This $5 accessory turned my TV into a premium-feeling screen

There are quite a few ways you can liven up your viewing experience, and one such way is bias lighting. Don’t let the name confuse you — these are just a string of LED lights that attach to the back of your TV and give off a glow that enhances your viewing. Quality varies wildly, but what I did was pick up a very cheap set for $5 just to see if I like how they look. These were on sale, but considering they are usually $7, it’s not like I caught them with a massive price cut. There was no sense dropping lots of money on something only for me to realize it was not for me. Luckily, I’m a fan, and bias lights are just one of many smart TV upgrades you can make for under $50.

I don’t expect to make everybody a bias lighting convert overnight, but I can think of many reasons it’s worth spending a little bit of cash on a set. You don’t have to break open your piggy bank, either, as you can get something for just a few bucks that can make a big difference.

1

Easier on the eyes

Bright screens won’t be as rough

One thing I noticed right away is that the jarring shift that happens from a dark scene to a bright one is no longer as harsh. It’s not like that was actively ruining my viewing before, but I notice that my eyes don’t need to readjust like they used to, and it works even if I keep the bias lights at a low brightness level.

The nice thing is, you can change the brightness of the lights to your liking, so if you do find they’re too bright for what you’re watching, you can just adjust them. The downside, at least for the set I bought, is that the remote controlling the lights doesn’t work unless you’re right on the lights. Given that they’re behind my TV, I find that I have to get up and walk over to the TV for them to work. Downloading the app on your phone is a good way around this, but it’s disappointing that the included remote doesn’t work all the time.

The best relief for your eyes will come from lights that can hit a bulb temperature of 6500K. You may not find many of the cheaper sets with this ability, so while they’ll make a visual difference, they won’t be as impactful as the better lights, like something from Govee can be.

Hub Required

No

Music Reactive

Yes

Color Range

RGBICW

Number of Panels

30 LEDs/m

Voltage

12 Volts

Wattage

24 Watts

2

Inexpensive upgrade for your smart TV

Money well spent

I spent just $5 on my lights, so it’s not like they came anywhere close to breaking the bank, and they were an impulse buy. I was looking for things to use my TV’s USB ports for, and these happened to fit the bill. At just $5, even if I didn’t like them, I could unplug them for good and not feel like they were a massive waste of money.

There are many more expensive sets you can pick up, and if you know you like bias lighting, I’d argue that you should spend more than I did. Your TV likely has a few extra USB ports available, and I’m not aware of many alternatives in this price range that you can simply plug in. A streaming stick is nice, but that’ll run you quite a bit more. In terms of sheer value, a set of cheap bias lights will go a long way. I don’t know how long they’ll last you if you buy a super-budget set, but even a month’s worth of lights for $5 is worth it for me.

3

They’re nice for hangouts

More than just a light

The set I picked up does more than just display a single color. There’s a party mode I can toggle on that turns my bias lights into strobe lights of sorts, which causes them to change colors and flash. It’s a cool feature, especially if you have company over and want something that can provide a different mood.

These lights get chaotic, so I don’t think I’ll be using mine for this purpose very often, but it’s cool to have them for when I want them. I didn’t know bias lights had this type of functionality, so it was a nice bonus to have once I got them set up. My included remote lets me swap between colors and modes with ease, and I can use my app for the same purpose.

4

A strong placebo effect

If it works, it works

Pocket-lint / Govee

I see a lot of people talking about how bias lights make their screens look better, and in many ways, it does that. However, if you stop and think about that for a second, it really doesn’t make much sense. The lights around your TV don’t suddenly make your screen better, but they sure convince you that it’s the case. Your blacks look deeper, and colors pop more, but we know nothing’s actually being done to the screen.

What is changing is your perception, and that’s because your eyes don’t have to deal with sudden bright lights in a dark room. Even if my TV screen didn’t miraculously improve overnight, I’m fine with my brain thinking it did.