Home Theater Lighting


Research conducted by the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE) has shown that a small amount of light while watching television is critical for extended enjoyment. Darkness is required of any display device, especially front projectors, which depend on their own limited light output to produce their brilliant colors and images. But viewing in total darkness will cause eyestrain and fatigue as the iris has to constantly adjust to extremes in light output of your display.

Images on screen can go from bright to dark and bright again and the muscles that control the iris have to constantly adjust. A small amount of light behind the display will bias the iris muscles to a minimum lighting, so the eyes don't have to work as hard to compensate for lighting fluctuations.


Ambient Home Theater lighting behind the screen.

A fluorescent light at 65000 degrees Kelvin located behind the display is optimal for home theater lighting. The position behind the display means there is no chance it will produce glare over images. The color temperature is one that produces light as close to even across the visible spectrum as possible so as not to favor one particular tone.

The light output should be muted; a dimmer to control the intensity is all you need. You don't need to be extravagant to place a lamp behind your TV, but for the discriminating home theater user there are many alternatives, including personalized marquees and sconces that hang on the wall and deliver muted lighting directed away from the display so as not to cause glare.

Philips has recently introduced its own solution for home theater lighting, an ambient lighting feature on some of its new flat-screen TVs. The TV produces ambient lighting behind the display that is made up of colors from the incoming video signal. This is a convenient feature that might catch on with other manufacturers in coming months.

Philips new "Ambient Light Technology"