One of the coolest little tricks you can do to make your TV image look better is to add some bias lighting. That means your screen is backlit, usually with a gentle glow behind it, which makes colours pop more and makes blacks look deeper. It’s an old trick, but one that has some newer spins with smart lighting systems like the Nanoleaf 4D that match the colour and movement of what’s happening on screen.
If we already know the three basic dimensions that make up our world (and the idea of 3DTV has already come and gone), then what’s the fourth dimension the Nanoleaf 4D is referencing here? Time is usually referred to as the fourth dimension, but in this case…it’s a smart light strip and a small camera, all hooked up to a smart home app.
For $189.99, you get a light strip sized to wrap around the back of a 65-inch TV (an 85-inch version is also available, for $229.99), a camera that be mounted either above or below the TV, and a small control panel box, although the setup can still be controlled by the Nanoleaf smartphone app as well.
The Nanoleaf 4D uses its camera to see the movement and colours on your screen, then sends instructions to the lightstrip wrapped around the back of the TV, providing matching colours that feel like they expand the borders of the TV, letting the content bleed out onto the wall behind it.
The app includes options for setting a single colour and leaving it, as well as four immersive modes, called mirror modes, each of which increase how active and fast-paced the colour changes are. Of the four settings, labeled 1D, 2D, 3D, and 4D, I found myself on the 2D or 3D settings most often. 4D was too kinetic and distracting, and I think you want bias lighting to be a subtle effect, not one that overpowers what’s on the screen.
If you have other Nanoleaf lights, they can be arranged near the TV and the camera input can control those as well.
Camera placement and privacy
Setup was easy, although I have lots of experience with Nanoleaf’s smart lighting panels, so I know my way around the app already. The biggest issue I ran into, and I’ve heard other owners say the same, is that the provided smart light strip is a little too short to go all the way around the back of a 65-inch TV, leaving a small gap.
The next issue is where to place the camera. It comes with a bendable arm to mount it above the top edge of the TV, pointing down at the screen. Personally, I found that distracting and didn’t want to look at it all the time. Fortunately, you can also take the camera out of its arm and mount it below the TV, looking up at the screen.
While the camera isn’t sending audio and video anywhere offsite, just through its own local app, you still might not want a live webcam-style device in your living room, watching your TV choices along with you. That’s a legit feeling. Fortunately, the camera comes with a magnetic snap-on cover that goes over the lens, and you can always just unplug it whenever you feel like it.
Colors for movies and games
I found the system worked best when reacting to bright, colourful scenes, and was especially impressed by how it could track movement, for example rotating colours around the screen to match a character with a torch or flashlight.
Darker scenes tended to freak the system out a bit, and I got too many random flashes of light that didn’t mesh as well. If the reaction of the lightstrip seemed too distracting and over the top, I’d pop into the Nanoleaf app and either turn down the overall brightness or drop the immersion level to the 2nd or 3rd level instead of the 4th level.
The system worked especially great on the YouTube screensaver apps of fireplaces and other relaxing scenes I sometimes put up in the background.
Similar camera-based systems for TV bias lighting cost just as much, if not more, so getting access to the Nanoleaf ecosystem and high-end build quality makes this a go-to for $189.99. If you just want a little generic backlighting, a simple smart LED strip can do the job for under $30, but you’d have to set the colours yourself and live without the interactive element.