I would not name myself a flashy individual, however in the case of good lighting, I am ready to go all-out. In my house, I am utilizing the whole lot from standing lamps like Philips Hue’s Signe gradient lamp and TV backlight to the Govee Desk Lamp 2 to offer my house lighting some pizzazz.
Till not too long ago, my setup included my beloved Nanoleaf black hexagon wall panels, which served each as conventional and immersive good lighting when hooked as much as my PC through the Nanoleaf Desktop app, along with the distant controls afforded by the cellular app. Sadly, my new digs do not afford me the wallspace for these, so I used to be excited to see if Nanoleaf’s newest gaming launch, the Pegboard Desk Dock, would suitably fill the RGB-shaped void in my life.
Would that it have been so easy.
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I did not peg you as a quitter
I am within the throes of reviewing Nanoleaf’s Pegboard Desk Dock, so that is removed from a closing verdict, however my early impressions inform a cautionary story for all immersive lighting lovers. This 3-in-1 good mild and desktop combo is an superior idea; well designed, arriving with 4 hooks every, which may be organized on the Pegboard to carry your gaming controllers, handheld PCs, and headsets. If you happen to’d quite simply have the Pegboard as a show piece, you possibly can simply pull it out of the bottom and switch it round to indicate the rear mild panel.
For me, this was a dream product. I am all the time in search of methods to optimize my desk house, particularly since I downsized when shifting house, and I like Nanoleaf’s wider vary of good lights.
So, after eagerly unboxing and establishing my new lights, I used to be desirous to see my new setup in all its glory. Simply watching the lights cycle via the colours of the rainbow earlier than I might even paired them with Nanoleaf’s software program was thrilling sufficient.
In contrast to lots of Nanoleaf’s different merchandise, nevertheless, the Pegboard cannot be added to the Nanoleaf cellular app; it really works completely inside the Nanoleaf Desktop app, and that is the place my first drawback got here in.
Whereas the lights’ primary settings labored simply positive when unpaired, as quickly as I linked them to the app and tried to vary their shade output, they ceased to perform, flashing on and off sporadically, rejecting any peripherals I plugged into the bottom and intermittently showing as “Unreachable” inside the Nanoleaf app.
I might thought it was maybe as a result of they wanted extra energy, so I plugged in my energy provide; no pleasure. The software program additionally provides little troubleshooting for the issue, and with the whole lot operating easily till the purpose I attempted to pair them, I’ve come up quick making an attempt to repair them myself. I’ve but to contact Nanoleaf in regards to the challenge, which I will absolutely do earlier than I give my closing verdict, and I am greater than sure {that a} decision exists; nevertheless, my expertise paints a broader image of immersive good house lighting challenges.
(Picture credit score: Future)
Greater fish to fry
I do not relish bemoaning the woeful state of good house interoperability as soon as once more. The easy truth is, it is everybody’s greatest drawback, and that is not unique to good lighting for the house; any good house model taking the walled backyard method, of which there are various, earns my ire within the age of Matter compatibility.
Gaming lights, specifically, undergo. On my gaming laptop computer, I’ve received a plethora of RGB and good mild controlling apps; Logitech G Hub, HyperX NGENUITY, Corsair iCUE, Razer Chroma, and Nanoleaf being those I used for this setup.
Now, a few of these play good with one another; specifically, Nanoleaf hyperlinks as much as each Corsair iCUE and Razer Chroma, however that also leaves half of my peripherals setup disconnected. You are additionally on the mercy of software program updates, which, particularly when you use a hub app with a number of platforms linked to it, could make or break your setup.
There’s additionally the non-small challenge of the software program itself. Operating these background apps, particularly when you aren’t in a position to whittle them down by integrating completely different platforms, can use a good bit of CPU and RAM. Particularly when you’re taking part in on a extra light-weight machine, that may find yourself being fairly detrimental for high-stakes gaming.
Not all hope is misplaced in the case of immersive good lighting, although. Software program like SignalRGB and OpenRGB goes an extended solution to mitigate compatibility issues, even when these are removed from excellent. Nonetheless, issues are on the right track, simply at a glacial tempo – and if good mild makers wish to mild up the lives of avid gamers the world over, that might want to change to maintain up with the subtle interfaces and experiences we’re used to from our tech.
Even in the case of immersive lighting for the TV, you possibly can guess issues are by no means easy. Display screen extending lighting is more and more widespread, but your choices lately are restricted; splurge on a dear Philips Ambilight TV, go for the still-pricey Hue mild strip and sync field (which requires HDMI enter and thus will not work with cable TV or built-in Sensible TV software program) or go for a product like Nanoleaf 4D or Govee Ambient TV backlight, which factors a digital camera at your display screen to detect the motion, will invariably have some small enter lag.
My finest recommendation? Follow as many merchandise from one mild maker as doable, and for PC gaming, that can, in all probability, be a peripherals producer with extra give attention to the RGB than the good lighting of all of it.
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