Posts

Philips Hue Play HDMI SYNC Box

 

 

WHAT'S IN THE BOX?! Philips Hue Play HDMI Sync

WHAT'S IN THE BOX? Philips UK & Ireland Hue Play HDMI SYNC!

Posted by How To Kill an Hour on Friday, 29 November 2019

 

We have checked out the Philips Hue Play HDMI Sync Box, a really cool piece of kit that syncs what you can see on screen, either on a game, movie or tv show with the various lights that Hue provides! You can also sync your music with it! How cool is that!?

IMMERSION!

With this fancy piece of kit, (trust us it’s amazing! We love it!) you are able to sync Philips Hue Lights with the Sync Box and it will mimic the lights that are on screen on to the wall behind the television. Furthermore you’re able to attach up to 4 HDMI devices, so you could attach a SKY/Virgin Box, a Game Console or an Apple TV (For Music/Games/Tv) all at once! Though only one device can be used at any one time.

Ease of use

The Philips Hue Play HDMI Sync does require the Hue Bridge and Hue Colour lights to work, but once you got those it’s good to go! Plus it’s super easy to set up, we set ours up in 5mins! Even personalise your experience with the Sync Box App!

Things such as explosions were mimicked on the wall behind us. Even the intensity of said explosions were mimicked on the wall behind our TV. That certainly adds to the immersion of the content that we’re viewing. It felt like we were ‘there’!

However, if you aren’t too keen on the intense nature that may occur (all dependent on what you see on screen of course) you can select a subtle mode from within the Sync Box App to tone down the lights.

The Philips Hue Play HDMI Sync Box is available now for $229.99 €249.95 (UK price TBC).

It will be released in the UK in January 2020

More information about the product can be found here!

Keep up to date with everything How To Kill An Hour by signing up to our newsletter by clicking here!

Let us know what you think of the show by clicking here!

Click here to subscribe to our YouTube Channel to see more amazing ways to kill time!

Also, follow us on Twitch by clicking here!

Philishave Heritage Edition

Philips have recently announced a shaver to celebrate 80 years of Philips shaving innovation of male grooming and shaving! It’s called the Philishave Heritage Edition and this special edition Philishave is quite special! It combines modern-day technology of a Philips shaver and mixes it with a contemporary shaver. The colours and finish of the Philishave Heritage edition are inspired by it’s heritage and iconic three headed design!

Did you know?

Since the start of production, Philips have made one billion male grooming devices. Thats Billion with a big capital B! While along the way Philips have clearly demonstrated a dedicated commitment to meet the evolving needs of the modern man.

Philishave: History

In the 1930’s a Philips engineer named Alexandre ‘Sacha’ Horowitz was inspired by Philips’ bicycle dynamo technology. He was so inspired infact that he created the rotary system. Thus birthing the 80 year journey of Philips dedication to delivering high quality shaving products to the modern man. Little did he know, his creation was the spawning of many many years of innovation.

It was 1930 which say the launch of the world’s very first rotary shaver. It was called the Philishave. The Philishave was a pivotal moment in Philips history in the male groomin industry and saw the unique design meet the needs of men across the world.

Consequently in 1966, the iconic three triangular three-headed design of the latest Philishave provided men with a close yet comfortable shave, that we all know and love today. It continues to today and Philips encourage men to do what feels right when it comes to shaving. Offering a wide range of different shaving and grooming tools. All suited to meet a variety of needs. Be it skin sensitivity, style, convenience or lifestyle.

 “In 1939, Philips changed the way men shave forever. This special edition Philishave celebrates our game-changing history and commitment to making men’s lives better every day. The pioneering spirit of our designers and engineers is what makes Philips shavers so renowned and our expertise guarantees every shaver will give men the convenient, close and comfortable shave they deserve.” Georgia Dass, Marketing Manager for Philips Shaving UK

Design

The Philips Philishave Heritage Edition has the companies iconic three headed design and is the embodiment of years of continuous improvement. Whilst retaining all the high quality design features that what made the Philishave so good originally. As you would expect from a Philips shaver, the Philishave Heritage edition is an afforable and innovative shaver, which gives a close and comfortable shave.

The Shave

The Philishave Heritage Edition has a ComfortCut Blade System on rounded profile heads to offer users a comfortable shave which glides effortlessly across your face. All the while protecting your face from any skin irritations or cuts. The flex heads also move in 4 different directions to easily mould to the face of it’s user. The shaver also has Li-ion power to give a better shave for longer.

Key Features

  • ComfortCut Blade System
  • 4-direction Flex Heads
  • Pop-up trimmer
  • Li-ion power
  • Comes with a black travel pouch

Purchase a Philishave by clicking here! (RRP £79.99)

Keep up to date with everything How To Kill An Hour by signing up to our newsletter by clicking here!

Let us know what you think of the show by clicking here!

Click here to subscribe to our YouTube Channel to see more amazing ways to kill time!

Follow us on Twitch by clicking here!

Christmas Gift Guide

12 Days of Christmas Gadgets Gift Guide

It’s that time of year again! Here are some of the best pieces of tech that we think will be perfect as Christmas Gadget stocking fillers! Furthermore, once you’ve finished, let us know any that you think we missed!

Sky Soundbox

The Sky Soundbox is the piece of audio hardware to revolutionise your tv viewing experience! It’s the perfect piece of tech to compliment your Sky Q package.

Sky partnered with Devialet, who are one of the most innovative names in audio to bring you the Sky Soundbox. Combining the power of Sky Tv intelligence with Devialet’s incredible, groundbreaking acoustic technology. Together with Sky Q the Soundbox delivers crisp, crystal clear bespoke sound across all of the content you love. Sports, Music, Cinema, it can handle it and produce the very best audio experience to compliment the very best visual experience with Sky Q. (Read More) (Purchase)

Red Dead Redemption 2

Rockstar games always knock it out of the park when it comes to games, Grand Theft Auto is what they are most known for, however when Red Dead Redemption came out in 2010, it changed the game! Everyone has always wanted to be a cow-boy and Rockstar made everyone’s dream come true! Now, 8 years later, Rockstar are revisiting the Red Dead universe in Red Dead Redemption 2. With over $725 million in worldwide retail sell-through during its first three days, Red Dead Redemption 2 is the second-highest grossing entertainment launch of all time next to Rockstar Games’ previously released title, Grand Theft Auto V, which achieved over $1 billion in retail sell-through in three daysNo one would be disappointed with this in their stocking! (Read More) (Purchase)

Marvel’s Spiderman

Marvel’s Spiderman, is an incredible game and one for the stocking this year. We loved it at E3 and we fell in love with it when we played it ourselves upon release. Definitely will not disappoint a PS4 owning loved one! Spiderman is an action and adventure open world game exclusive to PS4. The gameplay trailer that was shown off this year did not disappoint. It looks just like a movie and the devs over at Insomniac have done a wonderful job of seamlessly transitioning between gameplay and cutscenes. (Read More) (Purchase)

Strange Brigade

Another incredible game that would be perfect for stockings this year is Strange Brigade. This game is fun, fun, fuuuuun!! It’s very enjoyable by yourself defeating hordes of the undead. However, get a crew together and this levels of excitement and enjoyment go through the roof!

From the very start Strange Brigade is very charming with it’s friendly narrator (with his over the top British upper class dialect) and it’s 1930’s setting. The graphics draw you in to a world that is full of might magic and mystery. Yet at the same time having an underlying notion of danger when the undead appear. You know you’re in danger! Yet the locations are so pretty!

What makes Strange Brigade different to many other co-op games available today is that the levels and the game will change slightly depending on the numbers in your team. More enemies, lots of twists and turns with the levels and even the puzzles take it up a notch if you have a friend with you. (Read More) (Purchase)

Nintendo Labo

The Nintendo Labo is great for all the creatives in your life that love video games! The Labo is a cardboard video game! Sound crazy?! Well, it is designed to help you get creative with the Switch. Create all different kinds of gaming add ons with the variety kits that are available. Such as fishing kits, play piano or even the most impressive one that we have seen an AR Robot kit!

Nintendo are calling the cardboard kits, ‘Toy-Cons’ and are designed to be solely used with the Nintendo Switch. Just by following the onscreen instructions that are displayed on the Switches touchscreen.

The Toy-Cons are so versatile that you can either use the Toy-Cons independently of the screen itself and you watch what’s occuring on screen. I.e: Fishing. Where all the computing is done inside the joy-con controller, or by using the whole console itself to find new ways to play! An example of this would be the use of a motorbike, whereby the switch is placed in the center of the ‘Toy-Cons’ and ‘Joy-Cons’ are placed either side and the accelerometer acts as a steering mechanism.

The most impressive of the lot was the use of a HUGE contraption, with the Robot ‘Toy-Con’. This cardboard accessory is HUGE and is placed on a users back and utilises cables to detect a users movement. (Read More) (Purchase)

Turtle Beach Elite Pro 2 + SuperAmp

Turtle Beach Elite Pro 2

Turtle Beach Elite Pro 2

After all that gaming, you’re going to need a great piece of tech to talk to all those people online! The Turtle Beach Elite Pro 2 + SuperAmp, is THE gaming headphones for you this Christmas. Are you ready to get an advantage over your gaming competitors? Turtle Beach have announced something that may just help you do that. The Turtle Beach Elite Pro 2 + Super Amp gives users powerful amplified professional grade sound, unmatched comfort and app based controls to their audio.  The Turtle Beach Elite Pro 2 headset has top level audio and is driven by their own E-Sports tuned 50mm Nanoclear speakers. The microphone on the Turtle Beach Elite Pro 2 is highly sensitive and is noise cancelling for crystal clear communication. The SuperAmp adds a brand new way for players to control audio. The one dialled design brings powerful amplified Windows Sonic for Headphones surround sound. It even adds DTS Headphone:X 7.1 surround sound capabilities! (Read More) (Purchase)

Seagate Game Drive

Over Christmas you’re going to probably get a couple more games in your stockings! You’re going to need more storage space, as no one likes to delete stuff! We have the solution for you!

Well there’s a plethora of choices available for external hard drives and we’ve found an incredible one! The Seagate Game Drive for PS4, it comes with a whopping 4TB of storage which allows for 100games! Installation is pain free and super quick. Simply plug in the Seagate Game Drive directly into any USB port on the PS4 and boom, you’re good to go. The PS4 will recognise the drive and walk you through a simple set up. The Seagate Game Drive will be ready to have games installed on it within 3 minutes! (Read More) (Purchase)

DJI Mavic 2

The Mavic Pro 2 is an incredible piece of tech and is a perfect gift for the filmmakers in your life.  It even comes in two configurations! Firstly the Mavic 2 Pro: Made in Sweden, Hasselblad cameras are renowned for their iconic ergonomic design, uncompromising image quality, and Swedish craftsmanship. Since 1941, Hasselblad cameras have captured some of the world’s most iconic images – including the first moon landing.

Co-engineered in partnership with Hasselblad after two years of tireless research, the Mavic 2 Pro comes equipped with the all-new Hasselblad L1D-20c camera. The L1D-20c possesses Hasselblad’s unique Hasselblad Natural Colour Solution (HNCS) technology,  helping users to capture gorgeous 20-megapixel aerial shots in stunning color detail.

Also the DJI Mavic 2 comes in a different configuration: The Mavic 2 Zoom. Powered by a 1/2.3-inch 12-megapixel sensor with up to 4x zoom, including a 2x optical zoom (24–48 mm), the Mavic 2 Zoom is all about dynamic perspectives. Capture everything from wide angle to mid-range shots for even more creative options. (Read More) (Purchase)

Mikme

The Mikme Microphone, is a perfect stocking filler for all the content creators and audio geeks out there! A supremely powerful microphone that  boasts studio quality sound. From experience, we can tell you first hand that this microphone, really does produce some amazing sound quality! Consequently, in a tiny package too, we were seriously impressed when we reviewed this awesome little device! It’s touted as the world’s first wireless mircrophone and audio recorder in one. Simply press the button and voila, you’re recording. While you’ll need a smartphone to connect it to, to monitor what you’re recording, but other than that, you’re set! However, that’s no stress either! Simply connect your headphones to the Mikme to the reverse of the device to listen to the crispy clear audio! (Read More) (Purchase)

Philips One Blade Body Edition

Philips OneBlade

Philips OneBlade

This piece of tech is perfect for all those wanting to look crisp and clean this holiday season. The Philips OneBlade does everything that the original OneBlade did previously. You can trim your beard with one of the three stubble comes, which come in a variety of lengths. There’s 1mm, 3mm and 5mm. However, the OneBlade now comes with a body comb, which is 3mm, which you can use in any direction.

As the OneBlade does not shave like a regular shaver, i.e. getting really close. You’re able to use this to your advantage and go against the grain and easily shave off any length of any hair from any part of your body! Remember to change the blade though! There’s one for the body and one for the face! (Read More) (Purchase)

Astro Bot: Rescue Mission

We recently played this on How To Kill An Hour’s Twitch Stream and it was incredibly fun! It’s a pick up and play game that is perfect for the family and definitely makes use of the VR in a wonderful way. It’s perfect for all the family on Christmas Day and will keep everyone entertained for hours!

Astro Bot: Rescue Mission VR is an incredible virtual reality platformer that’s exclusively created for the Playstation VR. In the game you take control of a character called Astro, the captain of a spaceship traveling search for his lost crew.

Astro Bot: Rescue Mission VR takes gamers across 26 levels that take the platforming genre to brand new heights? Well, the game is across a 360 degree landscape. There are huge towering bosses but be careful as there are precise controls whilst you are Astro. Some of the levels are very challenging so make sure that you use all 360 degree’s of vision otherwise you’ll miss things! Therefore it is vital that you use your entire body to “look” around corners as there may be things that you miss. Consequently there may be paths that you are able to create for Astro to climb. (Read More) (Purchase) (Purchase Playstation VR)

 

Anvio VR

VR has been HUGE this year, so why not fill up the stockings of loved ones with tickets to Anvio VR in London!? Unlike a lot of VR games or events this is an experience in which you’re allowed to play! Hence why they’re describing it as a playground! What we mean by play is that you’re free to move around. As you’re not confined to a small play area. So you get to run around a HUGE room and experience, quite literally, a whole new world!

In the worlds that Anvio VR have created you can run, jump and even wave to your partners whilst in the game, all that and much much more! Their play area is also fully wirless so there’s no worry about running into a wall or falling over wires. Thus creating a much more realistic and immersive experience. Also, there’s guides in the room, who are there to help prevent you from crashing into any walls, if you do manage to find your way to a wall that is! (Read More) (Purchase)

So, keep up to date with everything How To Kill An Hour by signing up to our newsletter by clicking here!

Let us know what you think of the show by clicking here!

Also, click here to subscribe to our YouTube Channel to see more amazing ways to kill time!

New Philips Hue Lights

New Philips Hue Lights: Bring more WOW into your life!

New Philips Hue Lights for 2018: Hue Outdoor and Hue Bathroom

Adore

Adore

Hue Adore Bathroom – New Philips Hue Lights include the new Hue Adore range comes in a selection of designs to finely tune the right light at any time of the day in your bathroom. The Adore Hue wall mirror helps to get you energised in the morning and unwind with the perfect relax light before going to bed – settings can be adjusted with the Hue app. Available from Amazon, Argos, John Lewis and Very RRP £229.99

 

 

New Philips Hue Lights

Outdoor

 

Hue Outdoor – Hue fans can now bring the indoors out with the new Outdoor range. Add mood lighting to any BBQ or light the way up your garden path with a selection of luminaires which can be controlled via the Hue app when away from home. Choose designs from the Lilly, Lucca, Tuar and Turaco models.  Available from Amazon and John Lewis, RRP from £64.99

(Philips)

 

 

Purchasing New Philips Hue Lights

Purchase New Philips Hue Lights Adore Bathroom and Outdoor here:

Adore

Outdoor: Lily / Lucca / Turaco

Also, keep up to date with everything How To Kill An Hour why not sign up to our newsletter! Simply click here to get a dose of How To Kill An Hour in your inbox each and every week!

 

 

Episode 259 Gadgets for Christmas!

Philips Master Your Shave

Philips Master Your Shave! Star Wars x Philips

Philips Master Your Shave! Which side are you on?

To celebrate the release of Star Wars: The last Jedi, Philips have collaborated with Star wars to bring you, Star Wars inspired shavers, calling it Philips Master Your Shave! The range combines the cutting edge technology that we all know and love from Philips with designs which emulate your favourite characters from the Star Wars movies!

‘The range fuses Philips high tech innovation with the Star Wars imagination factory…..The products within the range retain premium Philips shaving functionality whilst being themed around the iconic Star Wars movie collection.’  Rob Smith, UK Senior Marketing Manager for Male Shaving and Grooming.

Marcus Bronzy and Ortis Deley at the Star Wars x Philips event.

Our very own Marcus Bronzy and Channel 5’s ‘The Gadget Show’s’ Ortis Deley at the Star Wars x Philips event.

Philips Shaver Series SW9700 

Philips Master Your Shave

Philips Master Your Shave

So this shaver from Philips is for all you dark side of the force fans! The premium shaver has V-Track Pro blades which provide exceptional comfort and closeness, but with a dash of dramatic red to black gradient, coupled with hexagonal patterning, topped off with a First Order logo as the power button.

Philips Shaver Series SW7700

Philips Master Your Shave

Philips Master Your Shave

For all you good side of the force fans this Shaver helps to reduce skin irritation by gliding comfortably  along the skin, even if you haven’t shaved for a few days! The body is silver and turquoise with Symbols of the Resistance on the body. There are even subtle references to light speed on the etchings of the handle. The Jedi Logo lights up in use, so you can feel like a real Jedi on those cold winter mornings!

Philips Shaver Series SW6700

This shaver brings to life the X Wing, why? As it allows you to have a quick and close shave. Since the shaver automatically recalibrates to every curve of the neck and face, mimicing the fluid nature of the X-Wing. The design follows the nature of Poe Dameron’s X-Wing right down to the tiny details such as scratched metal finishings and red stripes. Also as with other Shavers the on turbo button flickers during it’s use.

Philips Shaver Series SW5700

Also, everyone’s favourite modern character BB-8 even makes an appearance on the Philips Star Wars range. The iconic orange and white colour scheme is throughout the design which incorporates the Philips ComforCut Blade system.

Philips Shaver Series SW3700

Finally but by no means least, also incorporating ComfortCut blades the Philips SW3700 has an R2-D2 design. As with many other shavers the on-off switch blinks and the panneling lights up too!

Purchase your own Philips Star Wars Range! Philips Master Your Shave today!

Purchase your own Star Wars Philips Shavers here! 

Listen to our latest Podcast here!

 

 

Philips Hue Smart Bulbs

Nick Bright on the show introduced us to some ‘Smart Bulbs’ called Philips Hue and they are quite impressive!

The lights allow you to choose from 16million colours in the complimentary hue app to allow you to set the light to match your mood. The bulbs themselves have been improved with deeper green, cyan, and blues for even better scene setting. You can even use a photo and set the bulbs to colour that particular photo! The bulbs are even compatible with iOS’s HomeKit technology, ask Siri to turn on or dim the lights! You can even save your favourite light settings and recall them whenever with a touch of a button.

You can extend your TV Viewing experience to sync with your favourite show or favourite music to flicker to the beat! Can even control the lights away from the house! Remotely check if you have left the lights on, you can even and check out how cool this is, by using geofencing technology you can set the lights to turn on as soon as you walk through the door after work! Not only that you can wake up naturally with your Philips Hue Smart Bulbs and have the bulbs increase with intensity to reflect the sunrise or vice versa and have it dim slowly to reflect a sundown.

To buy your own Philips Hue Smart Bulbs please click here! 

To listen to the guys discussing the Philips Hue Smart Bulbs please click here! 

Nuclear Sp*rm / Pablo Cocobar w/Funk Butcher

The Future Of Shaving – Phillips One Blade!

 

Are you a bearded man who needs help in sculpting that PERFECTLY shaped beard? Need help trimming down that monster beard? Well Philips have got just the tool for you….

Throughout history the fully grown beard was seen as a staple of masculinity and power. Many famous men have had beards, Emperor Hadrian sported a beard much like our own and started a trend for many Emperor’s after him, Francis Drake boasted at how he had singed the King Of Spain’s beard. Then came the 20th Century and the fresh faced look (aka like a baby) became a dominant tone. Then came the tools to sculpt the cleaner look, and the male grooming market boomed, and now we have the popularity of the beard and most famously the “Hipster Beard” and grooming tools for hipsters and those wanting a cleaner look started to look a little stale.

Until now! The Philips One Blade, a tool that even Thor himself would be jealous of, is not a shaver or a trimmer – its just a blade. One Blade. (Which can be used either for a wet or dry shave) Giving the ease of use and functionality that no other blade gives in being able to achieve a wide variety of facial hair styles, be that a rough and ready stubble look or the longer bearded men among us the Philips One Blade can help with that. All by combining rotary shaver and the regular trimmers in one tool no man shall have any excuse for a poorly tamed beard.