My sister got some for her TV and has been happy, but it's some random Chinese brand. What brands should I be looking at? I just had a cheap lamp behind the TV for when I don't want it pitch-black, but my dad wanted the lamp and offered to buy something to replace it, so it seemed like a good opportunity to get some bias lighting. Are you using something you're happy with?

The best way to determine what you might need is look at Amazon, there are a number of companies that sell bias lighting with varying prices and in terms of quality, reliability you essentially get what you pay for. I bought some from a company called "Luminoodle" whom after I had one set fail after 2 yrs. they sent me a brand new set free. I currently have a 77" OLED and previously a 65" LCD/LED and after installing it on these sets, I wouldn't know what to do without them. The better quality lighting will give you numerous colors, brightness levels and a remote and you connect it to the USB input on your television which turns on and off with the monitor. Your cost will also be determined by the size of your monitor as well. Incidentally, no matter how slice it, they are ALL manufactured in China.

If you watch television in a relatively dark room, the bias lighting is really all you will need and especially with LCD's and their problem with black levels, it gives the perception of better contrast which, of course, improves black levels. OLEDs, it doesn't matter, in either case, with bias lighting the picture on the screen doesn't have to be as bright and overall, considerably easier on the eyes.

Not as cheap as Amazon stuff, but check out https://biaslighting.ca/

Thanks, guys. I may end up with the MediaLight just because there's a New Year's discount at the moment.

I just ordered the medialight to try on the bedroom tv. If it works well I'll be adding one for the ht tv as well.

I ended up ordering the MediaLight Mk2 Flex, and it already shipped. Hopefully it will arrive next week and I can not botch the installation.

For future Flanders Scientific. Not expensive and professional result and output.

https://www.shopfsi.com/category-s/113.htm

Nevermind! You found it. You will be happy.

Thinking more about the MediaLight as I wait for it to arrive. I'm guessing it's going to be overkill for my uses, or my understanding isn't high enough, but I still like to buy quality parts where possible. It simply strikes me that the high CRI and color temperature choice aren't going to matter much since the wall behind the TV is painted green, and I don't have the TV even close to flat against the wall. It's on a wall mount, but it's on a really beefy arm, so I'm--maybe naively--not concerned about strain on the arm having it pulled out most of the time, which I do just for that extra picture size. For those of you using it, how vital would you say the wall color and distance from the wall are with regards to optimum effect? I'm asking out of curiosity rather than wanting to completely change how my display is set up. Truly, the main thing I was looking for was to have a little light for if I'm snacking or something, since eye fatigue wasn't an issue even with the rest of the room being pitch black. For people who are taking it as far as possible to improve picture quality, is there a reference shade of white paint they're suggesting?

I was going to start a thread about this topic. Glad to see it going. How does the light receive the signal color?

The one I got is just the one 6500K white color, but my dad is interested in the ones that change based on the image onscreen. I just assumed responsive bias lighting was too expensive and not what I was going for, so I didn't really research it. Doing a little reading now, it seems to do it via the HDMI signal, sitting between the source and the display.

The aftermarket lights that I have seen include a sensor that is placed on top of the television which takes its cues from what is on the screen, but, I am sure there are others. This light altering bias lighting has been standard equipment on Phillips televisions for years who started the whole concept, however, I have no idea how their system works. Of course, Phillips doesn't sell its monitors in N/A. In any case, if the television isn't right up against the wall, the light is just spread over a wider area and depending on the color of the wall, it probably would be best to pick a brand that gives you the choice to switch between multiple colors and brightness to match up a little better.