Govee AI Gaming Sync Box Kit – Is it worth buying?

The Govee AI Gaming Sync Box Kit promises an immersive and synchronized visual experience to enhance your gaming ambiance. The sleek design and advanced AI algorithms analyze and process visuals from games, movies, and music, transforming them into dynamic lighting effects that extend beyond the screen. If you are a gamer looking for an immersive experience and enhanced ambiance, you can have a look. Here is everything you need to know about Kit’s performance, installation process, and user experience.

Govee AI Gaming Sync Box Kit

Design

The Govee AI Sync Box Kit comes with a user manual, a fast start guide, two light bars, an LED light strip, a power adapter, an HDMI cable, and a few mounting clips. The light strip is separated into four portions to fit the edges of a monitor with a size between 27 and 34 inches. You can stick it on by simply peeling off the backing. Govee has cable management so that everything is as organized as possible. When switched off, you can hardly see it because of the slim form. The dual light bars, each with gradient lighting, are made to stand on either side of your desk and widen the light display. You need to fit the bases and place them on your desk. After that, connect the strip and towers to the rectangular sync box to complete the configuration.

Resolution and Connection

The box itself has three HDMI 2.0 In connections, one HDMI 2.0 Out port, two USB-C connections from Govee products, and its RGB that interacts with the rest of the lighting. It can support 1080p at 240Hz, 2K at 144Hz, and 4K at 60Hz. Even while the existing system provides most of the modes, it isn’t 8K ready. In order to allow 100Hz at a resolution of 3440 x 1440 in the Nvidia settings, you need to set up a custom image resolution. Using an HDMI switch has the advantage of speeding up switching between inputs. Dolby Vision and HDR 10+ are also supported, but as HDMI 2.1 is not present, 4K at 120 Hz is not possible.

Instead of being powered by a USB connection to the PC, the device is fueled by an additional power station. The sync box can also control additional Govee lights in the space. Thus, establishing their relative positions in the app for a synchronized light show. With the synchronization, it can match the colors onscreen, sync to music, and use AI to respond to game action.

Components

A built-in remote control for this light has power buttons, a scene selector, and a music mode that enables the light to respond to music. There are three primary components to the kit. The sync box acts as the operation’s brain. For connecting your lighting, it features two USB-C connections, one HDMI output, and three HDMI inputs. It includes two buttons on the front, one for selecting input and the other for toggling the lights on and off. When turned on, the RGB lighting around the front edge of the sync box will demonstrate what the other lighting units should be doing. You can customize it in the Govee app to display various effects. The two light towers are connected by wires that end in a single USB-C connector. To increase the lighting impact, you can place them on either side of your monitor with the lights toward the wall.

The RGB strip is cut into pre-determined lengths and connected by a flexible cable. Additionally, this ends in a USB-C port for attaching to the sync box. The strip is intended to be attached to the back of your monitor and is backed by 3M VHB tape. Two HDMI cables, a power adapter, some self-adhesive cable ties, screws, and a small screwdriver are also included in the box.

Lighting

Compared to the tedious and time-consuming configuration of the DreamView G1, this merely takes a few minutes. The box can be put into the sync mode, with options for the illumination mode, in its most basic configuration. The lighting has no latency, which is a common issue with this kind of setup. The lights are vivid, and the color matching seems to be rather good. Govee’s AI is designed to recognize in-game activities and trigger lighting effects that convey information, the color matching divides the screen into a grid to match colors in the appropriate zones. However, only a few games, like Apex Legends, Valorant, Overwatch, and League of Legends, support this. Red flashes when you take damage, green for a medical kit, or flashing and sparkling to mark wins are a few examples of the customizable lighting effects available in games.

This clever concept increases the lighting’s usefulness. With time, Govee might increase support. These effects work best in action and fast-paced first-person shooter games. The Govee AI Gaming Sync Box can provide reactive lighting for whatever game you play on your monitor. This includes movies and TV shows because it analyses the image through HDMI. Although it is precise, it may occasionally become annoying. Light synchronizing is simply not desirable for the majority of TV episodes, movies, and slower-paced video games.

How does it work?

The Govee AI Gaming Sync box shows the backsplash lighting using direct capture via the box’s passthrough instead of using a camera. This indicates that the AI Sync Box responds almost instantly. You can see the lighting changing with every window change, game motion, or video frame. Simply plug it in and it will begin to function. Although this is aimed at PC gamers, you can even connect it to a console as well. With three HDMI-In connections, you may connect your PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X at any moment. With the lighting, you can enhance the ambiance of your gaming world. Moreover, with the 4K display, you can fully immerse yourself in the experience.

Additionally, the lighting isn’t just limited to video games. You can enjoy movies as well as YouTube videos with a splash of colors. The CogniFLow algorithm provides almost instantaneous responsiveness in games that are compatible. The CogniFLow algorithm has undergone extensive training using a vast collection of images derived from the games it is designed to support. Although it doesn’t employ AI to create that color scape, there is a very tiny list of supported games, yet despite this, they are all immersive.

Installation

You may set up your new system using the Govee Home app for iOS or Android. Despite its immense versatility, you will need some time to become familiar with all of the possibilities. Even though there isn’t a PC version, the Bluetooth connections are quick and the mobile app performs effectively. There are numerous color and illumination options available. 14 on the light strip and 5 on each light bar make up a total of 24 distinct LED zones that can be customized.

Assembling Components

It is a bit difficult to set up because it relies on a webcam to view what was happening on the screen. After assembling the components, you need to screw on the base of the two tall, thin light bars to ensure that the lights are pointed in the right direction. Then, mount the light strip on the monitor’s back. The strip can easily fit the display size between 27-34 inches. The RGB strip is pre-segmented into four portions, one for each side of the screen. To install the LED light strips, you need to clean the area with alcohol wipes. This gets rid of any dust or residue that can cause the double-sided tape to fail.

Make sure that the USB connector’s portion of the strip is placed towards the bottom of the monitor for easier cable management. For the best light dispersion, align the light strips as closely as possible to the monitor’s edges. You might get a lot of wire clutter. So, it’s better to keep wire organizers with you. The AI sync box and the light bar towers need to be placed near the display and plugged in once the lights have been securely mounted to the back of the monitor. Then, attach an HDMI cable from a graphics card output to one of the sync box’s three inputs. Run a second HDMI cable from the sync box’s output port to an input on the monitor.

Additionally, the box has 2 USB Type-C ports that are utilized to connect the light bars. Once everything is set up, make sure everything is lit up. You can then start the setup in the Govee Home mobile app. You need to select which side is which in the app and then it is ready to go.

Software

When using the Govee Home for the first time with the new lights, the app will prompt you to calibrate the system. You just need to indicate in which direction the LED strip was routed on the back of the monitor. You can select solid colors, select premade scenes, create scenes of your own, or set the lights to react to music. The app’s Movie Watching DreamView area helps you make the most of the sync box’s AI capabilities. You can turn on AI Identification in DreamView so that the sync box recognizes significant game events and the associated lights respond appropriately.

The app currently only supports a few titles. The sync box will nevertheless continuously analyze any video input when in video mode and project the right colors on a wall. There are a few physical buttons on the front of the sync box. You can switch inputs and turn the entire lighting system on and off. To add the kit, simply connect it to your Google Home account. Then you can use your voice to turn it on and off, adjust the brightness, or incorporate it into your regular automation routines. The program offers a wide variety of lighting options, so you are not limited to only showing colors that correspond to the action on screen.

You may choose from a vast selection of preset and user-generated settings. The range varies from subtle ambient lighting to full-on strobing disco effects if you want your monitor illumination to move in time with the music. The Govee company’s other products work well with the Sync Box Kit as well. You can sync both of the products with the monitor illumination. When this is turned on, you can pick which screen portions you want to replicate in your other Govee products.

Performance

The Govee AI Sync Box responds to what is displayed on a screen quicker than camera-based systems. This kit’s AI gaming capabilities set it distinct from similar products. Color accuracy is significantly better on this device than on the Govee G1, as the signal is decoded from the HDMI box. A graphics card and sync box connected through HDMI help the system to work instantaneously. The system uses AI algorithms to identify in-game accomplishments and events like kills, deaths, and victories. You can observe the lights reacting to significant game-ending achievements too. Several variables affect how effectively the light show functions.

At the end of the game, the light bars and LED strip on the monitor’s back put on quite a light show. The sync box doesn’t have any direct interaction with the code of a game. So when more games are enabled, you will be able to enjoy AI-powered illumination on different platforms. The experience is significantly different but still better than playing in the dark for other games that do not support AI Sync Box. Games with more static backdrops have lighting that is less impressive because the effects are solely dependent on the title’s primary color palette. The sync box will attempt to identify the game you are playing and add extra lighting effects to correspond with in-game activities when the AI Identification mode is turned on.

Since it is only connected via HDMI, it isn’t communicating with the game API directly. Instead, it searches for in-game components using image recognition before applying appropriate effects. Additionally, the picture recognition technique has the benefit of working with gameplay recordings as well.

Limitations

The AI component of the Govee AI Gaming Sync box could feel a little underutilized due to the minimal number of games available. Hopefully, Govee will keep adding games to the platform in the future. Even though, it is designed for PC gamers, neither DisplayPort nor HDMI 2.1 for high refresh rate monitors are available. The fact that the Govee AI Gaming Sync unit doesn’t seem to allow a variable refresh rate is troubling. The GSync options in the Nvidia Control Panel aren’t accessible too. With these restrictions in place, it seems strange to target PC players.

These restrictions aren’t as apparent on TVs as they are on powerful gaming rigs because most models only support HDMI and very few models support VRR. Because of this, many PC gamers who purchase the Sync box will have to decide whether to sacrifice some monitor processing power for immersive illumination. The Govee AI Gaming Sync Box Kit cannot connect to smart home devices without a Wi-Fi connection. So, if you have a poor Wi-Fi signal in your home theatre or gaming area, you may experience problems because of this.

Conclusion

Govee is a well-known brand among PC gamers due to its broad selection of smart lights. The AI Sync Box and its illumination are compatible with Google Home and Alexa smart home devices. You can do voice command features, such as turning the system on and off and changing solid colors. However, the Govee Home app is still needed to construct more complex lighting scenes. Even when playing games that don’t yet fully integrate Govee’s CogniGlow AI, you can enjoy the lighting effects. Although it is lacking in a few areas, it is still a good addition to your gaming setup. If you are okay with the cost and connectivity type, the Govee AI Gaming Sync Box is a good buy. You can enhance the ambiance of your gaming space with AI support.

You can enjoy excellent color fidelity, and grow the system by adding more Govee lights. The software also has a music mode that synchronizes the lighting with the song’s beat to create a lively and enjoyable environment. This device is ideal for people who still use 1080p and 1440p displays and don’t care about VRR. The HDMI ports are useful for console and TV setups. However, the HDMI 2.0 switch does not support 8K or 4K beyond 60Hz. Additionally, you can control your devices using voice commands through Alexa and Google Assistant. Also, considering its connectivity with the larger Govee ecosystem and smart home kits, there is a tonne of capability there and you get a lot of gear for your money.

What are your thoughts about AI Gaming Sync Lighting? Tell us in the comments section below.

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