Do you remember that feeling when you've just got the house decorated for Christmas?
Wreaths on the door? Lights on the tree? Maybe you've even got a projector for your exterior lights?
Chances are you've got some form of festive lighting up in your household – and they might even be the first thing that springs to mind when you hear the phrase 'Christmas decorations'.
So, if the rest of your living room is already adorned with decorations and glistening lights, why should the centrepiece – your TV setup, of course – be left bare?
I recently wrote about my experiences of adding an LED lightstrip to my TV, and how, in certain situations, it can transform movie-watching into an immensely immersive experience.
Having tried out the Govee TV Backlight 3 Pro over the festive period, however, I'm convinced that Christmas is one of those situations where LED light strips and the similar Ambilight technology excels.
If you're watching TV with your Christmas tree lights on and various other ornaments and decorations twinkling in the background, light pollution is hardly a new issue – if anything, it helps keep your attention rightfully focused on your TV, and not any dancing Santas or light-up snowglobes you have dotted around.
While purists might understandably want a blacked-out room to watch more serious films, the light-hearted fare we tend to watch at Christmas time demands no such treatment. Most Christmas movies and TV specials are designed to be watched semi-comatose on the sofa with a belly full of turkey, and mulled wine in hand. And light strips, if anything, may ease the impact on your sleepy eyes from the high brightness of modern TVs.
The bright colours of Christmas fare also lend themselves well to an LED light strip or Ambilight. Snowy scenes such as the North Pole in Elf or the opening of Man Vs Baby fill the whole room with a dazzling white light, and given the amount of decorations and lights featured in these films, the TV comparatively looks a bit bare if you turn the light strips off. Even the now festive offering of Stranger Things benefits well from the light syncing, with my entire living room transported to the Upside Down thanks to a satisfying red hue.
The Govee app also offers several light options beyond syncing to your screen, such as allowing the strip to function as de facto Christmas lights when your TV is not in use. There are several options available – you can create your own light show, choose from built-in Christmas presets, search community-made effects or even ask AI to create a light sequence from your prompt. It can be a bit much to have on regularly, but it does make for a nice light display in a darkened room.
There is, of course, a chance of overstimulation here, given all the other Christmas knick-knacks, and during daytime ambient lighting the light strips are still fighting a losing battle.
But at the time of year when we all cosy up in front of the sofa and stick up lights all over our house and various flora, adding some to the TV also makes perfect sense. LED light strips are not always effective in every situation – but Christmas is certainly the time for the technology to, well… shine.
MORE:
Read our Philips OLED909 review
And our Philips OLED809 review
Check out our picks for the best TVs
