Everyone wants a bigger TV. But Living In My GameSpace comes with space and budget constraints, so it’s not always an option to just run out and buy a bigger TV. With this in mind, TV backlights have become a viable option for extending the on-screen scene beyond your TV’s edges and into your room. Govee has been improving its TV backlight technology for years, and earlier this year, they released the Govee TV Backlight 3 Pro, the first-ever HDR triple-camera kit. This isn’t my first TV backlight rodeo, so when I say the TVB3Pro is the best camera-based kit Govee has made, you can believe it.
Specifications
- Price: $179.99 (55”-65” TV kit), $209.99 (75”-85” TV kit)
- Camera: Triple-Camera
- Light Colors: RGBWWIC for 16M colors and cool/warm white
- Lamp Beads: 75 LEDs/m
- Control Methods: Govee App, Alexa, Google, Matter
- Connectivity: 2.4GHz Wi-Fi, Bluetooth
Govee TV Backlight 3 Pro – Box Contents And Installation
We’ve seen several TV backlight kits from Govee, and out of the box, this one is very similar. The TVB3Pro includes an upgraded camera and an RGBWWIC lightstrip with 75 LEDs/m. Also included in the box are the manuals, control box, power adapter, mounting clips, and foam squares (used for calibration).
Installation of the Govee TV Backlight 3 Pro is the same as other Govee TV light kits. Each section of Govee’s LED strip is sized to fit a 55” TV, with a short section of cord connecting adjacent sections. Each section is held to the back of the TV with a piece of double-sided tape.
Starting in the bottom corner of the TV, each section of LED lights is placed along the back of the TV. On a 55” TV, the light strips are placed along the back edge; on a 65” TV, they are placed about an inch from the edge, but the actual strip locations make little difference in brightness. The adhesive is strong enough to hold the strips in place, and Govee includes some stick-on clips that can be placed at the edges of the strip for extra security.
The camera sits on top of the TV at a 90-degree angle. The design accommodates TVs of various thicknesses, with a back weight that keeps the camera from falling off.
The brains of the kit – a small control box – is placed on the back of the TV with another piece of 3M double-sided tape. The box has two USB-C ports: one to connect the LED strips and the other for the camera. A power cord also attaches to the control box and is the only wire that extends past the edge of the TV.
Once everything is in place and powered on, the remainder of the setup is handled by the Govee App. The TV Backlight 3 Pro connects to your phone via Bluetooth and 2.4GHz Wi-Fi. The app immediately identified the kit and updated the firmware. From there, the app guided me through a process to determine the lights’ orientation, ensuring each segment displayed colors matched their location on the screen.
Next up was calibrating the camera. To do this, you place eight foam blocks on the screen of your TV: one in each corner, one at the midpoint of each edge, and two additional blocks along the bottom of the screen. The camera then captures an image of the screen, and you must match up dots on the screen to the blocks. All of this is done to set the screen size for the processor so that it knows where to pull colors from the camera’s input.
The final step in the setup is calibrating the LEDs to your screen’s image. Calibration is as simple as playing a light gray screen and changing the saturation level of the lights to match as closely as possible. You can also set the brightness of each LED segment so that all edges match the same intensity.
And there you go. The TVB3Pro is set up and ready to enhance your viewing experience.
Govee TV Backlight 3 Pro – Features And Use
If you’ve read any of my previous Govee backlight reviews, you’re probably asking yourself, “Why do I need this one?” And I get it. After reviewing the TV Backlight T2 and TV AI Sync Box, I skipped reviewing the TV Backlight 3 Lite because it was just a cheaper, less powerful version of what I already had. But the TV Backlight 3 Pro is a step forward, and the new technology deserves a look.
The TVB3Pro’s upgraded camera is the highlight of this kit, and it’s the reason I enthusiastically requested a review sample. Govee has added a third camera to the dual fisheye cameras used in previous versions. The triple-camera setup uses a multi-zone capture technique that allows for greater color accuracy than the older two-camera setup. The cameras also use HDR technology – a TV backlight first – to further enhance the color clarity. The Govee App offers four HDR intensity options, and the higher settings provide deeper saturation, especially in darker scenes.
The camera isn’t the only upgrade for the Backlight 3 Pro. The LED strip has 75 LEDs/m, 15 more than the Backlight 2 and 45 more than the Backlight 3 Lite. When it comes to the AI Sync Box 2’s light strip, it’s a battle of give and take. Not only does the SB2 match the 75 LEDs/m, but it also puts out 450 lumens vs the TVB3Pro’s 336 lumens per meter. The TVB3Pro’s light strip does have two white LEDs – white and warm white – for more subtle differences in white lighting.
Finishing up the upgrades is the control box. If you don’t have a good middleman to dissect the image on screen and transform it into an accurate lightshow, it doesn’t matter how many cameras or LEDs you have. Fortunately, Govee continues to improve the AI brain in the control box of its kits. The TVB3Pro delivers 300% faster processing performance than prior units. That translates into much quicker color transition than previous kits.
Govee TV Backlight 3 Pro: Real World Use
So, how does all that techno mumbo jumbo actually work in the real world? Quite well, actually. Getting the three cameras calibrated was super easy, and the resulting color accuracy is far better than that of the two-lens cameras in older kits.
Compared to other Govee camera-based kits, the TVB3Pro is fast. The T2 had noticeable lag when the action got hot and heavy on-screen; explosions were a particular issue, with the backlight acting more like an echo than in-sync lighting. The TVB3Pro nearly clears up this issue, though it isn’t quite as fast as the Sync Box 2.
Control via the Govee App gives full control over the TVB3Pro’s lighting effects. From a single, preset color to full DreamView screen-matching lights, everything is just a touch away in the app. Brightness and intensity can be adjusted to match your mood, and Sound Effect Mode offers another dimension to the immersion. And the AI Filter Mode allows you to pick a preset like football, hockey, or a specific movie to adjust the colors to best match what’s most important on the screen. That may not sound like a big deal, but I just finished watching a football game, and the TVB3Pro’s AI Filter mode pulled the colors that mattered most, such as the green field and colors from the team’s uniforms, instead of grabbing colors from the crowd and other off-field areas.
I’ve already mentioned several times that the TVB3Pro doesn’t compare to the speed of the AI Sync Box 2. Still, for many people, the TVB3Pro’s ease of use will outweigh its slightly slower transition speed. For example, my digital antenna connects directly to my TV via a coax cable, so it doesn’t have a way to send a video feed to the Sync Box 2, leaving me without dynamic lighting for sports and other over-air shows. And for someone with multiple consoles attached to their TV, the Sync Box 2’s limited input ports aren’t a factor with a camera-based kit.
There’s one other thing to consider before you plop down some hard-earned cash for the TV Backlight 3 Pro, or any other TV backlight for that matter: location. Your TV needs to be far enough, but not too far, from the wall behind it. Five to twelve inches seems to be the sweet spot. Any less, and the light doesn’t have enough room to spread out. Any more, and the light will be less vibrant. My TV sits in front of a staircase, so one portion of the wall is further back than the rest (I moved it to a different wall during testing). The backlight still works, but I have to use the TVB3Pro’s Relative Brightness to even out the brightness. I have the same issue with my AI Sync Box 2, but the higher lumens of that kit make it less noticeable.
White or near white walls are also your best option. Darker walls will still work, just don’t expect the colors to be as vivid as with lighter walls. And it goes without saying that windows and other bright lights near your TV are a problem – grab some blackout curtains and turn the lights off for the best effect.
Final Thoughts
When paired with the upgraded LED strip and the control box’s improved processing power, the TVB3Pro provides the best viewing experience of any Govee camera-based TV kit. Notice I said camera-based, as I still prefer the AI Sync Box 2 over the TVB3Pro.
You just can’t beat the instantaneous color display and overall brightness of the Sync Box 2, but the TVB3Pro comes in at a close second. And for some users, the TVB3Pro will be the better option. Value-conscious consumers will find the $80 price difference between the TVB3Pro and Sync Box 2 worth the slight delay in color processing, while others will prefer the TVB3Pro’s easier setup and use.
The addition of the TV Backlight 3 Pro to Govee’s lineup offers something other brands can’t: options. All of Govee’s TV backlights extend the color on-screen beyond the edges of your TV. The TV Backlight 3 Pro may not give the exact color reproduction of the AI Snyc Box 2, but it still provides better color matching than previous camera models without that top-tier pricetag. And if you just want a little extra lighting at a budget price, you can go with the TV Backlight 3 Lite or the Backlight 2. Choice is great, and the TV Backlight 3 Pro is a great choice.
