reflections, but it can be mediated without much trouble.
The TV Backlight Pro 3 comes in at $179 for 55 to 65-inch TVs, while the 75 to 85-inch model runs $209.
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