I am thinking of adding some bling for my Sammy PLasma and so far there are 2 options:
1) LED Strip Lights - Ikea Dioder
2) LED Rope Light

Has anyone here added some bling to their TVs? Does it really improve PQ and reduce eye strain? One more question, where can I get the LED Rope lights? That's the cheaper option to Ikea's Dioder.

This thread will also be used to post your TV blink-blink and exchange ideas.

This post has been edited by DemonTweakZ: Apr 16 2010, 12:47 PM

see my led backlight...bought at Ikea...can do fade effect between color...



but defineatly cannot improve picture quality as it only added color to back of the tv only....

You're a heavly load lad ..loaded setup there..

another person with all 3 major gaming consoles

....or r u the same person

Got it from Ikea? Still selling ah? I wanna do that as well.

I read around some blogs and forums that having an ambient light will improve the colour because of our eye's perception. Some use LEDs and some use standard tubes (6500K). I should be going for LEDs unless there is a proper reason why we need 6500K light. Any ideas?

I added the LED lights bought from Ikea (the more expensive one which can change colour!). Overall, still prefer to use the white light (so no need for multi colour which costs RM100 more).

Improve viewing condition? IMHO, better and more soothing to the eye. Marginally better in the colour on the LCD. For me, I see slight improvement in dark scenes, looks darker in my crappy LCD TV!

Thanks. Yeah I also plan to get the LED lights but currently they cost RM199 for 4 strips which I think is a little bit too pricy. Was thinking of getting rope lights to save $$$. But so far can't source them online so might have to go to a lighting shop. Any ideas?

go Brothers accessories shop to get the LED strips

they are 12V though

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Added on March 3, 2010, 12:22 pmhttp://list.lelong.com.my/Auc/List/List.asp?TheKeyword=led+strip&DA=A&CategoryID=&SubmitButton=Search

This post has been edited by ryansia: Mar 3 2010, 12:22 PM

I bought LED Dioder at Ikea last time for RM300++...quite pricey I think...

Wonder how you mount the LED light, have a picture?

don't have picture...but its easy to mount...the led comes with highly sticky double sided tape...so just stick it to back of the tv...

cool. i wanna try la for bling bling purpose

Poor man's Philips Ambilight...

*CABUTS*

haha exactly but hey who cares

Not really. Am using it for bias lighting only. Don't want it to change colours or anything fancy. Just white 6500k bias led back lighting.

The main problem is that it is very difficult to actually find 6500K light. Even when it says 6500K, it is mostly not. I use bias lighting in my setup and use CinemaQuest Ideal Lume. I tested many lights that claimed to be 6500K but they mostly were either 8000K or 4500K. It is also important that the bias lighting be D65 and not only 6500K.

Anyway, it also depends on the wall behind ur display. If the wall is not neutral white or neutral grey, then it is another problem.

If TV is wall mounted, how to do?

My display is wall mounted. No problems.

The purpose I think is to trick our eyes.

With ambient light, our pupil will constrict a bit, as compared with full dilatation in total darkness. In full dilatation, it absorb more light, as a result, the dark LCD will be more 'greyish', so leads to lesser 'black' in a dark scene.

In addition to that, usually bright LCD image in a dilated pupils will give rise to more visual fatique for the viewer.

So ambient light at the back of LCD will not only constrict our pupil, providing more black imagery in dark scene, also it gives less visual fatique for prolonged viewing.

Must be using thin light or you have a space between your display & wall. Not using normal bracket i think.

i am using the diodeer too.. 4 white strips...
kinda pricey i guess.. but should be cheaper than cinemaquest's solution tho.

agree with the fatigue thing and the screen looks somewhat darker.

Well I've been doing a lot of looking around and also found the CinemaQuest Ideal Lume. It's 90USD rite? Where did you get yours?

I have read that some people also use rope light but I'm sure it's not 6500K. I found some LEDs for sale on RS Malaysia. Osram LEDs that are rated at 6500K but I've not come across anything that says D65. I thought of making the LED strips myself. Of course I will post some pictures and tips if I make them.

My wall is slightly cream in colour so will that matter? Of course I can paint my wall white if it helps the PQ(with the bias lighting).

Again, I am purely doing this to cheat my eyes so that the blacks look better on my Sammy. I use it mostly at night so I'm hoping bias lighting will do the trick.

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Added on March 4, 2010, 8:51 amI saw them in the catalog. Cost RM199! For 4 small white strips. I don't mind the price but my tv is 50" so it might be too small for it.

This post has been edited by DemonTweakZ: Mar 4 2010, 08:51 AM

buy 2 strips then.

how much $$ to fit the 50" if using cinemaquest?

Wow! 2 packets of dioder will set me back RM400 weh.. hahaha..
I'm not sure about the cinemaquest but on the website, it says USD80. Not sure about shipping tho and how anfieldude got his.

I bought mine 2 years ago and its still working ok. Most likely, will get some replacement bulbs this year. Its great, I am using 2 behind the display. Colour temperature that I measured using my spectrophotometer was 6500K +/- 200. Also more importantly the actual white point measured was very close to 0.3127, 0.33. That's important. I tried using a normal Philips energy savings lite that was rated at 6500K but I measured something like 8000K. And the white point measurement was way off.

Did you buy it off the CinemaQuest website or did you find it here?

Hi,

may i know where can buy these LED strip? is that just use the normal power socket?

Off the website. They ship internationally.

Why not use white CCFL lights? Coolermaster CCFL is only about rm40 for 2 tubes. Even if we buy 2 packs it'll only cost rm80. Then get a rm10 universal adaptor n set it to run 12V n voilà!

TS! Have you consider installing a T5 light at the back of your TV? It looks like a thin and small version of our common pendaflour light. I'm currently using one right now.

This post has been edited by night: Mar 19 2010, 09:37 AM

I have tried out the T5 lights. I will post some pictures later. My first impression is that the blacks really seem to be darker! Wonder if the temperature of the lights make any difference at this point.

The colour temperature is off and more importantly x,y reading is nowhere close to D65 white.

Oh really? But will it matter because my wall colour is cream. As it is, I see an improvement on the black levels.

Do post a pic of it. Really want to learn from others. I find the T5 more practical to use. If the light got burned, all I need to do is just get a new set of tube and get them change.

T5 Photo.... pls...

So as I said I would, here's my bling'd out TV..

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Added on March 31, 2010, 6:49 pmI bought my china made T5s for 20 a piece near my place. Not bad la. I don't think I have such good eyes to notice any difference in PQ (if any) if I were to use 6.5k or these unrated ones.

This post has been edited by DemonTweakZ: Mar 31 2010, 06:53 PM

Wow .. nice! Like how the wall is not completely smooth so there's that wave/shadow effect! Great mod!

The T5 really make the LCD look more focus..

i don't think the waves on the walls will be noticeable, guess pictures not doing justice to it..

Yeah, can't really notice the "waves". But with the lights on, it definitely looks so much nicer. Next TV to get will definitely be a Philips!

should there be lights on all 4 sides?

whoa nice! where to get those light? normal shop got ah?

Yeah, T5 can get in normal electric part shop..

Now got T4 also, only 4/8" diameter instead of 5/8" diameter for T5

I just bought a pair of 3' T4 with aluminium holder for RM28 each at lighting shop. Will post some photos after I install it

Whoa smaller than the T5s? Pls do post photos. I might wanna re-blink my TV. Lol.

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Added on April 13, 2010, 9:38 pmNo man. I only wanted light at the sides. All around it would look to Ambilightish and I don't want that.

This post has been edited by DemonTweakZ: Apr 13 2010, 09:38 PM

Photos of my T4 lights

Bartman, those T4 lights plug into our normal wall power outlets? 240v?

very nice!! you using two lights only rite?
i see a terminal thingee at the bottom too...where did you get that? the eubiq powertrack rite?

This post has been edited by DemonTweakZ: Apr 16 2010, 08:23 AM

Yeah, kinda interesting with eubiq powertrack.
Bart-man, where did you get?

Yes the voltage is 240v, but the other end of the supplied mini 2-pin plug is just 2 bare wires (live and neutral) for you to wire yourself, if u wanna plug into a power outlet u need to buy a seperate 13A british plug and wire it yourself.

Thanks! Yes I use two 3 ft long tubes. The whole strip at the bottom is the eubiq powertrack, can supply power at any point along the track with removable adaptors, and can also mount network sockets, telephone points, TV astro points etc. Can also mount a switch, that's what I did to control the T4 lights.

I got it from Exaltech Penang at Sunnypoint. KL/PJ branch is at Jaya ONE (opposite digital mall). You can refer to their website here

How much it is?

This is very interesting because I currently am planning to add in a WDTV and I don't have enough sockets.
Btw, Bart, is that an LCD or Plasma? Sammy rite? It looks big. Size?

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Added on April 16, 2010, 12:45 pmAnyone else got any plasma/LCV tv blink-blink to share? Nice pics so far.

This post has been edited by DemonTweakZ: Apr 16 2010, 12:48 PM

Very very nice..
But can it be hurt ur eye when light off for movie??

I dun have the price list with me now but roughly the powertrack is around RM3xx per meter, while the adaptor is sold seperately. Plain adaptor is around RM70 each, premium adaptor with blue LED is around RM130 each. They also have starter pack with track and adaptor inside about RM3xx-5xx depend on length. The multimedia inserts (for network, telephone line, TV/Astro point, they even have speaker post, mic jack, RCA, VGA, keyboard/mouse, USB, HDMI etc if you need it) are additional accessories sold seperately. You can check with Exaltech for the full pricing. Actually it is quite pricey, mine is 2.2m with 10 multimedia inserts and several premium adaptors, cost me nearly RM2K, but the end result looks very nice and kinda taylor-made for my TV shelf

It is actually Toshiba 42RV600E LCD TV, not plasma. You see the sammy logo is because of the DVD mini hifi showing it

Thanks a lot! Right now it does not really hurt my eyes coz I'm focusing on the TV not the lights while watching movie. But if u keep looking down at the light it might be a little distracting. I think what I will do is fill up my shelf with more DVD till the lights are fully hidden, then it will be perfect

2k? wah. now thats premium la. lol. It's a toshiba? I thought it was a sammy because of the logo but then i saw that little stripe at the bottom and i know sammies don't have those.

chewkl,

U can buy them from Thye Huat...Its pretty cheap.

The CRI is off and the colour temperature is too cool (around 8000K), but not too bad. The one problem is it is very bright. So u need to make a baffle to block off the light (or use a aluminium foil) and reduce the intensity. I use it on my secondary display.

Thanks bro Anfieldude. Which is more color accurate? This T4 or Philips Cool Daylight energy saving bulb?

I believe they are about the same. The only problem with most of these are they are very bright. Also the colour of the wall behind ur screen is also important.

With the Philips Energy saver U can control the intensity of the brightness by going with lower or higher wattage bulb. If not mistaken I used 12w previously.

Anyways, all my interior wall color is white. I'm a boring person.

Yes, I also feel it is too bright when look direct at it. Shall I use a filter (eg camera film) to reduce the glare? Also my wall is yellow-ish and my T4 are warm white not cool white, so I suppose the color temperature is below 6500K instead of above. Did I buy the wrong thing?

Don't worry too much. Shd be ok, u've already got the general idea that to watch a fixel pixel display u need to have a bias lighting. The purpose is achieved. I would advise u to wrap aluminium foul around the light and leave a small opening to control the amount of light. The idea is to illuminate the wall behind ur display just slightly. Warm white is normally closer to 6500K. With a yellowish wall, it is difficult to say what ur colour temperature is.

Actually, u can start with a shorter track and plain adaptors to save cost. A starter pack with 1m track and 1 adaptor is around RM378 last time I bought (you can refer to my previous photo here) then you can add a 4-pack adaptors for RM2xx, total about RM600 you get a track with 5 removable sockets. When not using can conceal them. When need to use more just add more adaptors in the future. If not mistaken you can fit up to 12 adaptors per meter as long as you dun overload your fuse box for that outlet

I decided to change to a longer track coz I wanted to fit the 10 multimedia inserts and fitting them into the 1m track would leave too little space left for actual AC power usage. Each multimedia insert cost RM65 and I went for the premium adaptors to look modern, it is those that added up to the high cost

Actually their marketting is... I'd call it BRILLIANT and I admit I fell for it... once they sell you the track with 1 adaptor, you will be tempted to get more adaptors and it ain't cheap. Later on when you have many adaptors you'd think of installing more tracks in your house to utilize the extra adaptors. Then you need more adaptors... and so on

But if you just want a basic set RM500-600 should be enough to get what you require

Thanks for your advice! You are the real expert here

By the time i think it will look exselance...
Share the photo will all ur DVD is up...

bottom side also need ar?

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Added on April 17, 2010, 2:39 pmLED can get 6500K, need to match the CIE color bin carefully as you mention near 0.3217/0.33 point for all these LEDs, and assemble the same bin LEDs in the strip.. already did for a customer to install 8pcs of 12inch strips behind a plasma... all powered by a cheapo 12V adaptor.. Current regulation (important for longevity of White LEDs) done by the IC built in the strip (different from those cheapo resistor controlled strips)

This post has been edited by ar188: Apr 17 2010, 02:39 PM

Can pass 2 strips to me or not taukeh?

moar pics plz!!

Im currently DIY-ing using T6, will upload pics when done~

One for me too...Good to check the colour temperature and CRI. Also the SPD.

ok if got project wil make some extra. But lately didnt have the small projects.

Before I decided to go for the cheaper T5s, I asked this seller for LED strips. I can't remember what he quoted me but he seemed to know what he's doing. He's not online that often but here's his sales thread:

http://forum.lowyat.net/index.php?showtopic=1184727&hl=

Hope that helps.

I will curi Anfieldude's idea and put some sort of aluminium foil/enclosure for the lights so I can control them, or can I just add in a dimmer?

led strip from car accesories shop kenot ah? huhu~ i think the idea to use led is bcos the electric consumption...

This post has been edited by z8net: Apr 26 2010, 04:31 AM

Yeah can also, but i haven't tried that tho. usually those LED strips are not long enough.

juz now went to Jusco, saw philips fluorescent lamp not bad
PL-S 11W/865/4P 1CT and PL-S 7W/865/4P 1CT.

i think 7W version not bad for small screen like 24" LCD monitor.
if 40" above then i think need 11W

7W is 400 luminous and 11W is 900 luminous.
socket using 2G7.

11W selling RM 10.50 for the lamp only.
warm white colour, create smooth and relax ambience.

not sure where to get socket, maybe kedai logam?
and also i think need to do some wiring job to make it connect to AC wall plug

Addicted after seeing this thread..











This post has been edited by accs_centre: Jun 12 2010, 12:21 AM

the blue is nice . did you stick it to the back of the TV or on the wall

I sticked at the back of TV.. But it is not bright enough during day time

Good effort at bias lighting. However, tone down the brightness else ur pupils will open too much and u will lose shadow details depending on the gamma u chose.

So how bright should bias lighting be bro?

If u pull up a 10% window, it shd be about that intensity or slightly less.

Thanks bro.

guys,

was wondering if it's possible to power LED strips via usb and use it as ambient lighting behind the tv. Since most new tvs have usb port.

no messy wiring and it follows the the tv to turn it on or off. haven't found any being sold, wonder if you guys have seen anything like this.

Thanks in advance

chewkl,

Sorry, I was not thinking when I wrote this, too much WC. It is 10% of peak white, so pull up a 30% window and it shd be less intense than that.

LOL....but thanks for the correction too.

Bro, how do I pull up a 30% window?

haha...reviving this thread

Sure can improved PQ, especially in the dark room...

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Added on May 28, 2011, 5:22 pmIf you wall doesn't have window plus curtain, then much more nice.... because your back light is shooting the window curtain, not the wall....

This post has been edited by Mickey C: May 28 2011, 05:22 PM

Anybody using those LED light for aquarium, I think those LED are cheaper . Thinking of using that. My budget definitely will be under RM100.
I am using a small fluorescent tube at the back of my tv, looks great but generate too much heat, must put them further away from the tv.
So my next upgrade will be those aquarium light. I search through ebay and they are all so cheap.

LED light under RM100, I think very hard to get or won't last long.

tim,

Get the AVSHD709 test disc. Then pull up a 30% window from that disc.

this chew ar! every where also pijak..

We don't call him as Elite Chew for nothing

boss sorry goreng old thread.

ur eubiq adaptor for 2 pin, and button toggle quite special where do u get it?