Thanks for the feedback. We tried the Google Chromecast with Google TV and unfortunately it is not powerful enough for videos. It should work with some games.
In the first post in this topic you can find some information about various Android TVs. The NVIDIA Shield TV Pro is the best one.
There is only one Chromecast (the one with Google TV) which is supported. That is the only Chromecast with a Google Play Store where you can download Hue Essentials. Hue Essentials does not work on the older Chromecasts.
I’m using the latest chromecast with Google TV + lg la7408. The chromecast is attached on the TV directly without other devices and I tried to play a video on YouTube directly without anything else… And without a phone. The app is downloaded - as said - on my chromecast. It was not about asking for help. Not sure what’s your problem here
HE sync only work with some app in Sony android TV, some app does not. I have an ideas to recommend to Philips is that please make it work background, even with HDMI input of the TV. (Many people are using TV box, HD player,… with HDMI to TV for high quality video.
Tks.
play store app is on TV.
No casting from phone.
The tv is SONY KD-65xf9005
The picture is llagging when using youtube on tv with sync on…
but now i have syncbox and apple tv 4k and it works perfect with that.
Ciao, ho installato sul mio tv sony l’app purtroppo la sincronizzazione avviene solo con app Youtube. Esiste un modo per farla funzionare con Netflix, Disney, Infinity, Amazon Video ecc… ?
Grazie Alessio
Hi, I have installed the app on my sony tv unfortunately the synchronization happens only with the Youtube app. Is there any way to make it work with Netflix, Disney, Infinity, Amazon Video etc …?
Thanks Alessio
No that is not possible at this time. See for more information: Sync (Entertainment) on your phone or Android TV
It works while using plugins for Kodi sometimes.
I LOVE SYNC. I just got bitten by the Hue bug a few weeks ago and was working on adding lights to my Home Theater I’ve been putting together over the past year. I was so glad there was a way to sync my lights to my Nvidia Shield instead of having to buy the super expensive Hue Sync Box.
It won’t work in Kodi without plugins when you play 4K Videos.
I don’t know why, as 1080P works very good. I am a little bit disappointed, but have no clue if anybody else experiences these problems.
Netflix won’t work, but would it with the use of the sync box?
Been loving this feature. However, on my shield tv, after a few hours of not using it (i.e. overnight) the sync feature stops. Is there a way to keep the function running at all times? It’s a bit annoying having to manually turn it on each time.
Stop when screen is off is off by the way.
It could be that Hue Essentials is stopped by Android if the screen is off overnight. I think there is not much I can do about that.
We are looking into ways to make starting/stopping Sync easier. See for more information: Automatically start/stop Sync on Android TV. If you have any ideas, please let us know.
I get that perhaps it can be difficult, but Yeelight has already shown that it is possible. Their “Orchestra TV” App for Android TV can sync Yeelight Bulbs to the screen image and actually works with ALL CONTENT (Netflix, Prime Video etc.). Their great mistake imo is that their app only works on Mi TVs (not even Mi Box) and therefore will never be adopted by a larger audience since their TVs just are not the best. Nevertheless I think it proves that DRM can be overcome for these features to work. Maybe would also be interesting for the Hue Essentials Devs to get in touch with Yeelight to get some insight in how they did it.
I bought the premium version of Hue Essentials on my Sony Android TV to see my Hue lights sync with on-screen content. I felt compelled to by the premium version because the trial is an absurdly short 30 seconds - barely enough to launch any kind of media.
It doesn’t sync with Netflix or Amazon Prime, and it doesn’t sync to my Xbox via HDMI so it’s pretty useless to me. I understand that there are content control issues, but this isn’t made clear in the Play Store or when you try to run the Entertainment sync. You need to signpost to potential users the limitations imposed by the major content providers, so that we can make informed decisions.
Hi, I have a sony xh95, looking at the gradient strip to run using the tv apps, like cinemahd etc. Just trying to work out what I need. Gradient strip, do I need a bridge and obviously the hue essentials app. Any guidance appreciated. Thanks
If you would like to use the Hue Gradient strip, you need a Hue bridge as well.
Thanks for the feedback
Just trying to fully understand all the options. I understand the drm protected apps like netflix/amazon won’t work. Just need clarification of what type of app will work. E.g cinemahd(real debrid), bee tv, iptv apps, smart youtube. Will these work? Thanks again.
Smart Youtube (I think you mean SmartTubeNext?!) definitly works great 
I haven’t tested the others you mentioned, but they should, as long they don’t transmit DRM Stuff … I hope there will be a workaround for this Stuff as well in the near future …
Is anyone else using the LIFX Z Light Strip in Combination with a Nvidia Shield TV Pro and having some strange behavior? The Ambilight often reacts too quickly/fast, even on the lowest intensity settings.
Sometimes it also recognizes colors in places where there is just black.
Is there anything we can do about the black detection/general border of picture recognition + an additional lower speed? And something like a manual color calibration would be great, they are sometimes kinda off!
So do not misunderstand, the general experience is still very cool, just not quite soo perfect. But it can definitely become, if you still turn the 2-3 small screws
Thanks for all the hard work!
Thanks for the feedback. If you have a specific video or so which does not appear to sync how you want, please let me know. Or maybe you can send us a short video of your lights syncing in a situation you think can be improved. You can send a video to support@hueessentials.com.
There is currently no way to manually configure black bars. Hue Essentials should work correctly with black bars, but us mentioned above please let us know if it is not working as expected for you.