Skip to main content

Cheer for your favorite NCAA team and Xfinity will respond with matching lights

Image used with permission by copyright holder

Screaming and hollering at your TV during a March Madness game (or any game, really) is standard behavior for true fans. And while it might feel good to express yourself at critical moments, wouldn’t it feel even better if something actually happened as a result of all that enthusiasm? That is the idea behind Comcast’s new Xfinity March Madness voice commands: Holler at your team and even if the players can’t hear you, your smart home lighting will acknowledge your energy by bathing your media room in your team’s colors.

You can use the interactive feature right now, but you need a few things to make it work. First, you’ll need an Xfinity TV service with an X1 set-top box, and a matching X1 voice remote. You’ll also need to be subscribed to either Comcast’s Xfinity Home, or xFi internet services. Lastly, you need at least one Philips Hue, or LIFX color-capable lightbulb (despite the fact the image above shows a Philips Hue White), though obviously the more of these you have, the better.

Recommended Videos

After pairing your smart lightbulbs with your X1 system via the Xfinity xFi, or Xfinity Home app, you’re ready to go. When it’s time to cheer, grab your X1 voice remote, mash the mic button and let loose with, “Xfinity Home, go (your favorite team’s name)!” For example, say, “Xfinity Home, go Villanova,” and your connected lightbulbs will turn blue and cyan. If you say, “Xfinity Home, go Iowa State,” the lights will turn red and gold. Not all teams have two colors — Houston, for instance, is only red — but every team is represented. The Comcast team has pre-programmed all 68 NCAA teams into the system, so no matter who you’re cheering for, your smart lighting can respond.

It’s not the first time Xfinity has let customers activate their smart lighting through the X1 voice remote. In the past, you’ve been able to say, “Xfinity Home, make lights blue,” but this marks the first time you can do so just by saying the name of a team.

Image used with permission by copyright holder

It’s also not the only NCAA-related set of voice commands. You can also say:

  • “College basketball bracket” to access a full-screen takeover of regional or full tournament standings.
  • “College basketball” to go to the tournament destination in the X1 Sports Guide.
  • “Minnesota Golden Gophers versus Louisville Cardinals” (or any other relevant matchup) for game summaries or how teams facing off stack up against one another.

Here’s the full list of team names, along with their corresponding colors:

Team Color 1 Color 2
Abilene Christian purple
Arizona State maroon gold
Auburn blue orange
Baylor green gold
Belmont blue red
Bradley red
Buffalo blue
Cincinnati red
Colgate maroon
Duke blue
Fairleigh D’son blue red
Florida blue orange
Florida State maroon gold
Gardner-Webb red
Georgia State blue red
Gonzaga blue red
Houston red
Iona maroon gold
Iowa gold
Iowa State red gold
Kansas blue crimson
Kansas State purple
Kentucky blue
Liberty red blue
Louisville red yellow
LSU purple gold
Marquette blue gold
Maryland red gold
Michigan blue gold
Michigan State green
Minnesota maroon gold
Mississippi scarlet
Mississippi State maroon
Montana maroon
Murray State gold blue
NC Central maroon
Nevada blue
New Mexico State crimson
North Carolina light blue blue
North Dakota State green yellow
Northeastern red
Northern Kentucky gold
Ohio State scarlet
Oklahoma crimson
Old Dominion blue light blue
Oregon green yellow
Prarie View A&M purple yellow
Purdue gold
Saint John’s red blue
Saint Louis blue
Saint Mary’s red blue
Seton Hall blue
Syracuse orange
Temple red
Tennessee orange
Texas Tech red
UC Irvine blue gold
UCF gold
Utah State blue
VCU gold
Vermont green yellow
Villanova blue light blue
Virginia blue orange
Virginia Tech maroon orange
Washington purple gold
Wisconsin red
Wofford gold
Yale blue
Simon Cohen
Contributing Editor, A/V
Simon Cohen is a contributing editor to Digital Trends' Audio/Video section, where he obsesses over the latest wireless…
One of the best TVs ever made is below $2,000, and comes with expert delivery
Panasonic Z95A

When you look through our current list of the best TVs, there are exactly two TVs that should stand out to you, even if you're a casual skimmer. The first is the Sony A95L QD-OLED, simply because it is at the top of the list. The second is the Panasonic Z95A, not because it's the runner-up (which it is) but because it's... Panasonic. It's just not a brand we see making winning TVs, but wow, what a winner the Z95A is. We immediately called it one of the best TVs ever made, something that will be apparent to your eyes if you get it. Now, what's exciting about this TV right now is that it has a low price. You can get the 65-inch version of the TV for $1,998 right now, a savings of over $1,200 off its usual $3,200 price point. You can even get a deluxe delivery and unpack for free if you select the right option on the sales page (accessible by tapping the button below). But, this deal has been around for some time now, since around the start of summer. With Prime Day here and ending soon, it's very likely the time for this deal to end as well. If you want one of the best TVs ever for under $2,000, be sure to tap the button below now.

$1,998 at Amazon

Read more
An amazing TV under $1,000 has a sub $500 Prime Day price (and it’s ending soon)
TCL QM6K

We're now in the final moments of Amazon's summer Prime Day 2025 event, and finding critical last-minute deals. Here's one that almost fundamentally changes how you'll likely think about a product. See, we have a whole list of the best TVs under $1,000, a price point that a ton of people that love TVs just don't feel comfortable crossing. Then, we have a separate list for budget TVs, the best TVs under $500. Even though prices (which move up and down!) are quantitative data points, the differences between a sub $1,000 and a sub $500 TV feel almost categorical in nature, like the difference between water and steam. This deal take the $600 55-inch TCL QM6K (one of the TVs in our 'under $1,000' list) and pushes its price down by $152. This puts it at a price of $448, which is an all time low for it on Amazon, transforms it into an 'under $500' TV. Tap the button below to get the transformative deal while Prime Day is still here or continue reading to see why we liked it so much even when it was over $500.

$448 at Amazon

Read more
Our favorite soundbar is 41% off for Prime Day, but time is running out
Samsung HW-Q990D Dolby Atmos Soundbar.

There are a lot of soundbar deals that are still available as we approach the end of Prime Day, but this is the one that you should target -- the Samsung HW-Q990D with a huge 41% discount from Amazon, slashing its price from $1,998 all the way down to just $1,178. It's still expensive, but if you want to make an investment to dramatically improve your home theater setup's audio, you shouldn't miss this chance at $820 in savings. You have to hurry though, as there are only a few hours left before the shopping event closes.

$1,178 at Amazon

Read more