A bright idea to compete with Ambilight TVs

(Credit: Tech Digest)

Sometimes--just sometimes--we have a thought that isn't so crazy after all. When we first heard of Philips' "Ambilight" TVs, for example, we wondered whether it was worth paying a premium for the feature--and whether it would be possible to develop something similar as a separate product.

Lo and behold, someone else had the same thought. A company called Illuminaire offers an LED system that claims to provide similar backlighting (which supposedly reduces eye strain) in a variety of colors that can change continually or even strobe, according to Tech Digest. Perfect for the first time you watch Saturday Night Fever on Blu-ray.

There's one area, however, where we suspect Philips will always have an advantage. Actually, make that 2,200 of them.

[jfchappell]

Boy is this an old idea!

Am I the only one to remember Sylvania?s ?halo light? that surrounded the tube with a soft glow? What about those TV lights you were supposed to put atop the set? I don't think there is a whiff of evidence that you suffer eye strain or any other bad effect from watching a screen without other lights.
Come on ? this is bunk.
Anybody who buys into this guff better stay away from movies at the mall. Maybe, just maybe, Ambilight would enhance MTV ? almost anything would. It won't do much for presidential debates I betcha.

[bneal1950]

The Illuminair site has no capability of ordering. I have tried many time off and on to order a set of their backlights. The order portion of their site is allways offline. Does anyone know how to get their products?