Philips Hue's new TV camera solves a big problem for TV sync lights

We’ve seen several leaks of upcoming Philips Hue devices over the last couple of months, and the company has finally made almost all of them official. This includes a bunch of new hardware, smart lights, and software updates coming to Philips Hue devices.

The Philips Hue Play Screen Sync camera, which leaked a few months ago, is now official. It uses a fisheye lens to capture the full content playing on a TV in real time and uses that information to sync compatible smart lights in the room. The Hue Play Screen Sync is a plug-and-play device with automatic calibration, so you only need to place it above your TV.

Most importantly, the Screen Sync camera enables customized lighting effects for native smart TV apps and broadcast TV content. Unlike HDMI sync boxes, the Screen Sync camera isn’t limited to content displayed on your TV via an HDMI cable. It can detect anything on screen and sync the lights accordingly, making it much more versatile.

Alongside the new camera, the company has also announced the Philips Hue Play HDMI Sync Box 4K with a slimmer profile. It’s aimed at users with a single HDMI-based input for their TV and comes with one HDMI input and one HDMI output port on the back. It supports 4K content at up to 60fps.

However, with the new 4K Sync Box, Philips Hue has basically made it impossible to get a Sync Box with multiple HDMI inputs without opting for the Hue Play Sync Box 8K, which is more than twice as expensive.

The Hue Play Screen Sync is priced at $119.99, and the Hue Play HDMI Sync Box 4K is priced at $149.99. Both are available today.