WiFi controlled LED Bulbs

Forums › Gadgets, robotics, home automation, electronics (including wearables) › WiFi controlled LED Bulbs

1 | 2

Kyanar

4089 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

Trusted

#1060252 6-Jun-2014 09:42

AKT: I am looking into this and I was going to get the Phillips Hue as I thought these were the best. LIFX may be another option too now I've seen these - does anyone know if there's any comparison between the two. Also WeMo may be an option for us to now - any idea when they're due out?

We have a load of MR16 down lighters (24+) which I'd happily change to GU10's but this seems like it is both expensive and much more complex than just changing the fitting....grrrr the downside of the Hue is that the GU10's are only available overseas but the LIFX will ship here.

A

For a start, LIFX GU10s are pre-order only at the moment - they claim they'll start shipping to Kickstarter backers in August, then pre-order customers after that. So just be warned if you're looking at GU10s.

This site might help you make a decision: http://smartbulbreviews.com/comparisons/

richms

28194 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#1060652 6-Jun-2014 23:48

The limitless are a bit limiting Imo. They are clearly a remote led that has had the bridge as an afterthought not built for automation.

Can't ramp lights up from off. Can't set colour without turning on. Can't send arbitrary rgb values to the light. Can't send custom fade patterns. Lights go out of sync with each other when several are on the same fade pattern.

Limited to 4 remotes per lamp which the bridge counts as 1 so forget a remote at each table and door.

Rf protocol seems a little fragile with commands going missing sometimes to the lamps closest to my wifi aps on the ceiling.

Lamps use cheap pwm dimming not constant current drivers like most larger led downlights do, so the white has a visible shimmer due to it and the colour ones look like 2 different colours. Newer white ones are much higher frequency but still Noticible flicker when dimmed and you are moving your head or have moving things in the room.

Pros for the limitless - cost stuff all more than a single color non remote led.

for the price I am prepared to put up with all of these issues but I would hope that as time goes on newer lamps come out that are better in all respects.

Richard rich.ms

AKT

335 posts

Ultimate Geek

ID Verified

Lifetime subscriber

#1064472 12-Jun-2014 21:24

Kyanar:
AKT: I am looking into this and I was going to get the Phillips Hue as I thought these were the best. LIFX may be another option too now I've seen these - does anyone know if there's any comparison between the two. Also WeMo may be an option for us to now - any idea when they're due out?

We have a load of MR16 down lighters (24+) which I'd happily change to GU10's but this seems like it is both expensive and much more complex than just changing the fitting....grrrr the downside of the Hue is that the GU10's are only available overseas but the LIFX will ship here.

A

For a start, LIFX GU10s are pre-order only at the moment - they claim they'll start shipping to Kickstarter backers in August, then pre-order customers after that. So just be warned if you're looking at GU10s.

This site might help you make a decision: http://smartbulbreviews.com/comparisons/

That's great info, thanks

Went for the Hue in the end - a bird in the hand is worth 2 in the bush....

LIFX will probably be better but aren't yet and at $$$ I can't justify it. WeMo aren't even in the game yet and I'm not patient enough to wait for either LIFX or WeMo to get up to speed with Hue....

Estimated delivery 16th....

A

Dunnersfella

4086 posts

Uber Geek

#1064483 12-Jun-2014 21:43

I have the Philips Hue's and love them.
What's more, they're tied to my Harmony Ultimate remote, so I can drop the brightness manually with my remote (no need to load an app.) or create presets for MySky or BluRay's etc.
The price is up there, but so is the performance IMHO.

MrMistofeles

66 posts

Master Geek

#1078347 1-Jul-2014 23:17

richms: The limitless are a bit limiting Imo. They are clearly a remote led that has had the bridge as an afterthought not built for automation.

Can't ramp lights up from off. Can't set colour without turning on. Can't send arbitrary rgb values to the light. Can't send custom fade patterns. Lights go out of sync with each other when several are on the same fade pattern.

Limited to 4 remotes per lamp which the bridge counts as 1 so forget a remote at each table and door.

Rf protocol seems a little fragile with commands going missing sometimes to the lamps closest to my wifi aps on the ceiling.

Lamps use cheap pwm dimming not constant current drivers like most larger led downlights do, so the white has a visible shimmer due to it and the colour ones look like 2 different colours. Newer white ones are much higher frequency but still Noticible flicker when dimmed and you are moving your head or have moving things in the room.

Pros for the limitless - cost stuff all more than a single color non remote led.

for the price I am prepared to put up with all of these issues but I would hope that as time goes on newer lamps come out that are better in all respects.

This sums up my experience as well; worth it at LimitlessLED prices, not at WifiLights prices.

Other thing to consider is whether your smart home journey will stop with light bulbs. If you go further you'll want to make sure whichever bulbs you go with are supported by your favourite smart hub software (ninjablocks, opanHAB, etc.) otherwise you'll end up with 101 apps to control 101 appliances.

AKT

335 posts

Ultimate Geek

ID Verified

Lifetime subscriber

#1080944 4-Jul-2014 13:15

Dunnersfella: I have the Philips Hue's and love them.

I have my hue's now but can't login to the website via the app - I've emailed Phillips about it but no response >5 days now. I just get a 404 page. can you (or anyone else) connect the hue app to the my hue portal?

EDIT: its working now....
A

1 | 2