RGB LED Surround Video Experience

Dogwoods

Hi All,

I hope this is the right forum to post this. Has anyone ever thought of using RGB LEDs with an HDMI extractor, but putting the LEDs all around the room? I have seen lots of videos like this: (                                ) and have wondered why the LEDs are limited to light just the back of the screen. I am planning to build a home theater at some point and am on the fence about whether I should attempt such a setup. On one hand I think it could make certain scenes more immersive by having the color engross you from all around. On the other hand, this isn't really like surround sound. It isn't programmed ahead of time like the surrounding speakers are, and simply uses the edges of the screen to make a guess.

I have also considered adding tactile transducers to my setup, and was skeptical about them too, as again, they are simply using the audio and trying to guess at what should be felt. However, more people have used transducers, and many seem to like them. So I have more confidence in these for my setup. However, no one that I can find has really documented using these types of LEDs to surround a room by feeding information from the picture onto the walls, floor, and ceiling. I am not sure how many LEDs would be required, and am wondering how many strips would need to go around the room for the lights to disperse the colors evenly. I also wonder if it would enhance the experience, or just be annoying. Any thoughts?

PerfectBlue97

LEDs are usually limited to the back of the screen because it's actually more effective like this. Any light that isn't in your center of vision is essentially wasted.

It also requires less cables.

Generally speaking, it's much more difficult to extract from HDMI, as most HDMI sources are encoded. Capturing from HDMI can be difficult and messy. It's why most lighting systems use software to capture the screen at source rather than intercepting it from the HDMI.

Hypothetically speaking, you can just download the plans for any homebrew ambient lighting system and put the LEDs on long cables so that they reach around the room. It should be OK so long as you watch the voltage. You may need an additional power supply.