Philips Hue was introduced in 2012 and is the currently leading Smart Lightning system. It features a big lineup of different bulbs, booth white and multi-colored, Lightstripes and a lot of accessoirs like Dimmers, Switches and can be controlled with all existing operating systems and personal assistens like Alexa or Siri.
I made this thread because I bought my first Hue bulbs a few days ago and am in desperate need for some advice and help, because the App-Ecosystem looks overwhelming as hell. Also I think that with the upcoming Entertainment Update its good to have a place to talk about all of this stuff.
FAQ:
What Do I need?
To begin with, you need a Hue Bridge
Its the Controllsystem of the whole system. Its going to serve as the server, with which you pair bulbs, lightstripes, dimmer and switches. Also, you save your routines and timer here. This is how you set everything up.
Do I need a Smartphone to use Hue? No! You can also set everything up with your PC, but you can have much more options if you have a Smartphone.
The bulbs are so expensive! Where can I get cheaper ones? You can buy Ikeas Tradfri bulbs! They can be updated with the very own bridge of Ikea to work with Hue and the new charge with the serialnumber 1721 for directly from the store with Hue (Source: German Techblog Stadt-Bremerhaven Its unknown yet if this is also true for america). Also, they are much cheaper.
I have bulbs that I can turn on with a switch. Why should I buy Hue? Because you can do much more with Hue. You can make Partylights that match with the beats of rhythm of music. You can make mood lights. You can make notifications when Trump writes something stupid on Twitter. You can make Countdowns. You can make the light switch on when you enter the house. You can switch the color of the light to dark-blue whenever the ISS flies over your house. You can do whatever you want.
I love the concept of Ambilight, but I think that Philips TVs are crap! What can I do? Later this year, Philips is going to introduce Philips Hue Entertainment, a solution to light your room matching with the color of the content you are currently watching. Its still unknown, how this protocol is going to look like in the end and how its going to work in the end, but you can right now do something similar, if you install the App Screenbloom on your PC and start Netflix on booth your computer and your TV at the same time
Why dont you make a general thread for Smart Home stuff?
Because Hue is a big enough ecosystem on its own and deserves a own thread that doesnt fizzle out in discussions about thermostates and doorbells and stuff
Why is this such a shitty looking OP for a Community Thread?
Becuse I cant do Photoshop, but I would love to see someone help me a bit out with fancy graphics
Bulbs (thank you to Vyer for making this part):
Hue bulbs
There are a variety of different types of official Hue bulbs you can choose from. Here are the standard size bulbs:
Hue White
Hue's standard white bulb with dimming.
Hue White Ambiance
White bulb with dimming plus the ability to change white color temperature, like going from a 'soft white' to 'daylight'.
Hue White and Color Ambiance
Everything the White Ambiance can do plus a full range of color changing capabilities.
Important Links:
Official Website
Hue App for iOS
Hue App for Android
If-this-then-this for Hue
LIFX (Concurrence product) overview, thanks to giga
Comparison Hue/LIFX thanks to tokkun