Govee’s TV backlights are an affordable way to give your TV a boost

If you want to take your TV time to the next level, Govee’s relatively inexpensive TV backlights are a fun, if hacky, upgrade. They’re also cheaper than usual now, starting at $63.99. Govee is a household name (at least amongst home theater enthusiasts) for its amazing backlights that make your TV appear to be leaking colors through the screen and onto the walls behind the television.

After dismissing them as gimmicky for years, I was eventually sold by The Verge’s review of an older Govee model. As its video below illustrates, the backlights are great for high contrast content, and they work best in rooms where there aren’t multiple light sources that can be picked up by the camera.

A couple of Govee’s models are cheaper than usual right now, in case you want to try one of them out. Amazon has a discount of 20% on the Envisual TV T1, a base model for 55-65″ televisions. The kit, which is normally $79.99 now costs $63.99. This is the model that I have, and the model that’s pictured in the image at the top of this post.

Govee Envisual

Price taken from the publication.

The base model is compatible with TVs between 55 and 65 inches.

If you want to take the plunge on Govee’s pricier model that includes dual cameras for picking up colors on your screen faster and more accurately than the cheaper model, its Envisual T2 is $89.99, down from $139.99. We’re not sure how long this deal will last, but Govee typically has deals on these models every couple of months.

The Envision T2 Govee

Price taken from the publication.

The upgraded version is compatible with TVs between 55 and 65 inches.

To get it working, you must install adhesive-backed strips of LED along the rear edge of your television and then connect these to the adapter. A camera, which can either be mounted on your TV or at its bottom and facing up, is used to determine the colors that will appear.

I enjoy turning on the Govee backlights for all sorts of content, but especially for games, movies, and TV shows in which I’m really trying to get lost. You can turn on the backlights with your voice if you have a Google Home smart speaker or Amazon Alexa, or toggle a shortcut in your phone that turns them on and off using Bluetooth. From the Govee app, it’s also easy to adjust their brightness, white balance, and other effects to get them looking just right.