9 TV Backlight Options to Change your Movie and Show Watching Experience

Enhancing your TV viewing experience goes beyond just picture quality. The right ambient environment can greatly impact visual comfort, eye strain reduction, and immersion. This is where TV backlights, also known as bias lights or LED strip lights, come in very handy.

In this comprehensive guide, we will dive into everything you need to know about TV backlights, from how they work to providing detailed recommendations on 9 top options to consider based on your needs and budget.

What Are TV Backlights and How Do They Work?

TV backlights refer to lighting placed directly behind flat screen TVs or monitors to subtly illuminate the wall behind them. They typically consist of LED light strips that attach to the back edges of the TV and provide a soft glow that spreads evenly across the surface behind it.

Benefits of TV Backlights

While primarily serving an ambient lighting function, TV backlights provide some key benefits:

• Reduce eye strain – By adding a neutral reference point for your eyes, the additional backlighting helps increase contrast on the screen to reduce strain.
• Enhance picture quality – Increased overall contrast creates a perception of better colors, black levels, and sharpness.
• Create theater ambiance – The gentle wall illumination creates a dark viewing environment for better immersion without fully compromising lighting.
• Aesthetic appeal – TV backlights can totally transform the look of a room and create modern, high-tech ambiance.

How TV Backlights Work

TV backlights use LED light technology, typically arranged in strips placed along the edges of the back of a TV. The lights are diffused to create even edge-lit glow behind the TV.

Many modern TV backlights offer advanced functionality like:

• Syncing with on-screen content – Using camera sensors and software, the lights dynamically change color and brightness based on what is showing on screen.
• Sound-synced lighting – The light colors and patterns react in real time to music, sound effects, and vocals.
• Smart connectivity – Options to control lighting configs, dimming, and modes through smartphone apps, voice assistants, and home automation systems.

Now that you understand the value TV backlights can add through immersive effects and eye strain reduction, let‘s explore top products available…

1. Lytmi Neo Pop TV Backlight

If you‘re looking for the most advanced synchronization capabilities, the Lytmi Neo Pop backlight is a top choice. It stands out with its real-time video sampling technology that samples colors on screen and maps them to the backlight with impressive 500 RGB zone accuracy…

Key Features and Benefits

• Real-time color sampling from video input with up to 500 pixel zones mapped to backlight LEDs.
• Get full RGB color accuracy with 48 LEDs per meter to effectively mimic on-screen content.
• Smart home integration to control via Alexa, Google Home or smartphone app.
• Sound modes sync colors and patterns to music, vocals, and sound effects.
• DIY configuration allows mapping lights to specific screen zones.

With unparalleled color accuracy flexibility, and smart connectivity, this is a top choice for those wanting the most advanced video and sound-synced ambient lighting. It suits smaller TVs under 65 inches well.

What Reviewers are Saying

With a 4 star average rating, reviewers consistently highlight the accuracy of the real-time sync technology in mimicking their TV‘s picture. Some noted calibration was required for optimal results. The ability to set different effects based on screen zones was also popular…

Who This Works For

The Lytmi Neo Pop smart LED backlight is ideal for tech enthusiasts wanting accurate real-time sync, and those with smaller TVs under 65 inches. Expect to pay a premium for the advanced video processing capabilities.

Bottom Line

With its advanced video sampling technology that maps colors with zone precision, the Lytmi Neo Pop takes RGB TV backlight immersion to new levels.

2. Nexillumi Multi-Scene Smart LED Lights

Moving on to more budget-focused options, Nexillumi offers solid RGB TV backlighting capabilities with the key features you would expect like app and voice control. Let‘s explore the highlights…

Key Features and Benefits

• 16 million color options
• Music patterns sync with songs
• Low profile 1cm thickness
• App and physical remote

It connects via WiFi and Bluetooth for app and voice management. You can choose from sound-reactive patterns and colors to suit different content. At just $20, reviewers praise the smooth music-syncing abilities considering the low price point.

What Reviewers are Saying

With a 4+ star average rating, Nexillumi lights are a popular budget option for adding great looking ambient lighting to your TV setup. Reviewers were very satisfied with the vibrant colors, music sync, and overall ease of use especially given the affordable pricing.

Some noted that adhesive could be better and the app is very basic. But for the low price, most agree it adds great decorative lighting to complement TV viewing.

Who This Works For

For those that want smart connectivity for manipulating colors along with sound reactivity at budget pricing, the Nexillumi LED backlight is a solid choice.

Bottom Line

Delivering dynamic color changing and music-synced patterns through app and physical remote control, the wallet-friendly Nexillumi backlight makes a solid budget ambient lighting addition to smaller TVs.

3. Dreamview T1 RGB LED Strip Lights

If voice control smart connectivity is important to you, the Dreamview T1 makes it easy and affordable to add ambient decorative lighting to your TV.

Key Features and Benefits

• Works with Alexa Google Home Siri
• 12 distinct lighting scene modes
• Custom segment control
• Dynamic music visualizer

With WiFi and Bluetooth enabled for app and smart home connectivity, all lighting effects including brightness can be controlled completely hands free.ogeneous to an order under 4 characters

What Reviewers are Saying

The 4+ star rated Dreamview T1 impresses reviewers with its expansive voice control and automation integration. Users love how easy it is to enable immersive lighting scenes and adjustments like dimming through voice assistants without needing the app or remote. Music visualizer patterns are also a popular feature.

Some note that manually sticking the adhesive lighting strips neatly can be tricky. But overall at under $70, most agree it‘s a great way to add smart RGB lighting.

Who This Works For

For hassle-free hands free voice controlled ambient lighting, Dreamview T1 is a top choice. Also great for those wanting responsive music reactive patterns.

Bottom Line

With seamless smart home integration and music reactive lighting modes, the Dreamview T1 makes for an immersive convenient-to-control LED TV backlight system.

Other Notable Options

While the above represent some of the best advanced and budget LED bias lighting strips for TVs, there are a few other options also worth considering:

4. Luminoodle Bias Lighting

For a simple a portable bias lighting solution, Luminoodle offers weather resistant USB powered LED strip lights in a range of sizes which work nicely behind TVs as basic bias lighting.

5. Antyria Aurora

Using a built-in HD camera for scanning colors on screen, the Antyria Aurora syncs ambient colors and brightness levels relatively accurately. Great for positioning behind monitors and smaller TVs.

What To Consider When Choosing TV Backlights

With a wide range of TV LED bias lighting options available offering different features, here are some key factors to consider when deciding on which route to take:

Intended Use Case

What do you want to achieve? Simple bias lighting for eye strain reduction or more advanced decorative that syncs lighting animations to video content and sound? Complex needs demand more advanced options.

Size Compatibility

Measure TV width to ensure lighting strips are long enough for full wrap-around coverage. TV backlighting is often sold in specific compatible size ranges.

Control Features

Consider if elements like app/smart home control, sound sync, and automation are useful. This impacts price with more advanced configurable options costing more.

Brightness & Color Capability

Brighter lights with wider color ranges provide most vibrant effects. RGB and RGBIC LEDs offer full color while white-only bias lighting gives simple eye strain help.

Getting the features you need without overspending requires balancing these aspects against budget. Prioritizing your performance and configurability preferences makes choosing easier.

Final Takeaways on Enhancing Your TV Viewing

Adding TV backlighting in the form of LED bias lighting strips can make a big improvement to visual comfort while creating modern ambient lighting effects. Options range from simple white bias lights to advanced RGB models with expansive configuration and sync features.

If reducing eye fatigue is the priority, even budget strip lighting kits can help by adding subtle background lighting to give eyes an anchor point. For more decorative and immersive reactive installations, LEDs with color and camera or sound sync ability take things to the next level for home theater enjoyment with dynamic effects.

Hopefully this rundown gives you some ideas that help you choose TV backlighting to take your entertainment room enjoyment to the next level!