Nanoleaf 4D screen mirror and lightstrip Kit review: say “Halo” to a major smart home cinema upgrade

Two-minute
review

Nanoleaf’s
4D
TV-syncing
strip
lights
are
a
first
for
the
brand,
which
is
known
best
for
making
some
of
the

best
smart
lights
available.
With
Nanoleaf
4D,
the
brand
has
easily
accomplished
one
of
the


best
Ambilight
alternatives
and
created
some
serious
competition
for
established
brands
in
the
space
such
as
Philips
Hue
and
Govee. 

The
set
is
available
in
two
sizes,
one
for
screens
up
to
65
inches
and
the
other
for
models
up
to
85
inches,
and
come
in
at
a
fairly
affordable
price
of
$99
/
£89
/
AU$189
and
$119
/
£119
/
AU$229
respectively. 

Out
of
the
box,
the
Nanoleaf
4D
kit
consists
of
an
LED
light
strip
that
is
attached
to
the
back
of
the
screen
and
plugged
into
a
control
box,
which
in
turn
connects
to
a
camera
that
detects
the
colors
displayed
on
the
screen.
The
kit
illuminates
the
LEDs
to
match
the
picture
on
your
screen,
throwing
the
colors
onto
the
wall
behind
the
screen
for
a
pleasing
synchronized
glow
around
the
screen. 

The
camera
can
either
be
mounted
atop
the
TV
with
the
included
armature,
or
placed
on
your
TV
table
using
its
built-in
stand,
and
those
concerned
about
prying
digital
eyes
around
their
home
will
be
pleased
to
learn
that
the
camera
also
comes
with
a
magnetic
privacy
cover.

One
of
the
slight
niggles
I
found
when
setting
up
the
lights
concerned
how
the
cables
that
connect
the
lights
and
camera
to
the
controls
are
positioned.
The
rather
vague
instructions
in
the
handbook
encourage
you
to
begin
your
light
strip
placement
in
the
bottom
right-hand
corner
of
your
screen,
meaning
the
wire
for
the
lights
trails
from
that
corner,
while
the
camera
cable
falls
centrally. 

This
leaves
you
with
a
choice
of
either
bending
and
sticking
the
light
strip
wire
or
having
the
control
sit
somewhere
near
the
right-hand
side
of
your
screen,
lest
you
run
out
of
wire
length
to
play
with.
All
in
all,
although
not
a
major
issue,
I
value
a
neat
home
entertainment
setup
and
this
doesn’t
necessarily
facilitate
that.

Installation
is
otherwise
very
straightforward,
although
you
will
need
to
remove
your
television
from
the
wall
to
fit
the
lightstrip,
and
potentially
need
a
second
pair
of
hands
if
you’re
a
real
perfectionist.
I
cheated
as
my
test
screen
is
on
a
stand!
The
kit
comes
supplied
with
corner
mounting
blocks
which
allow
the
strip
to
curve
around
the
corners
(rather
than
creating
a
loop
out
of
the
strip
which
would
create
problems
in
accurately
matching
the
colours
to
the
screen.)

There
are
10
color
zones
per
meter
and
30
LEDs
per
meter,
and
the
strip
can
be
cut
to
length
at
specific
10-centimetre
intervals.
This
does
mean
you
might
end
up
with
a
gap
or
excess
of
the
strip
when
they
meet
at
the
end,
but
a
little
trial
and
error
with
placement
before
sticking
anything
on
will
minimize
this. 

Once
that’s
done,
simply
peel
off
the
tape
backing
and
stick
that
strip
down,
and
you’re
all
set.
The
strip
does
tend
to
peel
away
from
the
back
of
the
screen
where
the
two
ends
meet,
but
that’s
easily
resolved
by
applying
some
more
double-sided
sticky
tape.

The
Nanoleaf
app
is
nicely
laid
out
and
works
well
most
of
the
time,
but
can
occasionally
crash.
Whilst
I
appreciate
that
all
software
has
bugs,
some
sort
of
an
error
message
would
be
nice.
Having
said
that,
the
things
that
you
can
do
with
this
software
and
the
kit
impressed
me;
the
Nanoleaf
4D
does
all
of
the
usual
colored
lighting
tricks
that
LED
strips
do.
But
let’s
face
it,
screen
synchronization
is
what
we’re
here
for. 

The
app
guides
you
through
mapping
out
your
TV
lights,
and
once
you’re
set
up,
you
can
create
your
own
scenes,
or
you
can
use
the
Magic
Scenes
feature
to
create
a
palette
based
on
a
mood
or
keywords
(although
I
found
that
the
latter
favored
washed-out
hues).

You
can
choose
between
four
settings
(or
dimensions,
between
1D
and
4D),
which
range
from
an
ambient
white
glow
to
the
aforementioned
screen-matching
lights
akin
to
the
gold
standard
Ambilight-style
experience.
It’s
a
little
tricky
to
find
clear
guidance
on
what
each
of
the
dimensions
does,
so
here
is
my
take
on
it.

1D:
White
light
that’s
well
suited
to
documentaries
and
general
viewing

2D:
Block
color
that’s
great
for
ambiance,
representing
an
average
of
the
color
displayed
on-screen 

3D:
Splashes
of
color
reflective
of
on-screen
action,
but
not
extending
the
screen 

4D:
Colors
extend
from
the
edges
of
the
screen
for
full
immersion

You
can
change
the
color
settings
by
cycling
through
the
controls
or
via
the
app. 

Nanoleaf
4D
features
the
same
sound-reactive
functionality
boasted
by
its
smart
light
siblings,
and
as
a
bonus,
responds
to
sound
far
better
than
the


Nanoleaf
Smart
Holiday
String
Lights
I
reviewed
last
month.

Once
I
had
finished
playing
with
all
of
the
settings
I
played
a
few
games
and
films
and
noticed
that
one
side
of
the
screen
was
not
displaying
the
screen
colors
correctly.
Further
investigation
revealed
the
problem;
I
needed
to
close
a
white
door
that
was
being
reflected
on
the
screen.
You
have
a
choice:
either
be
mindful
of
the
lighting
and
reflective
objects
in
the
room
or
spend
between
4
or
5
times
as
much
on
a

Philips
Hue
system
for
its
HDMI
linking.
 

The
only
feature
I
found
myself
missing
is
a
perennial
issue
for
non-HDMI
smart
screen
lights
– automatic
screen
detection.
Call
me
lazy,
but
I’d
prefer
my
lights
to
come
on
when
they
detect
on-screen
activity,
rather
than
requiring
me
to
use
the
app
or
physical
control.

Overall,
I’d
say
the
Nanoleaf
4D
screen
mirror
and
lightstrip
kit
is
a
great
low-cost
alternative
to
the
Philips
Hue
system
that
just
edges
out
the
other
low-cost
alternatives
in
several
areas;
it’s
easy
to
install,
well-designed
and
the
results
can
be
spectacular.
This
thing
is
so
versatile
and
colorful
that
it
made
me
want
to
get
some
Nanoleaf
wall
tiles
to
test
their
claim
of
the
4D’s
ability
to
“extend
the
screen
sync
effects
across
50+
Nanoleaf
RGB
lights”.
Look,
somebody’s
got
to
do
it…

Nanoleaf
4D
screen
mirror
and
lightstrip
kit:
price
and
availability

List
price:

• 
  TVs
  &
  monitors
  up
  to
  65-inch:
  $99
  /
  £89.99 /
  AU$189.99
• 
  TVs
  &
  monitors
  up
  to
  85-inch:
  $119
  / £119.99 /
  AU$229.99
• 
  Camera
  only
  kit:
  $79.99
  /
  £69.99 /
  AU$149.99

The
Nanoleaf
4D
screen
mirror
and
lightstrip
Kit
are
available
directly
from
the


Nanoleaf
website,
starting
at
$79.99
/
$69.99
/
AU$149.99
for
the
camera-only
kit.
You
can
also
buy
the
camera-only
kit
from


Amazon
in
the
UK
but
curiously,
not
the
full
kit
–
however
in
the
US,
you
can
buy
all
three
packages
on

Amazon. 

The
camera-only
kit
is
a
great
cost-effective
option
which
can
be
used
with
the
Nanoleaf
RGB
LED
light
strip
or
any
RGB
light
strip
that
has
USB-C
connection.

Value-wise,
the
Nanoleaf
4D
is
undoubtedly
one
of
the
best,
if
not
the
best
value
smart
TV
lights
–
the
Philips
Hue
alternative
for
75-inch
and
over
TVs
is
nearly
$100
/
£100
/
AU$300
more
expensive
at
$249.99
/
£209.99
/
AU$509.95,
and
you’ll
need
a
Philips
Hu
bridge
if
you
don’t
already
have
one.
Govee’s
lights
sit
squarely
in
between
but
don’t
offer
such
consistency
or
smooth
light
performance
as
Nanoleaf. 

Nanoleaf
4D
screen
mirror
and
lightstrip
kit
review:
Specs

Nanoleaf
4D
screen
mirror
and
lightstrip
kit:
Should
I
buy?

Buy
it
if…

Don’t
buy
it
if…

Also
consider

Nanoleaf
4D
screen
mirror
and
lightstrip
kit
review:
How
I
tested

• I
  installed
  the
  Nanoleaf
  application
  and
  added
  the
  Nanoleaf
  4D
  screen
  mirror
  and
  lightstrip
  Kit
  to
  Apple
  HomeKit 
• I
  tested
  all
  of
  the
  modes
  and
  scenes
  against
  different
  types
  of
  content
  (i.e.
  films,
  TV
  programs,
  Games)
  and
  resolutions 
• I
  tested
  each
  claimed
  feature
  e.g.
  “Reacts
  to
  music”
  where
  possible 
• I
  tested
  the
  kit
  under
  various
  lighting
  conditions. 

I
had
already
tested
a
pre-release
version
of
this
kit
last
year
which
was
unfortunately
defective
and
a
very
frustrating
experience.
The
days
that
I
spent
trying
to
get
it
to
work
reliably
were
not
wasted
though
as
it
gave
me
a
good
understanding
of
how
the
thing
works
and
how
it
has
been
improved.

I
was
pleased
to
be
able
to
make
use
of
scenes
in

Apple
Homekit
which
I
 could
not
get
to
work
when
I
tested
the
Nanoleaf
Smart
Holiday
String
Lights
last
month. I
switched
off
Bluetooth
on
my
phone
and
ran
all
of
the
tests
again
to
find
out
if
there
was
any
function
that
used
Bluetooth
and
everything
behaved
normally. 

The
room
I
use
to
test
things
is
the
worst-case
scenario
for
the
Nanoleaf
4D
screen
mirror
and
lightstrip
Kit
as
it
is
almost
completely
white.
Everything
gets
reflected
on
the
screen,
especially
in
daylight
which
affects
the
colors
that
the
camera
detects.
I
was
pleasantly
surprised
during
testing
to
find
that
some
of
the
reflection
problems
could
be
dialed
out
using
a
custom
vibrancy
set
which
allows
you
to
change
the
values
for
Dynamic
range,
saturation,
and
white
balance.