Syncing your living room lights to match your television screen creates an incredible movie experience. The problem is that the current setup requires a massive budget. The standard Philips Hue Play HDMI Sync Box 8K costs nearly 400 dollars on its own. That price tag keeps most people from trying out this amazing feature. However, a retail leak shows that a much more affordable option is right around the corner.
A massive price drop is coming
A British retailer accidentally published a product page for an unannounced device called the Philips Hue Play Sync Box Lite. The listed price was 110 British Pounds, which translates to roughly 150 US Dollars. The page was quickly taken down after the leak was discovered.
This new Lite version does the exact same primary job as the expensive model. It reads the colors on your television screen and tells your smart lights to match those colors in real time.
The technical differences explained
To lower the price by more than 200 dollars, Philips had to make a few hardware changes. The original Sync Box supports ultra-high 8K video resolution and features four separate HDMI inputs. The new Lite version scales things back to 4K resolution and only includes a single HDMI input.
For the average home, these changes are not a problem at all. Most living room televisions are 4K anyway. A single HDMI input does mean you can only plug in one device directly, like an Apple TV or a gaming console. If you use an audio receiver or a simple HDMI switcher box, you can still route all your devices through that single port.
When is the release date?
Philips has not made an official announcement yet. The tech industry has a massive trade show called IFA coming up in early September. It is highly likely that we will see a formal reveal during that event. Until then, you might want to hold off on buying the expensive 8K model.
Image Credit: Signify / Philips Hue