Smart lights have been around for years, but with AI being the overarching theme of CES 2024, it’s no surprise that Hong Kong-based smart light maker Govee has developed some enhanced AI technology to improve some of its most popular products — the AI Sync Box Kit 2 and Rope Light 2. I stopped by its CES booth myself to check it all out, and now I want to put them all over my house.
Govee AI Sync Box Kit 2
Govee is a smart lighting company that has been doing some fun and visually stunning things with TV and gaming experiences to add color and wow factor to your setup. At CES 2023 last year, the company grabbed the attention of gamers with its AI Gaming Sync Box, a device that lets them connect gaming consoles and PCs to it via HDMI, which is in turn connected to one or several of Govee’s lighting products, such as its strip lights or light bars. These can be placed around the TV or monitor or installed on its back to provide glowing, customizable lights that radiate off the wall.
The direct HDMI connection, plus some pretty smart AI algorithms, allow the lights to sync up perfectly and react to whatever mayhem you have going on in your game, in concert with whatever lighting effects you choose or create with the Govee app. Want an explosion of orange and yellow light when you score a kill? You’ve got it.
New for 2024, the new Govee AI Sync Box Kit 2 has upped its game with support for up to 8K resolution, HDMI 2.1 for 120Hz VRR (variable refresh rate) support, and an update to its CogniGlow AI algorithm that now promises 99% accuracy and faster and more dynamic lighting synchronization with in-game content. The result is an eye-popping light show that’s as fast as you can play, with reaction times that makes it feel as though it’s part of the on-screen action. It’s an element you don’t know you need until you try it, and one of my favorite parts is that it has the ability to make your monitor seem much bigger and the gaming more immersive, especially if you have lights set up all around you.
The combinations and configurations in the Govee app are almost endless, and you can also integrate it with the rest of your Govee Home lights, Alexa, and Google Assistant. And later this year an over-the-air Matter update will make it even more compatible with your smart home.
Govee also announced that it has forged a partnership with gaming gear and peripheral maker Corsair to integrate its lighting into its iCUE software so users can control and synchronize the lighting effects of both Corsair RGB peripherals and Govee light strips and bulbs.
The Govee Sync Box Kit 2 is available in a kit that features the connection box, two light towers, and a light strip. So far, there is no pricing information, but Govee says it will be available in the first half of 2024.
Neon Rope Light 2
If you’re a fan of smart home wall lights such as Nanoleaf (Govee has its own, too, called Glide), as well as light strips, then you’ll no doubt be into what Govee has cooked up with its second-generation Neon Rope Light 2.
Sure, you could do something easy like run the Light Rope 2 around your room, behind your TV, or in similar straight, boring lines like that, but the fun comes when you use Light Ropes to create wall art and designs, much like the King Poseidon-like character Govee had displayed at its CES 2024 booth (pictured above).
Not only have the RGBIC (red green blue integrated circuit) lighting effects been upgraded to be smoother, but the material of the strip itself has been made more flexible to bend to your artistic will easier. And its new adhesive bend clips help you to better secure your creation to the wall or other surface of your choosing.
There’s also more control and customization through the Govee Home app. You can use your smartphone’s camera to take a picture of your design and map it so the app can use it to apply different lighting effects to specific parts of the rope. Want Poseidon’s trident to be gold and have a flaming tip? It’s possible.
The Neon Rope 2 is available it black and white colors to suit your décor and will be available, as will the Sync Box Kit 2, in the first half of 2024.
New AI innovations
In addition to Govee’s CogniGlow algorithm, the company shows no signs of slowing down on its AI-based strategy. Govee also announced at CES 2024 that it has also developed AI Lighting Bot, an Artificial Intelligence Generated Content (AIGC) that, the company says, “will be included in the brand’s lighting solutions to bring a new level of fun and interactivity,” according to a press release. “This technology adapts and responds to different scenarios, providing dynamic and responsive lighting effects. Whether for home entertainment, public venues, or special event.”
