23 Dec
Blog

Govee Immersion Kit Review: More Colorful TV On a Budget

The Govee Immersion Kit improves the content of the screen.

Govee Immersion Kit Review: How to Make TV a More Colorful Experience

RRP $ 150.00

"The Govee Immersion Kit is a solid option for someone who wants to enhance their home theater experience without breaking the bank."

benefits

  • Inexpensive

  • Easy to use and customize

  • Looks great when connected

  • Long enough to work with the biggest televisions

disadvantage

  • Tricky setup process

  • The camera is sensitive to light from other sources

I've always loved the idea of ​​immersive lighting. There's something about the way the colors displayed on your TV are reproduced that makes the content come to life, almost like it's bleeding from the screen and on the walls around it. When Govee asked if I wanted to check out his Immersion Kit with Light Bars, I took the chance.

The results blew me away. While it's not a perfect product, the lighting looks great and creates a cool effect on the wall. I don't know if it improves the viewing experience or not, but it definitely improves the look of my living room TV setup – especially when displaying content with strong color contrasts, like the first home screen from Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart or that great scene on End of Avatar: The Last Airbender.

It definitely improves the look of my living room TV setup.

The Govee Immersion Kit improves the content of the screen.

What's in the box?

The Govee Immersion Kit contains a lot of the accessories you will all need. Take the time to set it up as it isn't the easiest process in the world.

The box contains two light strips and one LED light strip. It also includes a camera, sync box and mounting hardware. I installed it on the back of a 65-inch TV and the LED strip was still almost too long. It went over the top, down both sides, and over the bottom, almost to the edges of the TV. So it's not too short.

The setup instructions give you the option to mount the camera either on top or on the bottom of your TV. I decided to mount it at the bottom, but the instructions and all of the graphics still showed it from the top – that's a bit confusing, to say the least. The box also contains a set of orange adhesive squares that you attach to the four corners of your TV and then place a square across from the camera. These are used to ensure that the camera can capture the entire screen. They are useful because the way your phone looks at the camera is incredibly distorted due to the shape of the lens.

The instructions also warn against peeling the squares straight off to avoid damaging your TV. The question arises, if this requires temporarily mounting something on my screen that could damage it, is it necessary? I think the squares could be done without, but they actually came off easily. Just pull it sideways instead of straight back.

You place the light strips on either side of your TV. The light bars, LED strip, and camera cable all attach to a single hub that can be mounted to the back of your TV so that it is hidden from view. One cable supplies the entire setup with power.

All in all, it wasn't a difficult process to set up, but it was fraught with minor annoyances.

Light, sound, action

The Govee Immersion Kit works by capturing the colors on the screen and reflecting those colors through the lights. This does it pretty well, although the color accuracy felt multiple times. What the lights projected and what was displayed on the screen weren't perfect representations of each other.

Avatar: TLA shows ambient colors on a TV better than many shows.

The overall color also plays a role in how the lights are perceived. I tested it while watching Rosewood only to see that the lights were always yellow in color because the show itself is being shown with a sepia filter on everything.

Fortunately, the Govee app allows the lights to be adjusted and tweaked. The app allows you to choose custom settings for the lights. You can choose to have the entire setup display the predominant color no matter what you see, or you can choose to display each light bar in a separate color. You can also choose whether the light bars are segmented (each one being able to display multiple colors at the same time) or that each light bar is one color while the LED strip displays different colors.

If I could add a feature it would be to turn off the lights when the TV is off.

You can also adjust the frequency of color changes. The Dynamic setting results in more frenetic shifts, while the Quiet setting is a slow, gradual transition that works well for movies. If you really want to step up the stakes, turn on sound effects. The lights change based not only on the color shown on the screen, but also based on the volume.

Of course, you can also choose a separate color for the entire setup, entirely based on your preferences and what isn't on the screen. You don't need to use the camera.

The Govee Immersion Kit enhances your viewing experience.

If I could add a feature it would be to turn off the lights when the TV is off. The Govee Immersion Kit camera is sensitive to light. When the TV is off, the lights will stay on, indicating any detected hue. Even in the middle of the night, when there is no other light on anywhere in the house, it glows pale blue. Since the lamps cannot be plugged into your TV's power supply, you will have to turn them on and off yourself.

This is of course easier as Govee connects to intelligent assistants. It is very easy to link and control the Govee Immersion Kit with Alexa or Google Assistant.

The Govee Immersion Kit is a fun, affordable option for an immersive lighting kit.

The sensitivity of the camera means that the brighter your TV, the better – especially when viewing content during the day or with the lights on in your home. Sitting down to see something while all the lights in your home are off (except for the Govee Immersion Kit, of course) is a pretty magical experience. The colors come from the screen and onto the wall around the television. I would recommend going for something particularly colorful, like a Pixar movie. It's a great way to experience these smart lights.

Our opinion

The Govee Immersion Kit is a fun, affordable option for an immersive lighting kit. The main drawbacks are the camera's sensitivity to outside light and the irritating set-up process. If the camera had a screen at the top that blocks all light except that from the television, this would improve color accuracy.

Is there a better alternative?

The Hue Play HDMI Sync Box will also match the colors on the screen, and probably more accurately, since the input is being fed through the box itself. However, it is a much more expensive alternative. The sync box alone is $ 230, and it doesn't include the cost of the lights.

The Govee Immersion Kit does a good job for a much cheaper price of $ 150.

How long it will take?

All components make a solid and robust impression. I have several Govee lights in my house and they all still work fine after over a year. Should something happen, the Govee Immersion Kit includes a one-year warranty.

Should I buy it?

Yes. Despite my complaints about aspects of the kit, overall it's great value for money that I look forward to every time I sit down to relax at the end of the day.

Editor's recommendations



03 Nov
Blog

Bose Smart Soundbar 900 Review: Atmos Adds to the Immersion

Bose Smart Soundbar 900 close-up.

Bose Smart Soundbar 900

RRP $ 899.00

"The Smart Soundbar 900 adds Dolby Atmos for just $ 100, making it a great choice for a single speaker home theater sound system."

advantages

  • Elegant design

  • Good Dolby Atmos effects

  • Excellent music quality

  • Practical TV voice control

  • Synchronization of private headphones

disadvantage

  • Only one HDMI port

  • Simple remote control without backlight

  • Limited support for Android

When Bose launched its $ 799 Smart Soundbar 700 in the last half of 2018, it probably should have included Dolby Atmos, the highly immersive surround sound format used for both movies and music. That wasn't the case, and that gave longtime competitor Sonos the chance to jump in with its very own Dolby Atmos soundbar, the Sonos Arc, which debuted in 2020 at the same price as the non-Atmos Smart Soundbar 700.

But Bose has finally jumped on the Atmos bandwagon with its $ 899 Smart Soundbar 900. Is it worth the extra $ 100? Let's find out.

Holes in the glass

Bose smart soundbar 900.Simon Cohen / Digital Trends

If you think the Smart Soundbar 900 sounds familiar, don't dream. It's a dead ringtone for the Smart Soundbar 700, right down to the classy (but slightly smudged) glass plate. The biggest difference is the matching set of racetrack-like oval holes on either end of the glass. These openings are for the additional upward-facing drivers that help the soundbar deliver the height effects that have become synonymous with Dolby Atmos.

The drivers are angled upwards so they can bounce certain sounds off your ceiling and back to your listening position. While the 900 is impressively short (2.29 inches tall) and could easily fit under most large screen TVs, don't put it there. It has to be open to get the most out of these aspiring riders.

In its black guise, the 900 pretty much disappears into the background, but if you want your soundbar to make both a visual and an audible statement, it is also available in white.

One port too little

Bose Smart Soundbar 900 ports on the back.Simon Cohen / Digital Trends

You can connect the Smart Soundbar 900 to your TV with an HDMI cable or an optical cable, and Bose includes both. If you use the optical cable, you will not be able to send a Dolby Atmos signal to the soundbar even if your TV supports it. Atmos is simply too bandwidth-hungry for an optical connection – it requires the thicker HDMI cable. That's not to say that the 900 doesn't produce very visually immersive sound when used – it'll still sound great thanks to the company's TrueSpace technology – you just can't get the full Atmos experience without HDMI.

The Smart Soundbar 900 delivers beautifully clear, room-filling sound.

Speaking of HDMI: The 900 only has one HDMI port, through which it receives audio from your television and sends control instructions back to the television. For most people, this will be a bit of a nuisance as it will force you to give up one of your TV's HDMI ports and not provide you with a replacement. Depending on the number of HDMI devices you have and the number of inputs on your TV, it may even be necessary to purchase an HDMI switch.

But for the audio purists out there with older TVs, this poses another challenge. If your TV doesn't support HDMI eARC (most TVs over two years old), there is simply no way to get the highest quality audio signal that the 900 can handle, namely lossless 24-bit Dolby Atmos in Dolby TrueHD.

With other Dolby Atmos soundbars, such as the Sony HT-A7000, you can connect a Blu-ray player or streaming media device to one of the HDMI inputs on the soundbar, bypassing your TV's HDMI ARC restrictions by adding You send the sound directly to the soundbar while the video is relayed to your TV.

The Smart Soundbar 900 isn't the only Atmos soundbar with this limitation. The Sonos Arc also only has a single HDMI port.

Don't lose the remote control

Bose Smart Soundbar 900 remote control.Simon Cohen / Digital Trends

While it is true that you can control all functions of the Smart Soundbar 900 via the Bose Music app (more on this in a moment), the supplied remote control should be close at hand if there are no controls integrated into the soundbar itself. The only controls that Bose installs on this smooth glass surface are for intelligent loudspeaker functions (microphone mute, action button). You need the remote control or the app for volume, mute, play / pause and other functions.

Oddly enough, Bose decided to equip the Soundbar 900 with one of its simple, non-backlit infrared remote controls, while the Soundbar 700 comes with a much fancier, backlit Bluetooth universal remote. When I asked Bose why this was the case, I was told that the Voice4Video feature (which I'll discuss below) is viewed as a replacement for most of the functions on the universal remote.

You need an app for that

In theory, you can only operate the Smart Soundbar 900 with the included remote control, but you're missing out on a lot. The Bose Music app (for iOS and Android) guides you through the setup process, including connecting the soundbar to your home's WiFi, calibrating the sound with the included AdaptIQ microphone, and setting up the Google Assistant or Amazon Alexa if you want to activate the intelligent loudspeaker functions of the 900. The connection of the soundbar to Wi-Fi is a prerequisite if you want to use one of the natively supported music streaming services, Spotify Connect or Apple AirPlay 2.

In the app you will also find all the deeper settings such as adjustments for bass, treble and treble channels as well as the dialogue improvement mode. None of this can be controlled with the remote control. The app is also the only way to confirm that the soundbar is receiving and playing Dolby Atmos.

Brilliant sound

Bose Smart Soundbar 900 close-up.Simon Cohen / Digital Trends

Whether you're playing 5.1, Dolby Atmos or a standard 2-channel stereo mix, the Smart Soundbar 900 delivers wonderfully clear, room-filling sound. In typical Bose fashion, the sound signature tends to accentuate the mids and high frequencies out of the box. For music, there is a crisp, energetic sound to vocals, but it is also ideal for TV dialogues.

Bass is also abundant. But as mentioned above, to maximize the speaker's low-end capabilities, you'll need to dive into the Bose Music app as it's pretty tame the first time you set it up. I also recommend increasing the elevation channel settings. Even with my basement's relatively low ceiling height of 7.5 feet, I found that I needed the extra punch to get the most out of these upward-shooting height drivers.

It's not difficult to convince yourself that there are additional surround speakers in the room.

It does take some tweaking, but once you're done with the settings, the Smart Soundbar 900 creates a compelling Dolby Atmos sound dome. All of my Atmos test films like Mad Max: Fury Road, Ford V. Ferrari and Avengers: Infinity War sounded exciting. You can definitely hear the added dimension of the height channels, but like the non-Atmos Smart Soundbar 700, what catches you most is the incredible breadth of the 900's soundstage. Sit in the middle and it's not difficult to convince yourself that there are additional surround speakers in the room.

This is where the comparison of the 900 with the Sonos Arc becomes interesting. From a purely Dolby Atmos perspective, the Arc does a better job with height effects, and its significantly larger housing produces deeper, more resonant bass. But the Smart Soundbar 900 is better at creating a full surround sound experience, and it also offers better clarity, especially with dialogue.

Musically, both soundbars are convincing, but here, too, each has its strengths. The Arc produces a warmer bass response, but cannot quite keep up with the clarity of the Soundbar 900 in the upper ranges. Given the 900's wider soundstage, I think Bose has the edge, but that will likely depend on personal preference.

Streaming sounds

It's worth noting that Android users have less high-quality music streaming options since the soundbar 900 supports AirPlay 2 but not Chromecast. All streaming services natively supported in the Bose Music app (Spotify, Amazon Music, Pandora, TuneIn, Deezer, iHeart Radio and SiriusXM) are streamed via Wi-Fi. If these services support high-resolution or lossless audio (and you have access to that level of content), you should be getting the best possible audio quality. However, if you're using Apple Music, Tidal, YouTube Music, or one of the many services not included in the Bose Music app, you're limited to Bluetooth and using either the SBC or AAC codec.

Apple device owners have more freedom of choice. With AirPlay 2, practically any music app can stream via Wi-Fi in lossless quality of up to 16-bit / 48kHz from an iPhone to the Soundbar 900, and all grouped speakers can play along from there.

This pales in comparison to the huge range of services that Sonos supports. The Bose Music app also doesn't offer the ability to browse all of your services from a single interface or create an unlimited number of favorite playlists and stations – you're limited to just six.

"Alexa, channel 33"

Bose smart soundbar 900.Your TV or streaming device may have built-in Chromecast, but the Bose Smart Soundbar 900 does not. Simon Cohen / Digital Trends

If you choose Amazon Alexa as your voice assistant, Bose offers a clever way to control your TV and cable set-top box with voice commands. It's called Voice4Video and it's configured in the Bose Music app. Once the soundbar has correctly identified your TV, cable box and local cable provider, you can turn your TV on and off and use your voice to jump to specific channels.

It's hardly anything you need, but if you want it you'll be happy to know that it works really well. I have seen only a few occasions where I had to repeat a TV-based voice command.

Multiroom audio

Bose Smart Soundbar 900 seen with Sonos Arc.Bose Smart Soundbar 900 (left) and Sonos Arc. Simon Cohen / Digital Trends

One of the advantages of having a speaker connected to Wi-Fi is the ability to broadcast multi-room audio. Here you can play a different music source on each speaker, have all your speakers play the same music in perfect sync, or split your home into speaker groups, each doing their own thing.

The Smart Soundbar 900 lets you team up with other Bose wireless speakers, bluetooth speakers, and headphones to create a whole house audio solution – a very versatile range of options. These grouped speakers can play any source that the primary speaker can access, be it Bluetooth, Bose Music's built-in streaming services, AirPlay 2, or your TV's sound. However, the management of these speaker groups is not quite as flexible.

If your group only contains Bose Wi-Fi speakers, such as the Bose Home Speaker 500 or Bose Smart Soundbar 300, you can edit the group and easily add and remove speakers as you wish. However, groups containing SimpleSync Bluetooth products like the QuietComfort 45 cannot be edited – you have to end them and create a new group with the devices you want.

Bose may not offer the same level of music controls as Sonos, but the multiroom controls are excellent.

Pssst … the children are sleeping

Bose Music app.

Bose Music app.

If you have Bose Bluetooth headphones, such as the newly released QuietComfort 45 or the Noise Canceling Headphones 700, you can pair them with the Soundbar 900 using Bose's SimpleSync technology. Most soundbars offer Bluetooth to stream music from your phone to the speaker, but very few let you do it the other way around – from the soundbar to a headphone – and it's a handy feature.

Our opinion

The Bose Smart Soundbar 700 was already a great speaker for movies and music. The only thing missing was Dolby Atmos. Now that the Smart Soundbar 900 is here, adding that missing component for just $ 100 more, it's an excellent choice for a single speaker home theater sound system.

Is there a better alternative?

For this price there is really only one alternative to the Bose Smart Soundbar 900: The Sonos Arch. They are the same price and go head to head on many functions. Both give you a choice of Google or Amazon voice assistants, both connect to music streaming services, both can be used as part of a whole house wireless audio setup, and both use just a single HDMI eARC port for the TV connectivity.

With great software from Sonos, the Arc is a better choice for all-home audio and control of your music. It also creates deeper bass and slightly more noticeable Dolby Atmos height effects. But you can't plug in headphones for private listening, the high-frequency clarity isn't as good as with the Bose, it doesn't come with its own remote control, and you can't control your TV with Alexa. It is also significantly larger and bulkier than the Soundbar 900.

One more consideration: Bose gives you cheaper options for adding a subwoofer and wireless surround speakers. You can add these to the Soundbar 900 for just $ 798. It takes at least $ 1,147 to do the same with the Sonos Arc – although you can get a much higher quality speaker set from Sonos.

How long it will take?

Bose may not offer software updates for the Smart Soundbar 900 forever, but I see no reason why it shouldn't give you great performance as long as you choose to own it. Bose products come with a one-year warranty.

Should you buy it?

Yes, unless you already own other Sonos products. In this case the Arc is the more logical choice.

Editor's recommendations



29 Oct
Blog

Sonos Beam (Gen 2) Review: Improved Immersion

Sonos Beam Gen 1 and Gen 2, stacked vertically.

Sonos Beam (Gen 2)

RRP $ 449.00

"Dolby Atmos adds a touch of 3D fun to an already excellent soundbar."

advantages

  • Easy adjustment

  • Immersive, room-filling sound

  • Slim design

  • AirPlay 2

disadvantage

  • No HDMI inputs

  • Requires compatible TV for Dolby Atmos

Since debuting in 2018, the Sonos Beam has been one of the best small soundbars you can buy for $ 399, thanks to its great sound, compact and stylish design, easy integration with Sonos' sound platform for the whole house and home its ability to double as a smart speaker for Alexa or Google Assistant.

But in recent years Dolby Atmos – the 3D surround sound format that makes movies and music much more immersive – has become hugely popular, not least due to its acceptance by streaming giants like Netflix, Disney +, Amazon Prime Video, and both Apple TV + as well as Apple Music. This means that most new soundbars, including Sonos' $ 799 flagship Arc soundbar, are now Atmos compatible, and the second generation Beam is no exception.

The new Sonos Beam is more expensive at $ 449. So the questions are whether existing Beam owners should even think about an upgrade and what prospective Beam newbies can expect from it.

A couple of small changes

First things first, before reading this hands-on test, be sure to check out our review of the original Sonos Beam. Sonos made very few changes to the second generation version. From now on, I'll just discuss what these changes are and how they affect the performance of the beam.

I am a fan of the grid. It's much easier to clean and doesn't attract as much dust in the first place.

Some of these changes are relatively minor, such as the decision to replace the fabric speaker grille with one made of rigid plastic. The biggest change is in the sound, which I'll get into in a moment. It's worth noting, however, that while I am discussing the changes Sonos made to the Beam, this is not an attempt to figure out which one is better because, aside from remaining Gen 1 inventory, the second generation Beam is now the only one that you can buy.

What's in the box?

Sonos Beam Gen 2 scope of delivery.Simon Cohen / Digital Trends

Sonos has always been the king of simplicity, and that goes from setup to software to packaging. The new Beam comes in a plain printed, fully recyclable box, and the only plastic you'll find are the two small poly bags that protect the included HDMI cable and optical-to-HDMI adapter. If Sonos finds a way to erase those bags, it will have some of the most sustainable packaging in the business.

In the box you will find the beam, color-coordinated power and HDMI cables, the adapter I mentioned and some printed matter for guarantees, etc.

Great grill

Sonos Beam Gen 2.Simon Cohen / Digital Trends

I like the traditional look of cloth grilles on a speaker. But as the owner of two cats, I can confirm that fabric grids are more like dust and fur magnets that have to be cleaned pretty much all the time. I don't know if that was the idea behind Sonos when it decided to replace the fabric grille on the first generation Beam with a perforated plastic version, but I'm a fan. It's much easier to clean and doesn't attract as much dust in the first place at.

Setting up Sonos products has always been remarkably easy. The new beam is even easier.

The white Gen 2 test device Sonos sent me looks great. And if you're a die-hard white product fanatic, this new Beam will go with every other white Sonos speaker you might own, from the Sonos One to the tiny new Roam.

An (even) simpler set-up

Setting up Sonos products has always been remarkably easy. Plug it in, open the Sonos app, tap some settings and press a button or two on the speaker. Two minutes later and that's it. The new beam is even easier to set up thanks to near field communication (NFC) from Sonos. As soon as I put the beam on the wall and started the Sonos S2 app, the app recognized the beam and asked me to complete the setup.

This would have been as easy as tapping my iPhone against the top of the Beam, but my phone case is ridiculously thick (it was designed to be attached to a motorcycle) so that part didn't work. The app cleverly saw that I was having problems and asked if I would like to switch to an audio-based setup. When I said yes, I was asked to hold the phone next to the speaker while the speaker played an encoded audio tone. Five seconds later I was done. I have to give Sonos crazy props – the company just keeps making its products easier to work with.

The connection to my TV was also a breeze. As soon as the HDMI cable is plugged in, the Beam automatically recognizes your television and determines which commands it needs to control. This is especially handy if you choose to use Alexa's TV control capabilities.

Is it atmos?

Sonos Beam Gen 1 and Gen 2, stacked vertically.Sonos Beam Gen 2 (above, in white) and Sonos Beam Gen 1. Simon Cohen / Digital Trends

Dolby Atmos can be a difficult technology to understand. In an ideal world, we would all buy dedicated 5.1.2 or better home theater systems with at least two ceiling speakers to give us all of the juicy hemispherical sound effects that Atmos is known for. That's not realistic for most of us, which is why Dolby Atmos soundbars have become so popular. With built-in up-firing drivers that radiate sound from the ceiling to our ears, the best Atmos soundbars provide a compelling replacement for the installed ceiling speakers. But here's the thing about Dolby Atmos: thanks to sound virtualization, which uses some very clever tricks to simulate the presence of upward-facing or ceiling-based height channels, it can actually be delivered over just two channels.

With the addition of virtualized surround sound, it's an even more impressive addition to your TV.

How well virtualization works depends on a number of factors, including the size of the soundbar, the number of drivers it can use to create the simulated sound, the size and shape of your room, and even whether you have the soundbar Have turned on on a tabletop or mounted on the wall.

In general, this type of virtualized Atmos sound just can't compete with what you get from dedicated speakers, and the new Beam is no exception. However, Sonos managed to get a surprising amount of additional immersion out of what is exactly the same driver setup as the first-generation Beam under that perforated grille.

Sonos Beam Gen 1 and Gen 2, stacked vertically.Sonos Beam Gen 2 (above, white) and Beam Gen 1. Simon Cohen / Digital Trends

To get a feel for the difference between the first and second generation models, I stacked them vertically and played a variety of content by switching the HDMI cable between them. The sound stage of the new beam is significantly wider and when playing Atmos content you get a small but noticeable height effect. The Beam has always outperformed its weight class when it comes to filling a room with great sound, and with the addition of virtualized surround sound, it's an even more impressive addition to your TV.

For fun, I tried the recently remastered classic Top Gun from the 1980s. In fact, those epic dogfight scenes and the iconic opening sequence on board an aircraft carrier sounded fantastic. The Beam still lacks the deep, low-end rumble of sound bars that come with their own subwoofers, but I was pleasantly surprised at how well it mimicked a full surround system. Even more surprising is how well this effect carries over to standard 5.1 content.

There have been a couple of occasions when I thought the first generation Beam was providing a bit more understandable dialogue, but the difference was small.

The one port problem

The rear connections of the Sonos Beam Gen 2.Simon Cohen / Digital Trends

The new Beam has a single HDMI ARC / eARC port for connection to a television. The eARC part is new – it allows HDMI-eARC-enabled TVs to send a high-resolution, lossless 24-bit audio signal to the soundbar, while the first generation Beam was limited to lossy digital audio. That single port wasn't a serious limiting factor for the first-generation Beam, as the speaker couldn't decode more than Dolby 5.1, which meant that every television for the past 15 years could use its full capabilities, even if it meant having an optical- to use HDMI adapter.

But with the Dolby Atmos capabilities of the new beam, this is no longer the case. To hear Dolby Atmos from the new Beam, your TV must also support Dolby Atmos. If you want to hear Dolby Atmos from your other devices (such as streaming boxes, game consoles or Blu-ray players), they must also be connected to the HDMI inputs on your TV. There is simply no other way to transfer Atmos content to the new beam.

If you have a Dolby Atmos TV with lots of HDMI ports, this should work fine. However, if your TV isn't Dolby Atmos compatible, you will never be able to take full advantage of this speaker. Many other Atmos sound bars come with at least one HDMI input so you can connect an Apple TV 4K or a Roku Ultra. This would send the Atmos content straight to the speaker while the video goes to the TV, but that's not an option with the new Beam.

For Dolby Atmos Music, Sonos plans to support this format later this year. It starts with Amazon Music HD, but hopefully other services that offer Atmos Music and lossless music like Tidal and Apple Music will be added soon.

diploma

The Sonos Beam is a little more expensive now, but it's worth it. The additional immersion offered by the speaker's virtualized Dolby Atmos and 5.1 surround sound makes an already powerful soundbar for movies and music even better. If you have an Atmos-enabled TV, it's worth upgrading to take advantage of the better sound. Even if your TV isn't Atmos-enabled, the new Beam may offer improved immersion over its predecessor, but the difference will be less noticeable.

Editor's recommendations



30 Sep
Blog

Sonos Beam (Gen 2) Review: Improved Immersion

Sonos Beam Gen 1 and Gen 2, stacked vertically.

Sonos Beam (Gen 2)

RRP $ 449.00

"Dolby Atmos adds a touch of 3D fun to an already excellent soundbar."

advantages

  • Easy adjustment

  • Immersive, room-filling sound

  • Slim design

  • AirPlay 2

disadvantage

  • No HDMI inputs

  • Requires compatible TV for Dolby Atmos

Since its debut in 2018, the $ 399 Sonos Beam has been one of the best small soundbars you can buy thanks to its great sound, compact and stylish design, easy integration with Sonos' sound platform for the whole house and its ability to double as a smart speaker for Alexa or Google Assistant.

But in recent years, Dolby Atmos – the 3D surround sound format that makes movies and music much more immersive – has become hugely popular, not least due to its acceptance by streaming giants like Netflix, Disney +, Amazon Prime Video, and both Apple TV + as well as Apple Music. This means that most new soundbars, including Sonos' $ 799 flagship Arc soundbar, are now Atmos compatible, and the second generation Beam is no exception.

The new Sonos Beam is more expensive at $ 449. So the questions are whether existing Beam owners should even think about an upgrade and what prospective Beam newbies can expect from it.

A couple of small changes

First things first, before reading this hands-on test, be sure to check out our review of the original Sonos Beam. Sonos made very few changes to the second generation version. From now on, I'll just discuss what these changes are and how they affect the performance of the beam.

I am a fan of the grid. It's much easier to clean and doesn't attract as much dust in the first place.

Some of these changes are relatively minor, such as the decision to replace the fabric speaker grille with one made of rigid plastic. The biggest change is in the sound, which I'll get into in a moment. It's worth noting, however, that while I am discussing the changes Sonos made to the Beam, this is not an attempt to figure out which one is better because, aside from remaining Gen 1 inventory, the second generation Beam is now the only one that you can buy.

What's in the box?

Sonos Beam Gen 2 scope of delivery.Simon Cohen / Digital Trends

Sonos has always been the king of simplicity, and that goes from setup to software to packaging. The new Beam comes in a plain printed, fully recyclable box, and the only plastic you'll find are the two small poly bags that protect the included HDMI cable and optical-to-HDMI adapter. If Sonos finds a way to erase those bags, it will have some of the most sustainable packaging in the business.

In the box you will find the beam, color-coordinated power and HDMI cables, the adapter I mentioned and some printed matter for guarantees, etc.

Great grill

Sonos Beam Gen 2.Simon Cohen / Digital Trends

I like the traditional look of cloth grilles on a speaker. But as the owner of two cats, I can confirm that fabric grids are more like dust and fur magnets that have to be cleaned pretty much all the time. I don't know if that was the idea behind Sonos when it decided to replace the fabric grille on the first generation Beam with a perforated plastic version, but I'm a fan. It's much easier to clean and doesn't attract as much dust in the first place at.

Setting up Sonos products has always been remarkably easy. The new beam is even easier.

The white Gen 2 test device Sonos sent me looks great. And if you're a die-hard white product fanatic, this new Beam will go with every other white Sonos speaker you might own, from the Sonos One to the tiny new Roam.

An (even) simpler set-up

Setting up Sonos products has always been remarkably easy. Plug it in, open the Sonos app, tap some settings and press a button or two on the speaker. Two minutes later and that's it. The new beam is even easier to set up thanks to near field communication (NFC) from Sonos. As soon as I put the beam on the wall and started the Sonos S2 app, the app recognized the beam and asked me to complete the setup.

This would have been as easy as tapping my iPhone against the top of the Beam, but my phone case is ridiculously thick (it was designed to be attached to a motorcycle) so that part didn't work. The app cleverly saw that I was having problems and asked if I would like to switch to an audio-based setup. When I said yes, I was asked to hold the phone next to the speaker while the speaker played an encoded audio tone. Five seconds later I was done. I have to give Sonos crazy props – the company just keeps making its products easier to work with.

The connection to my TV was also a breeze. As soon as this HDMI cable is plugged in, the Beam automatically recognizes your television and determines which commands it needs to control. This is especially handy if you choose to use Alexa's TV control capabilities.

Is it atmos?

Sonos Beam Gen 1 and Gen 2, stacked vertically.Sonos Beam Gen 2 (above, in white) and Sonos Beam Gen 1. Simon Cohen / Digital Trends

Dolby Atmos can be a difficult technology to understand. In an ideal world, we would all buy dedicated 5.1.2 or better home theater systems with at least two ceiling speakers to give us all of the juicy hemispherical sound effects that Atmos is known for. That's not realistic for most of us, which is why Dolby Atmos soundbars have become so popular. With built-in upward-facing drivers that radiate sound from the ceiling to our ears, the best Atmos soundbars provide a compelling replacement for the installed ceiling speakers. But here's the thing about Dolby Atmos: thanks to sound virtualization, which uses some very clever tricks to simulate the presence of upward-facing or ceiling-based height channels, it can actually be delivered over just two channels.

With the addition of virtualized surround sound, it's an even more impressive addition to your TV.

How well virtualization works depends on a number of factors, including the size of the soundbar, the number of drivers it can use to create the simulated sound, the size and shape of your room, and even whether you have the soundbar Have turned on on a tabletop or mounted on the wall.

In general, this type of virtualized Atmos sound just can't compete with what you get from dedicated speakers, and the new Beam is no exception. However, Sonos managed to get a surprising amount of additional immersion out of what is exactly the same driver setup as the first-generation Beam under that perforated grille.

Sonos Beam Gen 1 and Gen 2, stacked vertically.Sonos Beam Gen 2 (above, white) and Beam Gen 1. Simon Cohen / Digital Trends

To get a feel for the difference between the first and second generation models, I stacked them vertically and played a variety of content by switching the HDMI cable between them. The sound stage of the new beam is significantly wider and when playing Atmos content you get a small but noticeable height effect. The Beam has always outperformed its weight class when it comes to filling a room with great sound, and with the addition of virtualized surround sound, it's an even more impressive addition to your TV.

For fun, I tried the recently remastered classic Top Gun from the 1980s. In fact, those epic dogfight scenes and the iconic opening sequence on board an aircraft carrier sounded fantastic. The Beam still lacks the deep, low-end rumble of sound bars that come with their own subwoofers, but I was pleasantly surprised at how well it mimicked a full surround system. Even more surprising is how well this effect carries over to standard 5.1 content.

There have been a couple of occasions when I thought the first generation Beam was providing a bit more understandable dialogue, but the difference was small.

The one port problem

The rear connections of the Sonos Beam Gen 2.Simon Cohen / Digital Trends

The new Beam has a single HDMI ARC / eARC port for connection to a television. The eARC part is new – it allows HDMI-eARC-enabled TVs to send a high-resolution, lossless 24-bit audio signal to the soundbar, whereas the first generation Beam was limited to lossy digital audio. That single port wasn't a serious limiting factor for the first-generation Beam, as the speaker couldn't decode more than Dolby 5.1, which meant that every television over the past 15 years could use its full capabilities, even if it meant having an optical- to use HDMI adapter.

But with the Dolby Atmos capabilities of the new beam, this is no longer the case. To hear Dolby Atmos from the new Beam, your TV must also support Dolby Atmos. If you want to hear Dolby Atmos from your other devices (such as streaming boxes, game consoles or Blu-ray players), they must also be connected to the HDMI inputs on your TV. There is simply no other way to transfer Atmos content to the new beam.

If you have a Dolby Atmos TV with lots of HDMI ports, this should work fine. However, if your TV isn't Dolby Atmos compatible, you will never be able to take full advantage of this speaker. Many other Atmos sound bars come with at least one HDMI input so you can connect an Apple TV 4K or a Roku Ultra. This would send the Atmos content straight to the speaker while the video goes to the TV, but that's not an option with the new Beam.

For Dolby Atmos Music, Sonos plans to support this format later this year. It starts with Amazon Music HD, but hopefully other services that offer Atmos Music and lossless music like Tidal and Apple Music will be added soon.

diploma

The Sonos Beam is a little more expensive now, but it's worth it. The additional immersion offered by the speaker's virtualized Dolby Atmos and 5.1 surround sound makes an already powerful soundbar for movies and music even better. If you have an Atmos-enabled TV, it's worth upgrading to take advantage of the better sound. Even if your TV isn't Atmos-enabled, the new Beam may offer improved immersion over its predecessor, but the difference will be less noticeable.

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29 Aug
Blog

Samsung Odyssey G7 Monitor Review: Incredible Immersion

Samsung Odyssey G7 review dsc01546

"Samsung's Odyssey G7 should be the ultimate gaming monitor, but the flickering problem with G-Sync is holding it back."

  • Excellent color rendering

  • Beautiful design

  • Great curve for immersing yourself in games

  • Fast refresh rate of 240 Hz

  • Defective adaptive synchronization

  • Low static contrast performance

  • Curve off-center

Curved gaming monitors are not a gimmick. These wraparound screens offer a fun way to immerse yourself in game worlds without the need for clumsy VR headsets.

The new Odyssey G7 from Samsung extends the technology even further. For the first time, the screen curve, now 1000R, finally matches the curvature of the human eye. It is true immersion in games at its best.

I looked at the 32-inch version of the Odyssey G7 monitor, which has a native resolution of 1440p and a refresh rate of 240 Hz. It's certainly a one-of-a-kind gaming monitor, but with a widespread G-Sync flicker problem and $ 800 price tag, the Odyssey G7 has a lot to prove. Is the Samsung Odyssey G7 worth a spot on your desk?

design

When it comes to design, Samsung has done an admirable job. The first thing you need to do when unpacking the monitor is to attach the triangle base to the neck of the stand. Then insert the top of the neck into the back of the monitor, attach four screws, and lift the entire assembly out of the packaging. You will then be greeted with an absolute giant of an ad.

While 32-inch monitors are initially large, the 32-inch G7 from Samsung sets new standards. The stand is huge and the curve seriously brings the ends of the monitor far forward. Pushed all the way back on our desk, the sides of the panel protrude about a full foot forward so you really want to make sure you have plenty of room for the G7.

The intense curve of the G7 makes it a real centerpiece on your desk.

If you do, you will be pampered. The intense curve is a wonderful eye-catcher, and with the display so far forward it becomes a real centerpiece. The stand itself may be large, but it uses long, slender legs to give it a spacious feel and to leave plenty of room. The stand also has tilt and height adjustments. It can even turn into a portrait, though I can't think of any reason why anyone would want to do this.

The curve in our example was a bit uneven, with the sharpest point being a little off-center on the left. However, when you are immersed in a game, you forget about everything.

Cables can be run through the inside of the stand to keep things tidy. A headphone hook keeps your cans off your desk when you're not playing.

On the back of the display is Samsung's Infinity Core lighting that extends to the lower corners on the front. This doesn't really add much to the display, but it's implemented in a somewhat subtle way so it's not a problem – the front lighting elements aren't really visible from most seating positions.

Connections and controls

The connectivity of the G7 is minimal, but in a good way. It has two DisplayPort inputs and an HDMI connection as well as an integrated USB 3.0 hub with two connections. Power is supplied by a large power supply module that you want to hide somewhere under your desk.

Your only control mechanism is a directional button at the bottom of the display. Click it once to bring up the first selection screen, where you can choose between input source, picture-in-picture mode, and main menu.

In the main menu, the two most interesting submenus are the game menu and the picture menu. The game menu offers settings for the refresh rate, the black equalizer, the response time, the adaptive synchronization and the low input delay. You'll want to make sure you're set to 240Hz, and you can easily set the Response Time setting to "faster" with little entry delay as these settings don't seem to go beyond the control panel.

The black equalizer is set to 13 at the factory, which you might want to lower to around 10 for more accurate performance. By the age of 13, dark elements turn black a little too early, which gives a deeper picture but puts you at a competitive disadvantage in gaming as you cannot see details in the dark.

The Picture menu provides settings for managing colors, including settings for brightness, contrast, sharpness, and color adjustments.

picture quality

The panel used by Samsung is of the VA type and has a resolution of 2,560 x 1,440 pixels. This is a bit low for a 32-inch panel, but not a problem when gaming as higher frame rates are possible. In my tests, the color reproduction was also good, covering 100% of the sRGB storage space, 85% of the AdobeRGB storage space and 90% of the DCI-P3 storage space.

With support for 1.07 billion colors and a tested Delta-E (color deviation from real) of 1.25, this panel offers surprisingly good performance in terms of color space and accuracy. Note, however, that I only measured the center of the screen. There is a noticeable color shift at the edges, probably due to the curve that the VA panel bends to its limits.

I tested the maximum brightness of the display without HDR and recorded a number of 392 nits. This is above the typical brightness of 350 nits specified by Samsung, but is sufficient for brightly lit rooms.

Calibrating the display resulted in better colors but less brightness.

Where the monitor suffers a disappointment is the contrast performance. Samsung claims a static contrast ratio of 2500: 1, which is lower than the 3000: 1 VA panels normally produce. This is likely because it is bent to within an inch of its life, so I can forgive that. However, the example I have available doesn't provide a contrast ratio close to the Samsung numbers, with the highest number recorded ending up at 1480: 1 when dynamic brightness is turned off. These are very low values ​​for a VA panel, although it would appear that these numbers vary significantly from sample to sample.

Calibrating the display resulted in a slightly better color reproduction with a Delta-E of 1.09, but that decreased slightly from peak brightness to 370 nits, and the peak contrast ratio dropped to 1330: 1 – almost half what Samsung is promising.

The G7 also supports DisplayHDR 600, which means it should achieve a peak brightness of up to 600 nits. However, this only happens when the rest of the display is dark. With just eight vertical lighting zones, HDR performance is modest at best. It is best to leave it deactivated.

Overall, the image quality of the G7 can be rated as quite good, especially when you consider that it is a gaming monitor with a panel curved to 1000R.

Sacrifice practicality for game skills

I use a 32-inch 4K monitor as my own daily driver, so you can imagine the step from this to QHD with the same panel size being quite a success. I tried switching from the 32-inch Samsung G7 in my main work setup but to no avail. While the color reproduction is impressively good, especially for a gaming monitor, the resolution isn't high enough to work on, especially considering the distance the monitor is due to its large base. The curve also causes distortion which makes photo editing confusing.

While the Samsung G7 falls short when it comes to productivity tasks, the display changes to its original element as soon as you start a game. This is where the lower QHD resolution becomes an advantage as driving is much easier than 4K and high frame rates are provided for this monitor. I equipped the display with an RTX 2070 super graphics card, with which the frame rates in competitive games could be increased significantly to 150 frames per second (fps) and higher. And yes, that makes you a better player.

I don't know how Samsung did it, but the VA panel continues to deliver sharp, smudge-free images even at higher frame rates and extremely fast movements on the screen, making it very easy to track fast-moving subjects from competitive shooters. In Destiny 2, I was suddenly able to track fast-moving subjects with a sniper rifle and successfully land headshots at moving targets over and over again – which I couldn't reproduce on my 60 Hz 4K monitor.

Start the BLJR Busters UFO test and see three UFOs flying across your screen, one at 240 Hz (top), one at 120 Hz (center), and one at 60 Hz (bottom). The 60 Hz alien always runs a few pixels behind the 120 fps and 240 fps aliens. The 120 and 240 Hz aliens are practically neck to neck for on-screen position, but where the 120 Hz UFO is slightly blurry in its rapid movement, the 240 Hz alien is crystal clear.

The image provided is from a video taken with the camera to track the aliens, which makes a pretty good impression – but I couldn't capture how dramatic the difference is with my camera. The 240Hz alien is so crystal clear at high speed that you wonder why anyone would care about a 120Hz display.

The G7's 1000R curve makes games incredibly impressive.

I also launched Horizon Zero Dawn which recently launched on PC. At the highest settings, my PC only pushed around 70 fps into the G7, but the game ran incredibly smoothly and the curve just pulled me in and held me in place. The G7's 1000R curve might not work for productivity, but it makes gaming oh so impressive.

The deep black of the VA panel as well as the vivid colors and high brightness draw you further into the game. If you want to perform well in competitive games, then you should only look at the 27-inch version. However, this 32-inch panel is great for balancing the power of competitive gaming with the immersion in slow single-player gaming, story-driven games.

Address of the elephant in the room: G-Sync Flicker

As many people report on the internet, the G-Sync flicker problem also occurs. The Samsung G7 is technically not a true G-Sync monitor. Instead of using a G-Sync module developed by Nvidia, it is based on the adaptive synchronization protocol implemented in the VESA DisplayPort 1.4 standard.

This is not a problem in and of itself as many displays work well this way. But not the G7. Turn on adaptive sync. While you usually won't notice any problems using the desktop, problems do arise as soon as you start a game.

You'll notice the black flicker in game menus and loading screens the most. It's also present when playing games at high frame rates, although it does so at lower frame rates too. On my panel, it was worst on the left and right edges of the screen, like a black vignette that keeps popping up.

This made adaptive synchronization unusable. Despite everything the G7 does to immerse you in the game, the flickering was so intense with adaptive sync enabled that it felt like I had a twitch in my eye. I searched the internet for a solution ranging from new cables to various settings to a firmware update, but nothing solved the problem. I also tested two 27-inch G7s, both of which had the problem, albeit to a lesser extent. It is best known and known as a known problem with this 32-inch sample.

The only solution for crack-free gameplay was to turn off adaptive sync and enable V-sync instead. Usually this is a sub-optimal solution as it may fix the tearing. However, stuttering and input lag become an issue as the display cannot adjust the screen refresh rate to match your frame timings.

When adaptive sync is enabled, the monitor waits for the GPU to shift a frame out, then immediately updates it to display it, and waits for the next full frame. Without this option, the display is updated 240 times per second, regardless of whether a new frame is to be displayed or not. When V-Sync is disabled and the GPU is halfway through rendering a frame, the display will show that half the frame, causing quick responses, but with cracks visible. With V-Sync enabled, the PC waits for the entire frame to be rendered and the panel to reach an update interval, resulting in tear-free images but also a short delay.

Samsung should take responsibility for the G-Sync flicker issue.

The monitor can display up to 240 fps evenly spaced apart from one second, even when running at much lower frame rates, so the images are displayed at almost the exact speed that the GPU is pushing them out. The lag caused by V-Sync is much shorter compared to a 60Hz, 120Hz, or 144Hz monitor, even if your game is running at relatively low frame rates.

In some ways, the G7 is so fast that it doesn't need adaptive sync, and most people would barely notice the difference between V-sync and unbroken adaptive sync on a 240Hz monitor. But that doesn't change the facts: the 32-inch Samsung G7's adaptive sync is broken, and that's just not acceptable for a $ 800 gaming monitor when so many cheaper displays get it right. Given that price, I would love to see Samsung take responsibility for this issue and either come out with a solution, issue a recall, or remove G-Sync certification and lower the price.

Digital Trends has contacted Samsung for a comment and we will update this review as soon as we hear about it.

Our opinion

The 32-inch Samsung Odyssey G7 is an excellent gaming monitor with a curve that draws you into gaming like no other display. However, the problem with G-Sync flicker is hard to miss.

Classic V-Sync can still solve the problems. With a refresh rate of 240 Hz, you don't necessarily need G-Sync for smooth gameplay. However, it's a second-rate solution that is hard to accept when asked to pay $ 800 for a monitor. Until it is repaired, the Odyssey G7 remains faulty.

Are there alternatives?

If you want a 32-inch QHD monitor that is as fast as this one, with such a tight curve, with the deep black levels and vibrant colors that this VA panel offers, there isn't one.

The closest alternative is the Asus ROG Strix XG32VQ, but it's not that fast at only 144 Hz and doesn't have such a tight curve. Similarly, MSI's Optix MAG321CQR offers a monitor of the same size, resolution, but not as fast or curvy, despite being less than half the price.

How long it will take?

Samsung's monitors don't usually develop crazy problems, so I expect this to work for as long as you can expect from most monitors: at least five years. However, Samsung only gives a one-year warranty on the monitor, which is below the industry standard.

Monitor technology is also advancing rapidly, and I doubt it will be long before a competitor conjures up a product that performs similarly for less money. Combine that with the G-Sync issue, which likely can't be fixed and you can expect a sharp drop in value in your first year.

Should I buy it?

Not in its current state. The Odyssey G7's curve is still a great sight, but G-Sync's problematic implementation is a deal breaker.

There's one major caveat: if Samsung rolls out an update that fixes this issue, the Odyssey G7 will be back worth the $ 800 it costs.

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