Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Home Theater Lighting behind the TV

Where does one buy the colored lighting some have behind thier TV's when watching movies? What seems to be most common color that isnt too hard on the eyes when watching a movie? Is there a certain wattage one should get or stay away from? (ie... too bright or too dark )

Thanks

Some of the TVs that came with (not sure if they still have them) the indirect lighting built in to the back of the TV would actually adjust the color displayed based off of what you were watching.

I know that there are some companies out there that make home theater backlighting products, but one that is gaining popularity (although probably more for a "bling" factor) is from Cyron. They have a number of products and are pretty inexpensive. I've heard good things about them. You can search for them online and watch YouTube videos, or buy a bunch of items from places like Amazon. I stumbled across them by pure chance at a local Lowes home improvement store.

Here is a link for you:
Cyron LED Accent Lighting

I bought an Ideal Lume for my inlaws years ago but never actually installed it. I'm considering using it w/ my new VT30 when I have it ISF calibrated. Fortunately, I put in a separate power outlet for it that is switch controlled so I could turn it off/on w/ an IR remote.

http://www.cinemaquestinc.com/ideal_lumesb.htm

I've been using the Ideal Lume for many years now; there is lots of info about "bias lighting" on the company's site.
their fluorescents give off light at 6500K, which is the color temp at which TV's are calibrated.
this kind of lighting is used in tv studios as reference lighting for quality monitoring.

if one uses lighting of another color, it will bias the colors as perceived on the screen to another color temp and falsify the tv's colors.
(not very easy for me to explain clearly now, hope you understand).

a major benefit of using bias lighting is that one is not blinded by a bright tv screen in a dark room, it's not fatiguing to the eyes.

some info can be found here: http://www.cinemaquestinc.com/ideal_lume.htm

there is a thread specifically about this bias lighting in AV Science forum:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=451527

I'll post these images again. They were shot under different lighting, and telling the camera to white balance to the surrounding environment, much as the human eye would. No other changes were made. Manual exposure was used, so every shot should be as close to the same as possible, except for the white balance value.


This first one is with normal, over-head room light.


This second one is with all the lights out (white balance it based on what's on the screen).


The last is with the Ideal Lume bias light.


It's probably easiest to see the differences by opening each of the images in different tabs, and flipping back and forth between them.

Here are the raw links to make that easier.
http://clubneon.com/images/bias_light-01.jpg
http://clubneon.com/images/bias_light-02.jpg
http://clubneon.com/images/bias_light-03.jpg

Hi all,

This subject of "bias lighting" is peculiar. In my judgement, other than the "bling factor", it's totally unnecessary if you adjust the screen brightness properly to suit the viewing conditions.

There's nothing "hard on the eyes" about viewing television or video display images, unless they are in 3D. Do you want "bias lighting" when you go to a movie theater?

I worked in TV professionally, and all control rooms are dark, as are professional screening rooms. Images look their best in dark or nearly dark rooms. Of course, if you run your display or projector in a salesroom "torch mode" (maximum brightness), then I suppose that might cause some type of viewing fatigue, but all modern displays and projectors have "cinema" settings that have much lower brightness than the torch modes used in bright showrooms.

Save your money and simply use the "cinema" setting on your video display and calibrate the image for ideal viewing in a dark or dimly lit room.

Regards,
Alan

I would totally concur with Alan on this one. Provided you have your monitor calibrated within reason and the contrast not jacked up too high(like in the retailers), moderate lighting will more than suffice. I have a lamp with a 25 watt bulb elevated on top of and slightly behind my monitor and it comes pretty close to what Joe Kane and the DVE BR disc indicate what is appropriate lighting for the best viewing experience during the evening.

My wife doesn't like watching movies in the dark. I purchased the Ideal Lume from cinemaquest and we like it. Provides some light without any direct glare like a lamp might. I can't say how it impacts the contrast as I have never really done a detailed comparison.

I use a little Tiffany lamp, like this one that sits on top of my subwoofer, only a much cheaper one from Target. It's off to the side of the room, so no reflections and is easy on the eyes. With a 15 watt bulb, it lights up the room about just the right amount. Just something else to consider.

here's an extract from a post in AVS forum by the owner of the company who makes the Ideal Lume:
"Our customers tend to be audiophile/videophile types and professionals, using the products for critical viewing and listening applications, including mastering. Such clients have included: NIST, ISF, THX Ltd., ILM, by deluxe, E-Film, CinRam, Deluxe Digital Studios, PostWorks, Electronic Arts, Radical Games, Zombie Studios, Factor 5, High Moon Studios, SlantSix Games, Universal Pictures, Joe Kane Productions, Microsoft Corp., Samsung Germany, Metropolitan Museum of Art- Video Production Lab, CNET Labs, About.com Labs, Image Entertainment, DisplayMate Technologies, Rev13 Films, Filet Post Production, Canadian Communications Research Center, Digital Film Lab- Copenhagen, Splice Here, etc."

The post can be read on this specific page:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=451527&page=38

Seems to me he has a vested interest in flogging these things. After all, Noel Lee convinced lots of recording studios to re-wire their facilities with Monster Cable.

Look, if you want a little light in the room, fine. I understand. I keep a small lamp on a dimmer in the corner of my room so I have just barely enough light to find the remote control. But to purchase a dedicated light for such purposes strikes me as absurd. And in the examples Club Neon posted, the best-looking image is the one with the lights off. In the bottom image, I find the venetian blinds and stuff below the TV to be distracting.

for anyone interested in knowing more about the subject, here's an informative piece:
http://www.cinemaquestinc.com/ive.htm

Read an interesting article in an Astronomy magazine the other day that pertains a bit to this. It was explaining how there is no definitive black or white. The color you see is a combination of the reflected light frequency verses the intensity of the background. Go to a strong enough extreme on the intensity of the background and white can appear black and vise-versa.

For example, the natural color of the surface of the moon is similar to a dark asphalt. However, when you see it in the sky, lit up by the powerful light from the sun against the black background of space, it can appear very white.

Another example is a sunspot. A sunspot is a cooler spot on the surface of the sun. Cool is a relative thing of course. At an average temperature of 3000–4500 K, you know damn well that a sunspot is going to be blindingly bright on it's own. However, when photographed against the 5700 K of the rest of the suns surface, they appear as black.

My cheap solution is a string of rope lights plugged into the switched AVR outlet, hidden behind a valence along the ceiling. It provides a nice even light washed on the wall and ceiling behind the TV.