Skip to main content

The Weekly DT- Antrumbra’s Ambilight

By Ryan Waniata Oct 16, 2014 10:00 AM

This post originally ran on our brother site Digital Trends:

Firing up a good flick or video game can be an escapist treat that helps alleviate the stresses of the outside world, if only for a few short hours. But those looking for a simple way to enhance the experience, and ease the strain on their eyes, may want to look into a new device from Antumbra called Glow. For $35, this simple device is designed to sit behind a computer monitor (or a TV) and project ambient light that flows in tandem with the images on screen.

Related: Philips shows off 4K TVs with Ambilight

Recommended Videos

Glow is designed to be as simple as it is affordable. Comprised of a small rectangle with an RGB LED on board, Glow straps to the back of a monitor or TV and follows commands from your Mac or PC via USB connection to splash light along a back wall. At 1.5 inches along each border, the tiny device is designed for use with screen sizes of 30-inches or smaller, making it most appealing to gamers of the PC variety, and those who watch a lot of movies on their computer.

As the video above shows, Glow seems to work dynamically in real time with the color scheme of your media, which Antumbra claims not only gives the user a more immersive experience, but also makes long sessions in front of the screen easier on the eyes, as the lighted back wall constricts your pupils and limits the amount of light that comes in from the source screen. Plus, it looks pretty damn cool, too.

Setup for Glow is claimed to be incredibly easy, taking only 30 seconds — not including the velcro used to stick it to your screen, we’re guessing — and Antumbra says the device can then be configured for your machine in just a few minutes. Since it conforms to the same USB protocol as a mouse or keyboard, it should work with any PC or Mac, requiring a minimum of Windows Vista or Mac OS X 10.7 respectively.

Perhaps most intriguing, Glow is open source, so apart from following the color scheme of whatever media you’re diving into, with up to 16 million discrete values, it offers a wealth of untold options for those who like to play around. Antumbra promises that all of Glow’s code and hardware designs will be released with the unit, so those who know how to dig deeper will have free reign.

Related: Philips Hue tap review

Antumbra | Glow Promo from TeamAntumbra on Vimeo.

Glow is currently in beta form, and it should be noted that Antumbra offers no warranty, or guarantee, meaning buying in requires the user to be willing to take some risk. But at $35, it’s not the kind of risk that puts up a big red warning sign for most of us. Antumbra hasn’t yet given any release date for Glow, saying only that the units will be shipped “after beta sells out,” with manufacturing currently underway.

If you need a little more color in your life, and you don’t mind being a beta tester, you can pre-order your own Glow now at Antumbra’s website.

Ryan Waniata is a multi-year veteran of the digital media industry, a lover of all things tech, audio, and TV, and a… Read Full Bio

Elevate your elegance: Choosing your first cigar

Face, Head, Person

Earlier this year, I was strolling the streets of New York and ended up sitting in the Carnegie Club with an Old Fashioned in one hand and a cigar in the other while My Way by Frank Sinatra played from a speaker flanking leather-bound books behind the couch I had been using as my perch. It was my first cigar, but it led to a slight obsession that recently found me on the back deck of a lodge in Kenya, staring at Mount Kilimanjaro and smoking a stick while giraffes meandered by. Admittedly, there has been no intention in my budding hobby; I am aimlessly choosing the cigars that look good (the ones that look like those smoked by Arnold or Stallone in the movies, obviously). But I have decided to approach these in a new way, with a little help from my friends over at La Aurora, who graciously decided to navigate my ignorance with some info compiled by Brand Manager John Gaglio, with input from Master Blender Manuel Ynoa, CEO Ed McKenna, and Brand Manager Elvis Batista.

What to look for in your first cigar

FIFA’s Gianni Infantino Is Uglifying the Beautiful Game With $20 Billion Plot — But the Global Soccer Community’s Punching Back

People, Person, Crowd

For the better part of two decades, perhaps even more, corruption has allegedly run rampant within FIFA. Sepp Blatter, in particular, became the face of alleged extortion schemes, and he operated with impunity while at the helm of the organization for 17 years, from 1998 until his forced resignation in 2015 amid an FBI corruption probe. He’s banned for life from all football-related FIFA activities. If you’re new to the organization’s alleged deep connection to corruption, Netflix offers a brilliant 2022 documentary, FIFA Uncovered. In that documentary, Gianni Infantino appears in his previous capacity as Secretary General of UEFA (2009-2016) and later as the newly elected FIFA president, who vowed to root out corruption and hand the beautiful game back to the people where it belongs.

That, as it turns out, was all wishful thinking.

Escobar Cigars, Co-Owned by Nas, Drops Four-Profile Robusto House Blend Collection

Blade, Knife, Weapon

Imagine that, Nas is getting closer to ruling the cigar world. The legendary rapper’s Escobar Cigars, which he co-owns, is making waves with the launch of a new four-profile House Blend collection. The launch is in partnership with Cigar Chief, one of North America’s largest premium cigar retailers.

The Manual has not yet had the chance to do a taste review (a pack is on the way), but Escobar Cigars says the four-profile House Blend collection (Maduro, Premium Blend Connecticut, Habano, and Connecticut Robusto) “has its own distinct wrapper, filler, and strength profile,” and that “all four are rolled in 5 x 52 Robusto format using classic Cubano entubado construction.”