By admin 
I would not name myself a flashy individual, however when it comes to smart lighting, I am ready to go all-out. In my home, I am utilizing the whole lot from standing lamps like Philips Hue’s Signe gradient lamp and TV backlight to the Govee Desk Lamp 2 to give my home lighting some pizzazz.
Till just lately, my setup included my beloved Nanoleaf black hexagon wall panels, which served each as conventional and immersive smart lighting when hooked up to my PC through the Nanoleaf Desktop app, as well as to the distant controls afforded by the cell app. Sadly, my new digs do not afford me the wallspace for these, so I used to be excited to see if Nanoleaf’s newest gaming launch, the Pegboard Desk Dock, would suitably fill the RGB-shaped void in my life.
Would that it have been so easy.
I did not peg you as a quitter
I am within the throes of reviewing Nanoleaf’s Pegboard Desk Dock, so that is removed from a remaining verdict, however my early impressions inform a cautionary story for all immersive lighting fanatics. This 3-in-1 smart mild and desktop combo is an superior idea; well designed, arriving with 4 hooks every, which could be organized on the Pegboard to maintain your gaming controllers, handheld PCs, and headsets. When you’d moderately simply have the Pegboard as a show piece, you may simply pull it out of the bottom and flip it round to present the rear mild panel.
For me, this was a dream product. I am all the time wanting for methods to optimize my desk house, particularly since I downsized when transferring home, and I really like Nanoleaf’s wider vary of smart lights.
So, after eagerly unboxing and setting up my new lights, I used to be keen to see my new setup in all its glory. Simply watching the lights cycle by way of the colours of the rainbow earlier than I would even paired them with Nanoleaf’s software program was thrilling sufficient.
Not like many of Nanoleaf’s different merchandise, nevertheless, the Pegboard cannot be added to the Nanoleaf cell app; it really works completely throughout the Nanoleaf Desktop app, and that is the place my first downside got here in.
Whereas the lights’ primary settings labored simply superb when unpaired, as quickly as I related them to the app and tried to change their shade output, they ceased to operate, flashing on and off sporadically, rejecting any peripherals I plugged into the bottom and intermittently showing as “Unreachable” throughout the Nanoleaf app.
I would thought it was maybe as a result of they wanted extra energy, so I plugged in my energy provide; no pleasure. The software program additionally gives little troubleshooting for the issue, and with the whole lot working easily till the purpose I attempted to pair them, I’ve come up brief making an attempt to repair them myself. I’ve but to contact Nanoleaf concerning the difficulty, which I am going to certainly do earlier than I give my remaining verdict, and I am greater than sure {that a} decision exists; nevertheless, my expertise paints a broader image of immersive smart home lighting challenges.
Greater fish to fry
I do not relish bemoaning the woeful state of smart home interoperability as soon as once more. The straightforward truth is, it is everybody’s greatest downside, and that is not unique to smart lighting for the home; any smart home model taking the walled backyard strategy, of which there are many, earns my ire within the age of Matter compatibility.
Gaming lights, particularly, undergo. On my gaming laptop computer, I’ve acquired a plethora of RGB and smart mild controlling apps; Logitech G Hub, HyperX NGENUITY, Corsair iCUE, Razer Chroma, and Nanoleaf being those I used for this setup.
Now, a few of these play good with one another; specifically, Nanoleaf hyperlinks up to each Corsair iCUE and Razer Chroma, however that also leaves half of my peripherals setup disconnected. You are additionally on the mercy of software program updates, which, particularly if you happen to use a hub app with a number of platforms related to it, could make or break your setup.
There’s additionally the non-small difficulty of the software program itself. Working these background apps, particularly if you happen to aren’t in a position to whittle them down by integrating totally different platforms, can use a good bit of CPU and RAM. Particularly if you happen to’re enjoying on a extra light-weight machine, that may finish up being fairly detrimental for high-stakes gaming.
Not all hope is misplaced when it comes to immersive smart lighting, although. Software program like SignalRGB and OpenRGB goes a great distance to mitigate compatibility issues, even when these are removed from excellent. Nonetheless, issues are on course, simply at a glacial tempo – and if smart mild makers need to mild up the lives of avid gamers the world over, that may want to change to preserve up with the subtle interfaces and experiences we’re used to from our tech.
Even when it comes to immersive lighting for the TV, you may guess issues are by no means easy. Display screen extending lighting is more and more widespread, but your choices lately are restricted; splurge on a dear Philips Ambilight TV, choose for the still-pricey Hue mild strip and sync field (which requires HDMI enter and thus will not work with cable TV or built-in Smart TV software program) or choose for a product like Nanoleaf 4D or Govee Ambient TV backlight, which factors a digicam at your display screen to detect the motion, will invariably have some small enter lag.
My greatest recommendation? Stick to as many merchandise from one mild maker as doable, and for PC gaming, that may, in all chance, be a peripherals producer with extra deal with the RGB than the smart lighting of all of it.
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