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Transform your TV setup: WiZ HDMI Sync Box and gradient lights review

Transform your TV setup: WiZ HDMI Sync Box and gradient lights review

Irish Examiner24-07-2025
The WiZ HDMI Sync Box and Gradient Light Bars offer a more affordable alternative to something like Philips' Hue HDMI Sync Box, allowing you to turn your living room into an immersive light show.
Design and setup
If you're not interested in a complicated setup, you're in luck because there's no need to awkwardly mount a camera on top of your TV or go through any complex calibration steps. Simply plug the Sync Box into your streaming box, console, or set-top box, and attach the included RGBIC LED light strip to the back of your TV. I used the model designed for 55- to 65-inch TVs (€89.99), although a version is also available for larger 75- to 85-inch screens (€109.99).
The HDMI Sync Box supports HDMI 2.0 and handles video resolutions up to 4K at 60Hz, with support for HDR10+ and Dolby Vision. While HDMI 2.1 and support for 4K at 120Hz would have been a welcome bonus, it's entirely forgivable at this price point. Everything links via the WiZ app over Wi-Fi, and you can also use Google Assistant, Alexa, or the optional WiZ remote control for hands-free operation.
Light performance
Once set up, the system impresses with how quickly and accurately the lighting reacts to on-screen content. Colours from your favourite films, games, or shows extend beyond the TV and spill onto your walls, creating a more immersive experience. Explosions glow brighter, sunsets feel warmer, and fantasy worlds look more alive.
The included LED strip wraps around three sides of your TV and produces seamless colour transitions. Depending on your mood or content, you can switch between different sync styles. Cinematic mode delivers smooth, gradual lighting transitions that are ideal for films and TV shows. If you want something more punchy, Vibrant mode offers intense colour saturation that really pops. Relaxation mode brings softer hues to the room for ambient watching, while Rhythmic mode synchronises the lights with audio for music sessions.
There's also a built-in microphone on the Sync Box itself, allowing it to adapt to both sound and visuals. Streaming your favourite playlist or hosting a get-together? The lighting shifts dynamically in sync with the beat, requiring no additional input.
Optional add-ons
To fully immerse yourself, the WiZ Gradient Light Bars (€59.99) and Gradient Floor Light are well worth considering. I tested Light Bars, and they dramatically extend the ambience beyond just the TV wall.
The Gradient Light Bars feature a multicolour segment design that displays multiple hues simultaneously. Each bar can be controlled independently, and mounting them is straightforward. You can place them vertically beside your screen, or horizontally on desks and counters for even more atmospheric wash lighting.
Both lights are also Matter-compatible, allowing you to control them using Alexa, Google Home, or Apple HomeKit, thereby adding even more smart home versatility.
Smart control and sync features
The experience is highly customisable through the WiZ app. You can adjust brightness, colour saturation, intensity, and transition speed. There's even an auto-switching feature so the lights start syncing the moment your HDMI source is powered on.
What's more impressive is that you can link up to 32 WiZ colour-capable lights, as long as they're on the same Wi-Fi network. This opens up the possibility of a full-room immersive lighting setup for serious home cinema fans or RGB enthusiasts.
While the light syncing effect can be immersive during dynamic content, it's not always desirable. For more everyday viewing, I preferred setting a static colour — a simple adjustment via the app.
Verdict
The WiZ HDMI Sync Box and Gradient Lights deliver a seamless, screen-enhancing experience that's immersive, affordable, and surprisingly easy to set up. If you're craving next-level ambience for movies, games or music, this one's a no-brainer.
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Barry O'Sullivan: ChatGPT is not your friend
Barry O'Sullivan: ChatGPT is not your friend

Irish Examiner

time25-07-2025

  • Irish Examiner

Barry O'Sullivan: ChatGPT is not your friend

Artificial intelligence is a broad umbrella term for computer systems that perform tasks that we think of as requiring human intelligence – and, despite all the fuss about it lately, we've been using it for decades. There are AI systems that learn, that can process natural language, that can play complex games and be strategic, that can interpret visual scenes and images, and so on. We use AI systems every day. Some examples include satellite navigation systems in cars and mobile phones, voice assistants such as Amazon's Alexa, the features of streaming platforms such as Netflix or Spotify that suggest what you might enjoy next, news items on social media feeds are selected for us using AI, and even the Google search engine itself. AI is ubiquitous in our lives. The term itself was coined in 1955 by John McCarthy, Marvin Minsky, Nathaniel Rochester, and Claude Shannon, in a proposal for a summer project at Dartmouth. An interesting connection to Ireland: McCarthy's father, John Patrick, was from Cromane in County Kerry and emigrated to the USA where his genius son was born. Since its widespread release in November 2022, OpenAI's ChatGPT has probably become the most widely talked about artificial intelligence technology in the world. It is an example of a Large-Language Model – an LLM - which can generate plausible text in response to a question or search query, often referred to as a prompt, on every conceivable topic. ChatGPT, and other similar chatbots, such as Google's Gemini and Anthropic's Claude, can write very sophisticated answers in terms of content style. For example, one could ask for an essay on the 1916 Rising written in the rhyming style of Dr Seuss, and ChatGPT will generate a response instantly and rather brilliantly. ChatGPT is a cutting-edge chatbot, built using state-of-the-art machine-learning AI methods. 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Instead, informally speaking, they have learned that particular sequences of words tend to occur with other sequences of words. In the AI world we say that these systems lack a commonsense understanding of the world. Whether the text is true or false means nothing to them. They often generate text that is misleading or downright incorrect. They 'hallucinate', meaning they invent things that are not true. There is no harm intended, but because they don't understand the world or what they are saying, they are essentially 'stochastic parrots', as a well-known research paper has described LLMs. The analogy I like to use comes from Killinaskully and specifically Pat Shortt's character Dan Clancy who sits between his friends in Jacksie's Bar. Ask Dan anything you want. He'll answer you earnestly and to the best of his ability. He might make up a few details along the way, unintentionally of course. Maybe you'd prefer him to close his eyes and recite his answer poetically with his hand on his heart and in the style of Padraig Pearse. No problem. While this analogy is somewhat facetious, it demonstrates the challenges that arise when one uses ChatGPT and other LLMs in specific settings. Barry O'Sullivan: 'If a user believes in a conspiracy theory, for example, the user could use a chatbot like ChatGPT to engage in a dialogue that has the consequence of confirming the user's beliefs.' Picture: LinkedIn The purpose of an LLM is to generate plausible text, ideally that the user will engage with so it can be refined further. One can get into a conversation with an LLM by tweaking the original prompt. For example, ask ChatGPT to tell you how to prepare a roast chicken, it will respond with detailed instructions, but you might feel that you'd prefer the skin to be a little crispier and articulate that. ChatGPT will offer up a revised response, hopefully a more acceptable one. 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Barry O'Sullivan is a professor at the School of Computer Science & IT at University College Cork, founding director of the Research Ireland Centre for Research Training on Artificial Intelligence, a member of the Irish Government's AI Advisory Council, and former Vice Chair of the European High-Level Expert Group on Artificial Intelligence Read More Gen Z Student: Knowing my own essays will be graded against the work of AI is disheartening

Transform your TV setup: WiZ HDMI Sync Box and gradient lights review
Transform your TV setup: WiZ HDMI Sync Box and gradient lights review

Irish Examiner

time24-07-2025

  • Irish Examiner

Transform your TV setup: WiZ HDMI Sync Box and gradient lights review

The WiZ HDMI Sync Box and Gradient Light Bars offer a more affordable alternative to something like Philips' Hue HDMI Sync Box, allowing you to turn your living room into an immersive light show. Design and setup If you're not interested in a complicated setup, you're in luck because there's no need to awkwardly mount a camera on top of your TV or go through any complex calibration steps. Simply plug the Sync Box into your streaming box, console, or set-top box, and attach the included RGBIC LED light strip to the back of your TV. I used the model designed for 55- to 65-inch TVs (€89.99), although a version is also available for larger 75- to 85-inch screens (€109.99). The HDMI Sync Box supports HDMI 2.0 and handles video resolutions up to 4K at 60Hz, with support for HDR10+ and Dolby Vision. While HDMI 2.1 and support for 4K at 120Hz would have been a welcome bonus, it's entirely forgivable at this price point. Everything links via the WiZ app over Wi-Fi, and you can also use Google Assistant, Alexa, or the optional WiZ remote control for hands-free operation. Light performance Once set up, the system impresses with how quickly and accurately the lighting reacts to on-screen content. Colours from your favourite films, games, or shows extend beyond the TV and spill onto your walls, creating a more immersive experience. Explosions glow brighter, sunsets feel warmer, and fantasy worlds look more alive. The included LED strip wraps around three sides of your TV and produces seamless colour transitions. Depending on your mood or content, you can switch between different sync styles. Cinematic mode delivers smooth, gradual lighting transitions that are ideal for films and TV shows. If you want something more punchy, Vibrant mode offers intense colour saturation that really pops. Relaxation mode brings softer hues to the room for ambient watching, while Rhythmic mode synchronises the lights with audio for music sessions. There's also a built-in microphone on the Sync Box itself, allowing it to adapt to both sound and visuals. Streaming your favourite playlist or hosting a get-together? The lighting shifts dynamically in sync with the beat, requiring no additional input. Optional add-ons To fully immerse yourself, the WiZ Gradient Light Bars (€59.99) and Gradient Floor Light are well worth considering. I tested Light Bars, and they dramatically extend the ambience beyond just the TV wall. The Gradient Light Bars feature a multicolour segment design that displays multiple hues simultaneously. Each bar can be controlled independently, and mounting them is straightforward. You can place them vertically beside your screen, or horizontally on desks and counters for even more atmospheric wash lighting. Both lights are also Matter-compatible, allowing you to control them using Alexa, Google Home, or Apple HomeKit, thereby adding even more smart home versatility. Smart control and sync features The experience is highly customisable through the WiZ app. You can adjust brightness, colour saturation, intensity, and transition speed. There's even an auto-switching feature so the lights start syncing the moment your HDMI source is powered on. What's more impressive is that you can link up to 32 WiZ colour-capable lights, as long as they're on the same Wi-Fi network. This opens up the possibility of a full-room immersive lighting setup for serious home cinema fans or RGB enthusiasts. While the light syncing effect can be immersive during dynamic content, it's not always desirable. For more everyday viewing, I preferred setting a static colour — a simple adjustment via the app. Verdict The WiZ HDMI Sync Box and Gradient Lights deliver a seamless, screen-enhancing experience that's immersive, affordable, and surprisingly easy to set up. If you're craving next-level ambience for movies, games or music, this one's a no-brainer.

June sees 50% jump in car registrations
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Irish Examiner

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  • Irish Examiner

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