The Govee TV Backlight 3 Lite is a smart home product that can spice up your TV viewing experience by making it more immersive. But is it worth your money?
Ambient lights can add much fun to your home décor, and if these are smart back lights for your TV, you can be in for a three-dimensional cinematic viewing extravaganza.
Govee is a young brand known for its innovative and smart products in the RGB lighting category. The Govee TV Backlight 3 Lite is one such product that debuted recently, and we got a chance to test it.
This improved entry-level TV mirroring kit adds lighting effects to illuminate the wall behind your display. It can be used with a TV in your living room or a gaming monitor. It uses a camera to capture the content displayed on your TV screen and syncs it with the RGB strip to project ambient light behind the TV.
While a few modern TVs have built-in ambient lighting systems, this plug-and-play solution can be used on any TV or monitor.
So, how did the Govee TV Backlight 3 Lite fare in our review? Let’s find out.
Key Specs
Included in the box:
- Govee TV Backlight 3 Lite RGBIC lights
- Camera unit
- Processing unit
- Power adapter
- USB Type C to C cables
- Stickers for calibration
- Plastic clips to hold the strip in place
- Manuals
The Govee TV Backlight 3 Lite was launched at $89.99 and goes up to $109.99 based on the size you pick. It is available via Govee’s website and Amazon. The price may vary based on the ongoing offers.
Installation
The Govee TV Backlight 3 Lite is a reasonably easy-to-install product. However, pick the correct strip length based on your TV or monitor size to get the best results. The light strip is available in two size variants: the smaller one fits 55 to 65-inch TVs, and the bigger one is ideal for 75 to 85-inch display panels.
It is an extremely well-designed product and doesn’t require professional help for installation. However, having someone to help is always good if you plan to unmount and mount a massive TV.
We tested the smaller variant on a 55-inch Toshiba LED TV. The light strip was smartly divided into four sections, offering a perfect alignment. The wiring to connect the segments is very well done, and you do not have to worry about loose cables.
The RGBICW LED has a waterproof coating to protect it from exposure to accidental splashes. It also has a 3M dual-sided adhesive strip to mount on the backside of the TV.
The installation process is pretty smooth and takes around five to ten minutes. All you need to do is align the strip on the rear panel and slowly remove the protective coating. There are a few plastic clips that you can use to hold the strip in place and protect it from coming off.
One end of the strip has a USB Type C connector that needs to be plugged into the processing unit. The processing unit needs to be mounted on the back of the TV using dual-sided tape.
The camera unit is installed on the top middle edge of the TV and is connected to the controller via a Type C to C cable. While the camera unit is well built and may feel slightly heavy, it is designed in a way that it would easily sit atop any TV, regardless of how thin it is, meaning you could even use it on your precious OLED.
Remember to route the cables so they do not obstruct the lights. While the cable connecting the controller and camera is long enough, ensure you place the controller within a reasonable distance from the camera. If the cable is stretched, it might cause the camera to tilt sideways from its position.
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Some users may not like the top-mounted camera and want it to be placed below the TV on the TV desk. Though this offers an unobstructed view of the TV, the camera is not designed to be placed like this. But you can use dual-sided tape to fix the camera below the TV, though it is a little bit less elegant.
Once the installation is done and the TV is mounted again to its stand, power the controller unit using the bundled power adapter.
The Govee TV Backlight 3 Lite has an improved chip and an updated algorithm and supports fish-eye correction for the picture. Compared to its predecessors, the Backlight 3 Lite now offers accurate color matching by correcting the edge distortion of the screen.
Software
Depending on your smartphone, the bundled application can be downloaded from the App Store or Play Store. The Govee Home application will help you set up and calibrate the lights and comes in handy while using them.
To calibrate the TV, you need to place the orange foam markers on the corners and center of the TV. Then, you must pair the controller with the Bluetooth phone and calibrate the camera using the app’s calibration section.
The application has a lot of options, which could be overwhelming for a few and have a huge learning curve for the first-timers. But that also means that you can customize the performance of your strip to your liking. Besides this little gripe, there is not much to complain about the Govee home application.
Among the few preset modes, Music mode can make the lights react to the music played on the TV or in the room, and Video mode makes the lights respond to the movie scenes played on the TV.
There is a Movie-watching Dreamview preset, which is best for cinema enthusiasts. It lets you synchronize your TV backlight with other Govee smart lights in an entertainment system. You can sync up to seven Govee sub-devices to offer an immersive movie-watching experience.
If you’re throwing a party at home, you can turn the TV off and turn on the music mode from the app to get a disco-like effect with the lights reacting to the music. The controller has a built-in mic and can be paired in
Should you buy it?
The Govee TV Backlight 3 Lite is a delight to install and engage with. The colorful light throw offers an immersive experience. It doesn’t matter if you’re a fan of smart home lights or a cinema buff; these lights are enough to make the viewing experience fantastic.
Verdict: 4/5
The Govee TV Backlight 3 Lite might sound a little gimmicky. However, this is only true till you experience it firsthand. It adds depth to your TV viewing and extra oomph every time a vibrant image is on display, making you wow.
Be it the imagery of a green forest, a deep blue sea, ice hills, a rustic city, or a vibrant scene from a game, you get a light show complementing what is shown on the TV.
These ambient lights should be a part of every home theatre setup. TV makers should bake these in their products, offering dynamic control and eliminating the need for an external device like the camera.
However, until that happens, we can always use products like Govee TV Backlight 3 Lite.
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