Ambient lighting behind display?? (1 Viewer)

[systemlord]

I like to watch home movies in the dark but my eyes start to hurt after a while and have hurd of these small florescent lights that you place behind your display to reduce eye stain. I don't want to spend a lot of money around $40-$60 is my limit, but can't find them anywhere! I even called all the florescent & theater stores around my area and they either know what it is I'm looking for and don't know where to get it. I saw these lights in a hometheater mag once but other than that i have nowhere left to look! Do any of you know where I might find these ambient light, a small spot light from Home Depo is not what I am looking for as they don't diffuse the light properly.

 

[JeffLab]

I have placed two inexpensive Ikea table lights behind both front speakers in my system, and it looks great.

http://www.ikea.com/webapp/wcs/store...umber=00095588

The glass is frosted, and using low wattage bulbs creates the soft lighting I needed. with one on either side of the tv, it brings a soft light behind my system, reducing eye strain.


Just an idea.

 

[Adam Gregorich]

What you want is called a bias light. it is a 6500K bulb so it is color neutral. IDEAL-LUME is the best out there and is within your budget. Here is more information and the link to purchase is towards the bottom of the page. They make a big difference. Before using one I had eye strain after a long feature, after installing one I could watch a triple feature with no problem!
http://www.cinemaquestinc.com/ideal_lume.htm

 

[systemlord]

Great now I can finely enjoy my TV experiance, but now I need one for my 19" LCD monitor and the 20 1/2" light is to big for my LCD and mounting it to the wall wouldn't work right?

 

[GeorgeAB]

systemlord,

Are you talking about a 19" computer monitor sitting on a desk? Please be more specific. There may be another way to resolve your installation issue.

Best regards and beautiful pictures,
G. Alan Brown, President
CinemaQuest, Inc.

"Advancing the art and science of electronic imaging"

 

[Chuck Paskovics]

I just picked up a simple florescent fixture at walmart, then replaced the bulb with a 6500K natural light bulb. I had to mail order the bulb, I think it cost me about $25 shipped. Makes a world of difference when viewing a movie. Nice, soft, ambient lighting. I mounted the fixture right to the top of the back of my tv, dropped just back below the edge so you can't see the fixture.

 

[systemlord]

I just picked up a simple florescent fixture at walmart, then replaced the bulb with a 6500K natural light bulb. I had to mail order the bulb, I think it cost me about $25 shipped. Makes a world of difference when viewing a movie. Nice, soft, ambient lighting. I mounted the fixture right to the top of the back of my tv, dropped just back below the edge so you can't see the fixture

What flat panel is that, it looks awesome!!

 

[Bud Huey]

Reading this thread made me wonder if I need to do something special in my HT set up. I am planning to use simple 'rope lighting' behind some crown molding to softly light the ceilings in my trays. The lights will be on a dimmer so I can control the amount of light. I plan to hang wallpaper on my ceilings that will give a tinned ceiling effect and they will be painted a color similar to oil rubbed bronze.

My question is - will the simple 'rope lighting' from Home Depot give me the effect I want, along with the best viewing experience or do I need to do something special? I am on a budget, but I don't mind spending some extra money if the end result is worth it.

Any suggestions anyone can provide would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Bud

 

[Chuck Paskovics]

That's not a flat panel, it's a panny RPTV.

I'll look up the light company I ordered my bulb from. It is much cheaper than going with the other ones. I have the receipt, I just need to dig it out.

 

[Chuck Paskovics]

Keep in mind that the idea behind using the 6400K bulb with the super high CRI rating is that it is natural lighting, which will help your eyes see the true colors of the tv. If you use colored or tinted bulbs, this could technically affect the way your colors are produced on the tv. Not sure how much, but i'm a perfectionist so I went with the true natural lighting just to be safe. That is why I didn't just keep the cheap bulb that was in my walmart fixture, because it would have caused a 'yellowing' effect on the lighting.

 

[Chuck Paskovics]

Ok, I found my order info from a few years back. Here is where I got it:

http://www.blanksfab.com/fullspec/lumi.htm

The bulb cost me $18.75 shipped. It is a LUMICHROME fluorescent lamp, 6500°K, 98 C.R.I.

That's the highest CRI i've found. I had to call them to order, but they were great and shipped fast. The bulb fit in a standard fluorescent fixture that I picked up at walmart for less than $10.

They come in varying lengths (I got an 18"). Here's the current pricing chart:
http://www.blanksfab.com/fullspec/lumiprice.htm

By the way, I ordered mine in Feb. 2003, and am still going strong on the same bulb, and I use it every evening. So, it has an awesome life on it!

 

[GeorgeAB]

Or you can save some time and trouble, learn precisely why this technique is beneficial and how to implement it correctly.

www.cinemaquestinc.com

Best regards and beautiful pictures,
G. Alan Brown, President
CinemaQuest, Inc.
ISF, THX, SMPTE, CEDIA

"Advancing the art and science of electronic imaging"