Posted in: Game Hardware, Games, Interview, Video Games | Tagged: gaming, Nanoleaf

Interview: Nanoleaf CEO Talks About New 4D Screen Mirror & Lightstrip

We got a chance to chat with Nanoleaf’s CEO Gimmy Chu to talk about their new 4D lighting system they released for TV's and monitors.

Nanoleaf has introduced a brand new product recently that they are hoping enhances the experience of watching or playing games on a TV or monitor, as well as daily viewing of content. They have released the new 4D Screen Mirror & Lightstrip, which will use the image on the screen to create lighting attached to the back of your monitor to match what you're seeing. It's an interesting way to make the experience more immersive and add a new lighting option to your space. As part of the release, we got to chat with Nanoleaf's CEO, Gimmy Chu, about the new product and its development.

BC: Hey Gimmy, first thing, how have things been going for you so far this year?

GC: It's been a super exciting year for us; we've been building a lot of new products to fill in our assortment. We have about ten products launching before the end of this year, and there are some exciting new software experiences that we are looking forward to sharing with our users.

Aside from the obvious Nanoleaf stuff we'll be discussing today, what kind of tech has been catching your eye lately?

Aside from Nanoleaf stuff, I'm a big fan of tech in general. Apple's new Vision Pro is definitely something I'm excited to see come to market, as I believe AR/VR will be a big part of the future. It's just difficult to tell how long it will be before it becomes mainstream.

Getting to the heart of the matter, what made you decide to move into creating Nanoleaf's 4D Kit?

Nanoleaf's light panels have become an almost iconic part of the gaming community. They appear in streamers/pro gamers/influencers' backdrops all over the internet. We also found that a lot of our customers placed our products in their entertainment spaces, and we wanted to improve their entertainment experience instead of just being a decorative piece. We started off with screen mirroring through a desktop app, and that was widely popular. However, the most requested feature was to have content from your TV mirrored without the need for a PC/Mac. 4D is our way of enabling our customers to mirror what's playing on their TV to all of Nanoleaf's assortment of products. The 4D Kit comes with an addressable light strip that you wrap around the back of your TV. Through our Sync+ Technology, you're also able to add in all of the other Nanoleaf products that are available in the same room to also sync with what is happening on the TV. Our goal was to bring that immersive smart lighting experience into the home entertainment space to transform your favorite movies, music videos, and console games into an epic 4D experience.

How did you arrive at the designs for the 4D Kit?

We knew that there are different types of settings for screen mirroring that suit different purposes from our experience with screen mirroring on the desktop app. For example, always having your lights mirror exactly what's happening on your screen can work great if you're playing a racing game. However, it can be a bit distracting if you're watching a drama on TV. Also, just having screen mirroring may not be enough if you're watching music videos on your screen. When we set out to design the 4D kit, we really tried to think of every possible use case that a consumer would want to use this product for, and we ended up figuring out design solutions for them that way.

Why was it important for Nanoleaf to move more into gaming and entertainment with the 4D Kit?

Personally, I'm an avid gamer, and I've always imagined that our products can be interactive with the games that I play. This was something I really wanted, and I knew that it would be difficult to support interfaces to all the most popular games. That is why we decided to partner with Overwolf in order to integrate with a large majority of the most popular games for PC.  I'm also a big music lover, and one of the things I love to do is watch music videos on my TV. I really wanted to see the 4D kit, not only mirror what's being shown on the screen but also extend the immersion to support music synchronization. I believe that smart lighting needs to be more than just lights that can be controlled with your phone. It needs to create new experiences and be able to interact with other products that you use in your home. The two areas of "fun" in your home are the entertainment and gaming area of your home (at least for me).

Were there any challenges you faced in making the design work?

Getting the colors to match perfectly with different types of TVs was definitely a challenge. We realized that some screens were matte while others were more reflective, and different configurations work for different TVs and environments. We ultimately came up with a couple of different presets that a user can choose from in order to optimize the environment they are in.

Along the same lines, how did the process go towards making these stand out versus comparable products on the market?

We really focused on how people will use this product. I believe there are several different use cases when you watch TV, with different modes that work best for each use case. For example, watching a sports game, TV dramas, action movies, music videos, and console gaming are very distinct use cases that have different modes that would optimize the experience.  We then broke it down to four modes that would offer different levels of immersion to suit what you're watching or playing. Sometimes you just want a subtle background, and other times you want to feel like you're right in the middle of the action. With the four modes, you get to customize exactly how you want to view and experience your content. Then even further, with each of the modes you can enable rhythm mode to see your mirroring effects bounce to the audio.

4D also has some really cool features like Sync+, which extends the screen mirroring effects beyond the light strip and onto your other Nanoleaf RGB devices. You can sync 50+ devices at once to create a true cinematic experience right at home. The setup for 4D is also very simple, which we prioritized when designing this product. Our light strip can fit any screen up to 85'' which is possible through our Smart Remap Technology. You can cut the lightstrip to fit your exact screen size, and it'll automatically detect the new length without any interruption to the colors and effects. We also designed the camera to be versatile, so you can place it on top or at the bottom of your screen, depending on your setup.

Are you satisfied with the current build? Should users look out for any updates or new features after they get the product?

We are constantly adding new features to our products. Be sure to look out for firmware updates, as there are always new features brewing. There are already some things in the works that will make the 4D product even cooler than it is now, and that will be released in future software updates. I'm sworn to secrecy right now on what those will be but stay tuned!

What new products do you have on the way that you're currently working on?

Skylight, a modular ceiling light that we revealed at CES, is coming later this year. We're also working on new additions to the Essentials Matter line of bulbs, including the GU10 and Recessed Downlight.

Aside from the obvious, is there anything you'd like to discuss we didn't talk about?

We just launched a new integration with Overwolf, which I'm personally very excited about. With Overwolf, you can sync up your Nanoleaf lights with specific games like Dota, Call of Duty, Apex Legends, Valorant, League of Legends, Diablo 4, and many more. Your lights will react to in-game events, and every reaction is specifically designed to suit the play style of each individual game. I'm a big Dota player, and I've been gaming with this new integration a lot more than I'd like to admit.

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