WiZ HDMI Sync Box with TV Backlight review

WiZ HDMI Sync Box with TV Backlight: Introduction

Back in April, Signify – the parent company of Philips Hue – took the covers off of a more affordable ticket to immersive TV lighting. But it wasn’t another Hue Play HDMI Sync Box that was unveiled; it was Signify’s ‘budget’ brand WiZ getting in on the HDMI smart lighting action.

The new Wiz HDMI Sync Box with TV Backlight, to give it its full meaty moniker, consists of a control box and an LED light strip that sticks on the back of your TV, which work in tandem to create a light show that’s dictated by the visuals on screen. You can’t actually buy the box on its own, hence the hefty name.

Like Signify’s flagship Philips Hue Play HDMI Sync Box 8K, there’s no need for a camera facing your screen, as there is with the likes of Govee and Nanoleaf’s TV sync offerings, and it still manages to cost less than a third of its Hue bigger brother.

But how does it shape up in terms of performance? Read on to find out…

Design and setting up

The first thing you’ll notice when unboxing the WiZ HDMI Sync Box is that it’s a diddy little box, much smaller than its Hue brethren, but also much cheaper looking and feeling.

That’s okay as, after all, it is much cheaper and you’re hardly likely to have the Sync Box on show; you’ll probably have it stored away in a AV unit or hidden behind a games console.

That’s because the WiZ HDMI Sync Box delivers its real-time color-matching effects by reading the video signal directly from a HDMI source. You have to plug something into its solitary HDMI input to get the action started.

That means your lights will reflect what’s happening on-screen with zero calibration fuss, and no need for an additional camera as is the case with similarly priced rivals. You can just plug in your streaming stick, console, or set-top box, and let the lights do their thing.

Setup, therefore, is a doddle. In the box, alongside the main unit you’ll find a lightstrip, a HDMI cable, the power brick and some extra clips to keep the lightstrip in place.

That lightstrip is a 3-sided segmented RGBIC LED strip, which comes in two different sizes: one for 55 to 65-inch TVs and another for larger 75 to 85-inch models. I had the former on test for this review, on a 65-inch TV.

The first thing to do is to get the Sync Box itself synced up with the WiZ app. It’s the same app that’s used for WiZ’s existing smart lights – there’s no separate app for the syncing action.

It’s paired over Bluetooth and you’re talked through plugging the lightstrip in and sticking it to the back of your TV.

The lightstrip has 3M tape already attached all the way along and, as mentioned, there are also some extra clips in the box.

WiZ has a different approach when it come to the corner sections from what I’ve seen before; the lightstrip actually comes as three segments that are joined by little wires. The idea is that you feed the wires through the little corner blocks.

This does mean less fiddly attaching than on rivals where you sometimes have to try and bend and angle the lightstrip in the corners, but it does also lead to little spots where there’s no light emitting. That’s not really a problem though as the brightness means you don’t notice this when the sync action is happening.

Once you’ve paired up the Sync Box, the app runs a test to check which way round you mounted the lightstrip and then you’re good to go.

Signify also sells other lights that pair nicely with the Sync Box. The Gradient Floor Light (£79.99 / $89.99) is a slim, plug-and-play unit with a wide beam angle, designed to throw rich color washes onto walls and corners.

The Gradient Light Bars (£54.99 / $59.99) offer multicolor segment lighting in a compact design you can mount vertically or horizontally.

If you want to add these to the mix then you can set their position using the TV Area section of the app. It’s not quite as intuitive or detailed as the Hue equivalent, but it’s a simple process never the less.

As mentioned, the Sync Box relies on a HDMI input to work such as streaming stick, set top box or games console, and so it won’t work natively with the smart TV apps on your TV, nor any HDMI inputs directly going into your TV.

Also, with just a single HDMI input (and one output, obviously), you’ll need an external switch if you want to hook up multiple devices; Hue’s 4K and 8K boxes both have four HDMI inputs.

Features

When you want to start syncing you’ll see that the WiZ app offers four sync modes: Cinematic, Vibrant, Relaxation, and Rhythmic. These are just fancy names for a bunch of presets with differing brightness, saturation and intensity settings, which you can also manually tweak with in the app.

Voice commands through Alexa or Google Assistant are on offer too, along with an optional WiZ remote.

Voice commands you can use include starting/stoping, changing modes, tweaking intensity, and adjusting brightness. I found it easier to create a Movie Time Alexa Routine that set everything exactly how I like it with one simple command.

It’s HDMI 2.0 only, so while it can handle 4K and all the major HDR formats, it’s not the best choice if you’re trying to max out 120Hz gaming on your PS5 or Xbox Series X.

If that’s what you’re after then consider the Philips Hue Play HDMI Sync Box 8K, which launched last year… but is a helluva lot more of a wallet basher.

Instead, the WiZ HDMI box analyzes HDMI input directly (up to 4K at 60Hz with HDR10+ and Dolby Vision) and sends out synchronized color effects to the WiZ lights you have chosen in the TV Area.

It’s actually a bit clunky to get to the Sync settings, as the WiZ app is designed with regular smart lighting in mind; I’d like to see the Sync Box experience get a more intuitive position in the app.

In use and performance

I am a massive fan of both the original Hue Sync Box and the 8K follow up and I went into this review knowing my standards, when it comes to TV light syncing, are therefore pretty high.

So I had to lower my expectations a little with a device that is much, much less expensive.

The good news is that I didn’t have to lower them too much. While it’s the full on, mind blowing visual spectacular you get with the Hue models, it’s still an excellent performer.

Yes, sometimes a pair of colors would combine to form a mix rather than accurately showing what was around the edges of the screen (like the red and blue making purple in the image above) and yes, some fast-paced scenes completely befuddled the WiZ sync box, but overall it performed well beyond what I’d expect from the price-tag… especially as there’s no need for that camera pointing at the screen either.

On my Hue Sync Box I have to turn the saturation and intensity down because it can get a bit much, I found with the WiZ I just left everything on full whack to create the best effect.

Like all TV light sync systems, it works best with bright and vibrant movies and TV shows; animation and sci-fi action really made it shine, and it also worked well giving extra depth and immersion to sporting events.

I’m not a massive gamer and, as stated earlier, it’s no companion to serious 120Hz-heads, but for casual gaming it worked well. I tested in with a couple of EA sports games on my Xbox Series S, as well as a few family friendly games I play with my kids and the effect was great.

You can also, if you want, just use the lightstrip as a regular smart light too, but where’s the fun in that?

Final thoughts

Signify has played this one smart. By stripping away the extra HDMI ports, ditching the premium build, and going after a more mainstream audience, it has cut the price without cutting the fun. Sure, hardcore gamers who want 4K/120Hz HDR will still need to cough up for the Hue Sync Box 8K, and there are some color-matching issues but, for the price, the WiZ HDMI Sync Box does the job brilliantly.

How we test

When we publish our reviews, you can rest assured that they are the result of “living with” long term tests.

Smart lights usually live within an ecosystem, or a range of products that – supposedly – all work in harmony. Therefore, it’s impossible to use a connected light for a week and deliver a verdict.

Because we’re testing smart home kit all day, everyday, we know what matters and how a particular light compares to alternatives that you might also be considering.

Our reviews are comprehensive, objective and fair and, of course, we are never paid directly to review a device.

Read our guide on how we test smart lights to learn more.