Like most of these "smart" systems the Phillips trades off some major advantages with some equally major disadvantages. So the bad things first. The Lightstrip itself is a strip/tape made up of equally spaced arrays of three LED's. Cool White, Warm White and a combined RGB LED the spacing of these arrays on the Lightstrip means that even if placed in a channel with a difuser you do get pronounced hotspots, so if you are looking for a uniform line of colour as an architectural feature, then this isn't the product for you. As is the case with most LED strips the Phillips Hue light strip can be cut at prescribed points to reduce the length of the strip. However these cut points are approximately 33cm's apart (about a foot), so getting an exact fit between cabinets for under cabinet lighting can be a challenge. Also the "Start End" components are a little bulky and not the easiest to hide/conceal from sight (the plug into the driver module differs from the plugs used to extend the rest of the system). Also the strip itself is encased in a clear silicon type material sleeve, this does have benefits, but if you are looking to fit the lightship into a channel set into plaster work or such like you are going to need a much wider size than the usual "exposed led" type tapes use.
So the Pro's. Firstly by comparison to pretty much all of the cheaper versions available, build quality is what you would express from a world leader in lighting equipment. The silicon type material that encases the strip means that the Lightstrip can be pretty much attached by it's self adhesive tape to pretty much any suitable clean surface and is ready to go without any worries about damage to LED's or exposed surface mount components. Colour rendition Is as expected pretty good, although the use of combined RGB LED's means that Red's are not as vibrant as one would like or Blue's as saturated as you would expect had individual Red, Blue and Green LED's being used. However and very importantly there is no perceivable variance in colour quality or brightness along the entire length of the tape (or attached extensions), something all to noticeable in cheaper versions of the product. There is also a logical means of extending the Lighstrip and third party suppliers who sell connectors to achieve various install challenges. Where the Phillips Hue system comes into it's own however is through it's control App and if you really want to get the most out of the investment then pairing with the Phillips Hue Bridge and either Phillips own smart switches or "Friends of Hue" smart switches is a must.
So. If you can cope with the size issues and the "Spotty" nature of the light source. The Phillips Hue Lightstrip is a quality product worth the investment.
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