Sounds a little to much like Urea to me (i.e. piss) to be paying out thousands for.

i always wondered why they didn't put lights on the top of the early models. i guess it was because of heat, or maybe they wanted a simple upgrade path.

Too bad it can't do something more interesting. Maybe cascade a streak of lightning across your wall or something cool like that.

here i am, checking my LCDs for light bleed. turns out it's a feature!

So, any Giz commenters that have an ambilight set, or considered one? Is this really worth the extra cash? My limited imagination tells me that it would be annoying to have light shining around the edge of the TV, but -- well, I have a limited imagination, so tell me I am wrong. And, if I am wrong, what is that cool lighting really worth? A couple bucks? Hundreds? Thousands?

i have a 50" 720p native (i think) ambilight. i think the light premium was a few hundred bucks ($200-400). The TV itself was only $2k, so I didn't think it was that bad.

My opinion on it is:
I'm pissed off that movie theatres don't have ambilight.

My one complaint:
Is that white is too strong a color, so awesome blues, greens, and reds are less likely than they should be. i suffer from less eyestrain too, because that old trick of making the screen go black to surprise you doesn't work anymore.

@dvena: Haha! Classic.

oh, and if you don't like it, you're out the light premium, but there is a button right on the remote to turn it off, so it's easy to compare in real time if you want it on or off.

Yeah, but honestly... It does look cool and all but in the long run who wants a glowing Jesus TV?

I would not be suprised if this technology is a result of Philips aquiring Color Kinetics:

[www.colorkinetics.com]

Anyone smell burning hot plastic?

Oh, that was the original model, sorry!

Should have called it the ambiflame.....

Or ambiBurnYourHouseDown LOL

I've got an Ambilight, and it is nice. Really helps the apparent black levels. It's worth a few hundred bucks. Not the ~$2k-$3k they seem to be charging on this model.

@bassnote:

Sounds a little to much like Urea to me (i.e. piss) to be paying out thousands for.

i would suggest you stay far away from any of the new Mercedes Benz diesel-powered vehicles. some of the ones using the "BlueTec" engine use *actual* urea. Audi and VW might end up using the same system as well.

When does ambismell come out?

I too have an Ambilight set (42PFL7432D) that I picked up back in May. It's only 2-channel ambilight (left and right sides) as opposed to 4-channel (top and bottom as well as left and right), but it is a wonderful feature to have.

It seems to make the screen a lot less harsh on the eyes, since the whiole field of vision is filled in with a little ambient light as opposed to just starting at a bright rectangle with pitch black around it, and since the colors cycle with the displayed images on the screen, they don't distract at all. I could see it being an annoyance if they stayed one color but since their color is determined by the colors on the screen they just feel like light being put out by the set. They have an amazing range of colors that they can cycle thorough, and they do help the overall contrast and black level of the images.

And as mentioned above, there is a button right on the remote for toggling it on and off if you or your guests find it annoying. I leave it on though, as I personally like it, and feel less eye strain thanks to the extra ambient light.

@Monty

I was actually pretty skeptical of Ambilight when we first launched it, but not so anymore. It is the kind of thing that you have see to understand.

A lot of people who first look at it think it is distracting, but once you stop focusing on the lights changing colors and focus on the program/movie is when you can see the benefits.

The best demo for Ambilight is to let people get into the program/movie with Ambilight on, and then simply use the remote to turn it off. It is really an amazing difference. (Screen seems larger, really brings movie off the screen and into the room, reduces eye-strain...)

…And, there is a setting (called 'Cool White') which is tuned to be near 6500K. That static white backlight is what a lot of 'videophiles' prefer.

Brooks Flynn
Product Planner
Philips Consumer Electronics

www.philips.com

OK so I was a so so believer and bought a 32" Ambi for my daughter. Guess what. The TV now gravitates the family and they complain when I toggle off the Ambilight. It has to be positioned upon a lighter wall and you can toggle on modes on the Ambi. Of Course now the Aurea is now available but remember when blue Ray and Flats came to Market? Price expensive but came down once consumers recognized technology. Bottom line- I love it!