Philips Hue camera leaks as alternative to the expensive HDMI sync box

Anyone who has equipped their living room with Philips Hue lights already has two options for synchronizing the lights with the content displayed on a smart TV. First, there’s the Philips Hue Play HDMI Sync Box 8K ($314 on Amazon), which, however, has the drawback that it only works with external sources connected via HDMI, not with content streamed directly through the smart TV’s operating system.

Second, there’s a smart TV app, which is only available for select Samsung and LG TVs and cannot be transferred, so if you buy a new smart TV, you’ll have to repurchase the app again. HueBlog has now published the first image and some information about the Philips Hue Screen Sync camera. This camera avoids the drawbacks of the other two solutions, as it can be used with any smart TV and also works with content streamed directly through the smart TV.

The downside is that the camera must be mounted at the top center of the TV, which can look unsightly. The way it works is already familiar from similar systems offered by competitors – the camera films the screen content, analyzes the colors and brightness at the edges of the image, and transmits this information to the Philips Hue Bridge, which in turn controls the corresponding lights as configured in the accompanying smartphone app. It is not yet known when or at what price the camera will be released.