Over the last couple of years, I added bias lighting to three of my TV sets. The first two were done with MediaLight and the third with Luminoodle. This topic has come up on a couple other threads, so I thought I would give my thoughts on the pros and cons of these two products along with links. Both products are 6500K white light only.
MediaLight
MediaLight is marketed as a premium product. They even went to the trouble of having it ISF Certified. The LEDs are about four times the size of the ones on the Luminoodle and it has both a physical power switch and a remote control with dimmer. The downside with this part is that not all TV sets have a USB port with enough juice to power it, so it may require its own power supply. One of my TVs can do it, the other cannot. Even with the TV that can provide enough power, I have had no luck getting the light to turn on and off with the TV. It is designed to be used with an IR remote. I put it in the power-up/power-down macros in my Harmony and it works fine.
It is not a single string, but comes in four separate strips that plug into a wiring harness. The nice thing about this is that some of the larger TV sets are too big for a lot of the other products. The multi-string setup means you can leave gaps between the side light and the top/bottom lights. These gaps do not show unless they are really big. They also left the cables pretty long to accommodate weirdness with TV wall mounts. The downside with this is that cable management is a serious pain in the ass. There is a LOT of wire back there.
Luminoodle
The main advantage of the Luminoodle is that it costs about $30 vs $60 for the MediaLight. It does not get as bright and there is no dimmer or power switch, but it will run off the USB port and pretty much any TV with zero drama and turn on/off with the set. It is also a lot easier to install, because it is just one contiguous string with no additional wiring. Unless you need the extra brightness and dimming control, the Luminoodle is much easier to install and use.
Conclusions
I do not regret buying the MediaLight product for my 75-inch set. It is on a huge articulating wall mount, so the back of the TV is a good six inches off the wall. The huge light output of the MediaLight negates that completely and gives 3/4 of the front wall of the room a nice glow. No other lighting is needed for watching. Having to control it with the Harmony rather than having the TV turn it on and off was a nuisance, but a one-time task. I would buy it again.
The Luminoodle is perfect for the TV in the master bedroom, which is an older 55-inch HDTV with a USB 2.0 port. It was stupid simple to install, is bright enough for the job and just works.
The jury is still out on whether it was worth the money and hassle to install the MediaLight product on the 65-inch set in my family room. The reason I chose is was that I may need to turn off the strip on the bottom when it goes into its final home, due to some issues with system mechanics. I cannot do that with the other product.
MediaLight
MediaLight is marketed as a premium product. They even went to the trouble of having it ISF Certified. The LEDs are about four times the size of the ones on the Luminoodle and it has both a physical power switch and a remote control with dimmer. The downside with this part is that not all TV sets have a USB port with enough juice to power it, so it may require its own power supply. One of my TVs can do it, the other cannot. Even with the TV that can provide enough power, I have had no luck getting the light to turn on and off with the TV. It is designed to be used with an IR remote. I put it in the power-up/power-down macros in my Harmony and it works fine.
It is not a single string, but comes in four separate strips that plug into a wiring harness. The nice thing about this is that some of the larger TV sets are too big for a lot of the other products. The multi-string setup means you can leave gaps between the side light and the top/bottom lights. These gaps do not show unless they are really big. They also left the cables pretty long to accommodate weirdness with TV wall mounts. The downside with this is that cable management is a serious pain in the ass. There is a LOT of wire back there.
Luminoodle
The main advantage of the Luminoodle is that it costs about $30 vs $60 for the MediaLight. It does not get as bright and there is no dimmer or power switch, but it will run off the USB port and pretty much any TV with zero drama and turn on/off with the set. It is also a lot easier to install, because it is just one contiguous string with no additional wiring. Unless you need the extra brightness and dimming control, the Luminoodle is much easier to install and use.
Conclusions
I do not regret buying the MediaLight product for my 75-inch set. It is on a huge articulating wall mount, so the back of the TV is a good six inches off the wall. The huge light output of the MediaLight negates that completely and gives 3/4 of the front wall of the room a nice glow. No other lighting is needed for watching. Having to control it with the Harmony rather than having the TV turn it on and off was a nuisance, but a one-time task. I would buy it again.
The Luminoodle is perfect for the TV in the master bedroom, which is an older 55-inch HDTV with a USB 2.0 port. It was stupid simple to install, is bright enough for the job and just works.
The jury is still out on whether it was worth the money and hassle to install the MediaLight product on the 65-inch set in my family room. The reason I chose is was that I may need to turn off the strip on the bottom when it goes into its final home, due to some issues with system mechanics. I cannot do that with the other product.
