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Ambient lighting (a.k.a. bias lighting) behind a monitor can really polish off a battlestation or workstation. That soft glow on the wall can really make it feel like home sweet home.
Not only that, but having that light behind your monitor can also help reduce eye strain [citation]. Win-win!
Without further ado, let’s take a look at our top picks.
Our Top 3 Choices for the Best Monitor Backlight
Govee – RGB LED Strip
This is a nice entry level option for getting some light behind your monitor with some decent options for colors and customization.
It allows for control from an App on your phone via wireless or Bluetooth and it comes in sections and has different modes for when you are showing it off to your curious family members.
Govee – Dreamcolor LED Strip
This is a great mid level option that comes with a lot of bells and whistles. It allows for control from an App on your phone via wireless or Bluetooth, as well as Alexa and Google Home.
They are dimable and come with a nice timer function as well.
Philips Hue – Lightstrip Plus
The Philips Hue lighting system is going to be a nice premium option that wont break the bank. It works with lots of things, over wifi, yada yada, all the features you could ever want.
The best thing about this system is the ability to sync with your content with Hue Sync. This allows you to be super immersed in your games or movies by sort of “extending” the content via lighting onto the wall behind your monitor.
Check it out in action:
Corsair – iCUE LS100 [Bonus Consideration]
Sharing a lot of the same features as the Philips Hue – Lightstrip Plus, but with support for their iCUE software, which can work with a ton of other gaming accessories and products.
Also to note here is the built in light diffusion, giving the light a nice smooth effect, something low end LED strips won’t have.
Things to Consider Before Buying
You would think it would be pretty straight forward for getting some LEDs and throwing them behind your monitor, but there are some options to consider.
Length
The length of the strip is going to be something basic to consider. There are kits that will come with much more than you need which may seem like a good thing, but unless you are ready to start cutting it up, you may end up with half a roll of LEDs just sitting behind your screen which is less than ideal.
Some kits have detachable segments which allow you to use as many as needed without all the extra slack.
Brightness
All LEDs are not the same brightness, and some may not have a dimming feature. So it is possible that you might end up with bias lighting that is too dim to make a difference in the day time, or can’t compete with the other lights in the room at night.
One way to compare the brightness would be to check the specs on the kit, but some may not have it. The other way would simply be to read the reviews and see what others are saying.
Controls
From my experience a lot of these kits come with the same type of remote control.
This is fine for a lot of situations, but if you already have a smart hub in the room, it might make more sense to hook into it so you are not fumbling with different controls all the time.
Color
Some bias light kits only come in white. This would work well in a lot of cases, but often a splash of color can really set the mood for playing a game or watching a movie.
A lot of kits will come with a limited number of color options light the remote above shows.
Power
The way a LED strip is powered is big thing to think about. You can get some with USB power which will hook right into some monitors, so you wont have any extra cables hanging down. Some solutions are powered with a regular power outlet, so you might have to find another spot on your power strip and route another cable.
On Screen Sync
There are a few options out there as well that allow you sync the lighting behind your screen with what is on it. In a way it “extends” your monitor into the surroundings. This provides another level of immersion that you probably didn’t even think existed.
Conclusion
For me, a back light behind the monitor has always been the piece of the puzzle that makes the biggest difference. If you think about it, almost no one has it unless the are trying to improve their overall setup. It usually does not come by default with your computer or desk or monitor, you have to buy it separately.
If you didn’t find the ambient lighting option you were after in this article, feel free to head on over to Amazon and continue your search there.
