This smart lighting device is easy to use and install – and costs 50% less than competitors!
I’ve been working from home exclusively since September 2020. Fortunately, we have enough space in our home for me to have a dedicated space for my home office. Not only do I have a full-time job during the day as a Marketing Director, but I also write product reviews for MacSources in the evenings. So, having a space where I can make my own helps me be creative. I can surround myself with things I love and that inspire me. I never thought I would add RGB lighting into my space, but as it turns out, I really enjoy having strategically placed colored lighting as long as it’s subtle. I especially appreciate smart lighting or lights that are app-controlled. So, it was an easy decision to add the LED Ambient Light Bars With Smart Lighting from Up Tech Instruments.
DETAILS
The LED Ambient Light Bars With Smart Lighting provides bright, colorful lighting paired with smart features and control. The light bars offer a wide spectrum of colors and a number of different settings to work with. The bars come pre-programmed with 12 light shows, 10 ambient background modes, and 4 music modes. The lights are reactive to music and voice and users have control over the lights’ sensitivity, style, and tempo to sound they detect. The light bars can be controlled through the smartphone app or via their remote control.
Users have the option of setting up unique lighting effects through the app (DIY modes). DIY mode offers pinpoint control of the color, brightness, and activation sequence within the fifteen segments of each bar. The lights are designed to be easy to work with, install, and set up. Each bar has the option to be placed vertically or horizontally using their stands – or even mounted using the provided adhesive strips. The light bars are great for decoration, entertainment, or simple ambient lighting.
SPECS
- Size: 11 x 1.7 x 1.3 inches
- Weight: 3.7 ounces (each bar)
- Control: App, remote control
- Color: RGBIC
- Power: 5V DC
- LED Segment Groups: 15
- Lightshows: 12
- Ambient Backgrounds: 10
- Music Modes: 4
- Timer: yes
- Voice Control: Yes (Amazon Alexa, Google Home)
- User Made Sequences: Yes
USER EXPERIENCE
The LED Ambient Light Bars with smart lighting arrived in a simple retail-style box. The box was actually a little banged up, but that could have happened during shipping. All the pieces and parts to the lights were safe inside the box. Based on the generic style of the box (the name of the product just says “LED Ambient Lighting” and no brand is given), I was really impressed with all that was included. A decent user manual was provided along with adhesive mounting strips, cable management clips, a power adapter for the wall, an IR remote, the stands, and an Allen wrench to tighten the stands onto the bars.
The bars themselves seem to be pretty tough. They are made primarily with plastic and are very lightweight. I opted to use the stands and have them sit on my desk, but I don’t think anyone would have trouble with mounting these on the back of a monitor or other surface using the 3M strips provided. The main power cord connects via USB-A. So, for my initial test, I plugged them into my computer’s docking station to see if that would provide accurate power. The lights turned right on. This made me happy because it meant that there were more options for powering them than just their wall adapter.
After providing power to the light bars, I installed the stands which are tightened onto the lights using very small screws and the Allen wrench. At first, I tried them standing vertically, but realized rather quickly that wasn’t going to work well with my desk setup. The bars are tall enough that they interfere with my mounted speakers as well as the general aesthetic of my workspace. So, I switched the stand so that the bars were sitting horizontally. That seemed to fit my desk better, but to be honest, I’m not 100% convinced that they will remain there.
There are two main criticisms I have of these smart lighting bars – the cable management and their reaction to sound. Starting with the latter, the sound reaction isn’t a feature I use often, but if it’s offered, I feel as though it should work. The first time I turned that mode on it was sporadic in operation. The lights were located directly under my speakers and just weren’t picking up the music that was playing. I had the volume of my music set on a moderate level. It was comfortable for me to listen to while working, but not so loud that you could hear it outside my office. I turned the volume up until the light bars started reacting to the music more. I had to have the volume up pretty loud before the lights were reacting with any normalcy.
The second issue – cable management – is something that is hard to overlook. The light bars have a fairly thick cable that comes out of each bar. When I had the stand with the light bars in a vertical orientation, the cable was very visible. The stand does not offer an option to route the cable through the back of it. With the light bars horizontal, the cables are a little less obtrusive, but I noticed that both of the light bars have the cable going out the same direction. This means that if you have the light bars sitting horizontal, one of the bars has an awkward cable routing issue. I do love that cable clips were provided, but I think a little more thought could’ve been put into the cable organization of the light bars overall.
The app that you download is kind of an all-purpose smart device hub (Smart Life) and I actually already had it installed for a different smart light in my office. Getting the LED Ambient Light Bars to connect to the app was a little bit problematic at first. The user manual includes instructions for this process, but they are definitely generic in nature and seem as though they could be used for several different types of smart lighting. I did finally figure out that if you press/hold the button (for about 5 seconds) on the light bars’ cable, it activates pairing mode. Once that started, the app recognized the light bars right away and I was able to connect to them (they show up as ‘Ambient Light Bar’).
Navigating the app is a little awkward, but once you get used to it, it’s not too bad. Since these lights are ‘smart lighting, they are designed to work with Google Home and Amazon Alexa. Our home is primarily set up with HomeKit, so I didn’t connect them to a voice assistant. I’ve been very happy with how well they have reacted to their remote control and app connection.
CONCLUSION
These LED Ambient Light Bars are a really neat way to introduce or enhance your current smart lighting environment. The doing get particularly warm – even after hours of use – and they are easy to set up. Even though there were a couple of improvements I’d love to see made, I really am not complaining because I now have ambient smart lighting in my office at about half the cost of more premium devices. These light bars are a really cool option for fun lighting effects – no matter where you install them.
For more information, visit uptechinstruments.com and Facebook.
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4.5