Somerset, NJ – Philips Lighting (Euronext Amsterdam ticker: LIGHT), a global leader in lighting, today unveiled its plan for a new immersive entertainment capability as well as enhanced smart home functionality, ahead of the 5th birthday of the world’s most popular smart home lighting system, Philips Hue.
 

Philips Hue Entertainment – immersive ‘surround sound’ for the eyes

Philips Lighting announced plans for Philips Hue Entertainment, a software update that takes home entertainment to a new level. It synchronizes Philips Hue lights perfectly with movies, gaming and music content (including streamed content), provided in close collaboration with the entertainment industry. The new feature follows successful entertainment pilots with Syfy and Live Nation. Customers will have access to Philips Hue Entertainment in December through a free, over-the-air update for all existing Philips Hue V2 bridges and Philips Hue color-capable lights.
 

“Philips Hue Entertainment will be fast, synchronous and easy to set up. We want Philips Hue to be a natural ingredient of any gaming, movie or audio experience, complementing action on the screen. We like to think of it as surround sound for the eyes – delivering a new level of spatial immersion,” explains Chris Worp, Home business group leader, Philips Lighting. “We are committed to developing Philips Hue Entertainment along with our partners and leading brands, and invite players in the entertainment industry to join us. In October, we will open up a program, which will allow partners to use our platform capabilities and entertainment developer kit to advance this functionality further ahead of our December launch. Together, we will create a new generation of immersive entertainment experiences.”
 

For more information or to become part of the Philips Hue Entertainment developments, check the developers’ pages of Meethue.com. To read our tech blog on Philips Hue Entertainment, please click here.
 

Extending smart home control

By October, Philips Hue’s Apple HomeKit compatibility will be extended to its range of controls, namely the Philips Hue Tap, Philips Hue motion sensor and Philips Hue wireless dimmer switch, via the Philips Hue bridge. This means with a press of a button or movement of your body, you can activate your favorite Apple Home app scenes. For example, when your movie ends and it’s time for bed, with one press of the Philips Hue Tap, your Good Night scene in the Apple Home app is activated, and your lights switch off. When integrated with other smart home devices, you can even make your window blinds shut, thermostat turn to night temperature settings and lock the doors – ensuring the perfect sleep time setup.
 

Philips Hue and Zigbee 3.0 compliance

Since its launch, Philips Hue has supported open interoperability using the Zigbee Light Link standard. This ensures that devices created by third parties can work alongside the official Philips Hue lights within the Hue ecosystem. Philips Lighting is committed to adopt the new standard, Zigbee 3.0, for the Philips Hue portfolio of products starting in the first quarter of 2018.