Happy Saturday everyone! If you fancy the Yeelight strip get it below!!… BUY THE YEELIGHT OBSID LED STRIP LIGHT (affiliate link) GLOBAL: yeelightfun.pxf.io/ZQvQeK
How long are these strips, because looking on the link above it says "Extendable to 16.4 ft" which is 5m, which implies these might be 1m strips. They might be good (all my bulbs are Yeelight) but $50 for a 1m strip is taking the piss.
I'm moving away from lifx led strips also. Mine keep asking me to finish setup and will not connect to the cloud. So every time I want to do something to the led strip I have to finish setup. Thanks for this video it helped me decide what would be the best option.
I started using LIFX bulbs because I wanted a device with an open API for fast local control. I use Node-RED for home automation to control the LIFX lights , and connectivity hasn't been an issue for me. Still haven't found a more capable device. Other light brands I've tried use Tuya based control, which is a pain for local connectivity. It can be done, but it takes a bit of mucking around and a Tuya developer account. LIFX colour / luminance is still a clear winner. Thanks for your balanced review Paul.
I love their colour, for some reason even though I’m using Lifx locally through home assistant, the same bulbs keep failing, it’s as though there’s an IP conflict, but I’ve looked through my amplifi Hd router config and it all looks fine 🤷🏻♂️
@@paulhibbert I have my LIFX bulbs configured with a static (reserved) IP in my router. This ensures the same IP address can be used for control, rather than having to locate them every time. If the same bulbs keep going offline, I’d check in your router that each has a static address.
I have a LIFX strip that has given me no end of problems. Sometimes it would work flawlessly, other times it would drop my network, refuse to reconnect and I'd spend an hour troubleshooting it only to give up. Then the next day it would work fine. Eventually half the strip stopped lighting up which I assume was a power supply issue, LIFX support were useless, so I've got a dead LED strip under my couch. Been put off LED strips following that experience but I'm looking at using the Aqara ones so I may give it a shot!
I cant get over how much more expensive these are compared to a ATHOM WLED controller and some WS2812B you can get like 5 of these for 1 of them options listed
That Harold and Madge scene cracked me up. My lifx randomly disappear from the app also. At the same time home assistant can still control them. Go figure
Yep, fair play at 4:10 haha. (PS We (Govee) do have our own Govee Desktop App (plus ChromaRGB) to allow for PC syncing without the camera or AI Gaming Sync Box. Should also work with M1)
Mine was dropping off constantly. Bought an EAX20 mesh extender and suddenly they are rock solid. Shouldn't really have to shell out an extra £100 though to ensure smart bulb connectivity if we're honest. And the original company after collapse was bought by an American one which is why they are still trading. Support is still active - been dealing with them recently.
Some notes/corrections. LIFX didn't go bust, their holding company, Buddy Technologies did. LIFX was sold off to Feit Electric and is still going strong. Closing down in the UK was probably not a good idea, but probably required by the new holding company. Anyway, there are definitely some things that can be improved product wise. I have several LIFX products and they all work great. I don't use features like music sync etc. but I guess different things are important to different people.
I first starting using LIFX bulbs in 2017. I put LIFX through out my house 4 years ago when we added an extension and re-did the kitchen (just over £700 of kit). I chose LIFX strips and downlights. Every one of the bulbs still works perfectly. I've had less than a dozen sync issues over than time, all easily resolvable. I'm still very happy with my choice.
I have to chime in on that I've never had connectivity problems with my lifx bulbs and I'm planning to get a 2m strip for my son's remake of his room. Nice vid tho!
I have had nothing but great luck with all their lights have used them for four or five years with zero issues just got the path lights. They are amazing. I don’t get the bad reviews. What are you people doing?
Glad it’s not just me. I have one LifX bulb that I got for cheap as an Amazon add-on order. It has never worked for more than a week before needing a power cycle to work again.
All the pixels from all these devices will be made by WorldSemi (yes I chuckled when I first learned the name too). The difference between them is, some of the strip brands will be using the "reject" pixels so the brightness might be dimmer or the colours might be off. Some might be using the eco versions of the pixels too but you would need to check the power usage of each strip on max brightness per colour channel. The controllers are most likely made in house by the strip manufacturers hence why they differ so much with connectivity. Personally, I would always make my own strip lights but, all of these will be hackable by using an ESP32 and WLED which will give you more features and compatibility for your smart home. I strongly recommend anyone doing that, to watch a few videos on how to make a diy rgbic light strip with WLED as you could fry your strip, your esp32 or your house if you wire them up incorrectly.
Thanks for this dude, I’m curious, I assume then it would be possible to wire for example an aqara controller to the lifx strip then? Would the quality of light then be drastically improved in line or would the power output from the controller not be enough?
@paulhibbert if the strip length is the same and both of the plugs have the same rating, look on the plug socket for something like: 12v = 3.0A 36.0w then it should work. You will need to figure out which wires are your live, neutral, and data lines as some strips are made differently and even like to mix the coloured wires up just for fun. The LEDs (pixels) will all generally come from the same factory. One difference you may encounter is pixels that also contain a white diode. Sometimes, they can even have 2 (warm white & cold white) These won't be compatible with a strip with only RGB. 5v strips won't be compatible with 12v or 24v strips either. If you have 2 plugs, both the same voltage but one has a higher max watt rating, then use that one to power the strip and controller as it is fine to use a PSU with higher wattage but never lower. The wattage is basically how much load the PSU can handle. If you fancy playing about, get some wago connectors and some wire strippers and a basic multimeter. You should be able to figure out which is your live, neutral, and data then.
Using a different controller shouldn't make a difference to brightness or colour accuracy. That will be down to if the strip manufacturer used the rejected pixels (and what grade of rejected pixels they used). The only way a controller could reduce the brightness of the strip is if the manufacturer decided to implement some sort of power limit to the pixels to increase longevity of the strip. I would personally recommend looking into WLED. The Dig2Go controller by QuinLED might be a much better introduction to WLED as they come pre-set up and ready for your strip lights. I can't link, but you know how to use a search engine lol.
I think the main hurdle in making a hybrid from a lifx strip is their slightly unusual approach of batching the addressable LEDs into groups of 6. Not sure how other controller software would cope with this. Having said that, I've got a slightly broken 1m lifx strip and an ESP32 sitting in my project bin waiting for me to get around to it, so you never know
I have 1 strip that doesn’t work right and my other strips work fine. But the fact that u have to compare all the new ones to the OLD AF lifx clearly suggest that it was the one to beat
Morning sir! I have to say ive had lifx for years and never had a problem with my google assistant connection i haven't t used the lifx app for years though wich may be somehting to do with it. Lol and to be fair mostly have the bubs set to one colour and then just turn off and on. So not exactly pushing them
I refuse to use anything that requires a connection to the cloud. Been building my own lighting system with WLED and Home Assistant and am VERY happy with their reliability and the effects are amazing. Comes with music modes and support for 2D panels too. I would like to know how these homemade strips using the WS8212b strips are stacking up against these your reviewing. The WS8212b stripts are blinding and, I have nithing to compare it to, the purple seems very nice. But im no pro.
@@paulhibbert I checked older videos of yours including one where you were sponsored by Lifx (LOL), but that video was from 2019 and I would assume that this would change over the years.
Paul, please figure out how to get the Aqara strip to recognize extensions when directly added to Home Assistant in ZHA!! The full strip lights up when selecting color temperature, but not an RGB color..
Hi mate brilliant vid again 👍 I noticed on the previous vid u mentioned u bought a couple Phillips hue tvs. Being as u also have the lights and hub could u possibly do a vid about the best ambi light set up?
Hi, Paul thanks for another great comical clip video. Lifx is a product I use & I know what you mean about connectivity. It happens to me when customising the strip light or the Beam lights So I've given up trying. But when it works it's better then any of the 3 products you had just mentioned for colour & DIY desgins & effects if Lifx can make the app easier to use like the others you got on display. Apart from Yeelight I have not got that strip to know. Quick question can the yeelight strip be connected to the Yeelight Station app? Are you going do Xmas video ? Cos got a couple of beers with your name on it. he he. Pls & thxs.
Hello paul I watch channel all the time I have a question I have a few smart home items in my home all have their own hub and as you are my smart home guru I am looking for one hub that will control all of them any help would be greatly appreciated
I am unable, for 2 years, to get the lifx app to show ANYTHING other than one bulb in the outside group (there are 2 bulbs). As a result the second bulb, which is always on, and cannot be controlled through the app, is being talen down. So is the lone first bulb. So is the app. I have 16 other bulbs inside the house that are Tapo and TPlink and all can be controlled through those apps and Alexa. I think Lifx is a menace to society and my patience. I still need 2 smart bulbs for the outside of the house which can take extreme weather temperatures.
Does the camera based BIAS lighting work with projectors screens? Been debating switching to a projector system but currently use the old DreamScreen box to manage background lighting on my TV. Would love to see a video with this test.
Brought the yeelight strip after seeing this video. It connects to Apple HomeKit instantly but not the yeelight app! Has anyone else had this issue if not can you reply with a step by step guide to pairing to the yeelight app please?
I suspect you’ll need to factory reset it, and then pair it to the Yeelight app first before then using the sharing process to get it working in HomeKit
Anyone know what HDMI box based activlight system Paul uses? I've been looking at Govee or Nanoleaf, but they're both camera based and I'd prefer HDMI. The ones I've seen are suspect Facebook advertised Chinese knockoffs.
So basically LiFX are the best at being a light and the others are better at the other functions? Asking because I bought 2 heaps of lifx downlighting a few and few more years ago but haven’t got an electrician to install them yet...
I have both LIFX bulbs and strips, year 1 I would have random network issues especially with the strips but then after that it just was always working without issues so not sure if LIFX fixed anything or if it was a router issue that a software update resolved.
I wonder if Phillips is intentionally underpowering to have more longevity...🤔 And lifx is now in home depot after all this time...they, like all products, i learned, pay to be on hd selves, like in supermarkets...
I find lifx a bit hit and miss, some work fine some loose connection on their app but work with Alexa. Unfortunately there isn’t much that has decent whites that are bright and work in HomeKit (bulbs not strips) I have been thinking about getting the Aqara strip as they have a dedicated white chip. How did the whites compare between the Govee and Aqara ?
Hi Paul could we challenge you to "create" diy solution with Wled and addressable led and then compare with all those strips? Your are famous at DIY... 😂
Shame you don't get along with razer synapse software. It has a feature that I believe yeelight software does not. While yeelight software allows you to choose one of the 4 screen borders, razer allows you to select an actual part of the screen. I used one of the yeelight bulbs with razer, selected a specific area where a space game was showing a loading bar for "warp speed", and it gets very immersive to see the bulb increasing color intensity as the bar fills, and going dark again (if I am facing empty dark space) or whatever color it picks from the screen (if I am facing a bright star, or a planet). Also can pick each screen border individually as the yeelight software and also can use full screen capture to replicate it somehow (using this feature for keyboard).
The big downside of razer synapse is that it's a pc only software, in my opinion. Has a bit of a learning curve, but i wouldn't say it sucks balls, it's as far I know the only one with the most 3rd party brands integration (yeelight, Philips hue, lifx, twinkle, etc).
The major issue with synapse is that most brands can only have all lights assigned to one portion of the screen in the ambilight mode, if you have two Yeelight’s or two lifx bulbs you can only assign them both to one portion which is super lame. 😒
@@paulhibbert that i agree, they work as a single "unit". Also the latest software from yeelight dont simulate black, the previous software would turn lights off to go dark and simulate black screen color, the new one keeps the last used color when screen goes dark. dont know if it does the same with other brands/software.
How do LIFX get away with this? Not sure about UK, but in Australia it is illegal not to honour the warranty. Saturation and brightness have tradeoffs with LED's. By pushing the LED's that hard, their life span is reduced. I'd rather have a slightly less bright strip that will work properly, and last longer.
I received my Yeelight Obsid strip with extension a couple of weeks ago and there....OK. Software to connect to pc is abysmal, the amount of hoops you have to go through is ridiculous not to mention its not even detected as "Obsid" according to the pc its a "Chameleon 2". Unless ive missed is there no editing the individual LEDs in the app, scenes are boring and setting up the amibilight is a faf. After saying all this the lights themselves are very good, the mobile app is useful and after tinkering im sure getting the lights into Home Assistant will be beneficial. If your wanting a nice LED strip these are worth it esp if you got the discount, failing that i think im going to get a strip of WS2812's and an ESP32 and make my own.
Why never any mention of APIs in these comparisons? My #1 concern when looking at new tech is if I can use an HTTP method, UDP, MQTT, or some other protocol to control it directly, so that I don't have to use the app. Bad business practices and cloud-required control aside, I like that I can PUT & POST to LIFX (and GET to Philips Hue) for all manner of home automation. With all of the strip moves and panel morphs I have set up in the app I don't understand criticizing it for that. Now, for all of my requests having to go through their servers, though, criticize away!
Informative as always but I need a little help, I have a 65" TV and looking for a govee TV backlight but don't know what to get, soooo many to choose, obviously it has to be the one with the camera, do you have an Amazon associated link I can use? Thanks.
wait ... Someone contacted your sponsor directly to complain about the ''Rocket'' Jokes ... Ok Present Yourself AT ONCE.. I would like to know who A has the Time to do That and B what happened to you in life to be offended by a ''Rocket'' Joke thats the most shocking part of this video not the fact LIFX are rubbish Team Govee all the Way !
And C, if you are so easily offended, what are you doing watching Paul in the first place?!? You literally have the power to put anything you like on! 😂 🤯 🔫
We need another manufacturer to do a "night vision" bulb with IR. No one else has a product like theirs that you can have on during the day then have "invisible" IR at night for your cameras. Perfect for light post/porch light
Couldn't you just use an IR floodlight and a normal light sensor switch to turn it on when dark, or even Home Assistant with a sunset/sunrise automation to turn it on/off?
@@gordon861 I haven't found a IR floodlight or A19 that isn't visible "red" IR. If you did can you link me. I have one of their lights at my lightpole, it's normal light at dusk/then IR later in the night. Extension of my doorbell cams IR capabilities.
You won't normally find them because of the safety. The human eye will not react to IR or UV light, and will fully let you fry your retina. You can find individual modules that are IR only because they are intended for non consumer use. When you do see consumer devices with low red or purple for UV, it's because they have a filter added. This may not be legal everywhere. (This was explained to me by a supplier when I was trying to get replacement parts for a IR led transmitter, I needed a specific wavelength)
I generally dislike wifi smart home products and go full ZigBee, but lifx bulbs through home assistant have been very reliable for me, and have yet to be beaten for max brightness, minimum brightness and colour. They easily beat out other expensive brands like Philips hue, which for me have been unreliable and have a much too high minimum brightness.
Ive got the GOVEE dreamview T1 Pro on the TV and its pretty bloody useless. Really do feel like i was ripped off buying them as it barely ever produces the right colour when watching films. Only time it seems to work is if its something like football and the screen is mostly all green Itsa so crap that ive just set it to a scene and even thats a pain as most are crap to use behind the TV Just want a slow moving rainbow effect but thats even way too fast.
As a bulb, LIFX are great. But the software is horrible, I'll never buy LIFX again. Like you said, they'll disconnect like you've never met. Edit: Also will never buy Govee again either. Nice strips, but constantly getting lost from Home Assistant (even after using suitable polling intervals, that's not the problem).
Unlisted video is visible in your playlists lol - make it private if it’s not released yet ya muppet! (Great video btw, I feel special being able to watch it early). Have an awesome December Paul!
I had Lifx and they were perfect until 1 by 1 they all ended up failing, bought them in 2016/2017 and for the first year and a half they were great then my Z lightstrip failed, then the other 4 bulbs I had started having connection issues almost every day and I binned them, replaced them with Philips hue (they just work 🤣) A shame really as the Lifx had better colours and brighter but became unusable.
Same! Kept going dark and was so annoying as it was the only light in my room... I managed to get a return and bought nanoleaf, works perfect so far. Just wish I could find physical switches for them :/
I think the whole low LED brightness thing is exactly the same as the excuse for electric cars still offering less than 400 miles real world usage range. Nobody needs it… Apparently. However the real reason is lower profits. Put a caravan on the back of a Tesla, and travel across Europe and we will talk why a range of a 150 miles is crap.
bro I wish you'd tone it down a notch with the jokes. They're not even funny. I find myself scrolling through your videos more often than not just to get to the POINT of the video
We had way too many connectivity issues with LIFX but the Philips Hue & Govee have been working great for us. I also used sengled in my office which look and perform great for the price
