I need to get a backlight for my TV, as indicated in the Video Essentials DVD. I know that everyone says you can make them yourself however I want one that can be ordered complete. Home Theater Magazine had one in product reviews a few months ago but I have not been able to find my back issue or the light on their website.

Thanks for your help.

Heres one.
http://www.cinemaquestinc.com/

Edit to add link to page with pricing:
http://www.cinemaquestinc.com/ideal_lume.htm

[This message has been edited by Smart Little Lena (edited October 23, 2002).]

Once again falling into the learn something new every day category. Is this bias lighting common? Can anyone relate how big of a difference this has made?

Thanks to Lena for the link that one should do the trick. Not to get cheap but is there any other source that starts less than $55?

I used a crappy homemade one on my old Toshiba rear projection TV and I felt like I noticed the difference when it wasn't on. The picture was clearer IMHO. However I don't want to set off one of those speaker wire or interconnects dabates. I think in this case it is purely preference.

Turner F:
I would be willing to bet it’s not very common. But might become more so just as it looks ‘tasteful’ adding kind of a theater experience ambiance as more and more homes are built with dedicated, windowless HT areas.
My husband wanted to do this. (We have not yet). We have certain lights, which are on a dimmer, and one of the unidirectional cans tends to reflect off the protective screen on our display. If we take the lights low enough to remove the reflection it tends to darken the room to a point where I feel it adds to eyestrain when watching movies for prolonged lengths of time. So we will prob. try the back lighting in the future as I feel it might help alleviate that situation. We have not tried this yet so I can not relate personal experience.

DragonMonger
I will try to find some other products in the next couple of days, that was the only one I knew right off the bat.

I know a lot of study has gone into figuring out exactly what temperature your light needs to be for bias lighting and one day, I'll get one, but for now, here's what I did.

I bought a 21" strip flourescent fixture (an undercabinet type with a switch on the fixture) that you can plug in and I mounted to the back of my big screen and it shines on the wall. Go to your local hardware store and you should be able to find one for $20 or less. All I have to do to turn it on is reach over the top of the TV and flip the switch.

I think it makes a big difference in reducing eye strain. I believe you can even buy filters that you can cut to size that you can put inside the lens of the lamp fixture that adjusts the color, but I haven't done it.

Thanks for the links SSL!

http://www.ninesixtyeight.com/myht/biaslighting.htm
http://www.technofile.com/articles/ideal_lume.html
http://www.cybertheater.com/Tech_Reports/Envir_Light/envir_light.html
http://www.lighting.philips.com/nam/prodinfo/fluorescent/p5136a.shtml

The first link recomended for DIY bias lighting. The second two detail the benefits of the first link I gave for Lume/Cinema Quest, but might give you insight as I think the article details a little infor. regarding the type bulbs used which could be helpful in coming up with a DIY.
The last link on retail bulbs with some specs on color/watts etc.

Most men have a florescent strip in the garage or elsewhere. I know some DIY'ers often just use a simple 1" florescent strip on the floor behind the display.

If you have a florescent strip around the house you could unscrew and plug in behind your display it might give you a feel for whether or not bias lighting is for you and if its worth the bother and expense of the more expensive bulbs. I imagine like Kumby..?(whoops not on that screen I know thats not right) by simply being careful of the wattage (intensity) of the lighting and checking out some of the bulb choices offered you could have a net effect closly approximating a boutique purchase.


[This message has been edited by Smart Little Lena (edited October 24, 2002).]

I don't know how much the color of the light the fluorescent puts out matters. If you are looking for the closest color to an incandescent lamp then the Philips Alto fluroescent lamp comes closest to this.

Two of the best purchases so far for my (still in progress) home theater:

1. Home Theater Master MX-500 remote. Pays for itself every single day when I'm not having to juggle 3 remotes just to watch TV.

2. Cheap fluorescent TV backlight. A buddy of mine always complained about eyestrain when watching with all the lights out, and I had the VE disc that recommends the backlight, so I overcame my skepticism and tried it. I wired it into a switched AC outlet on the back of the old Onkyo I'm preamping with (til I get to have a 950) so it comes on when I power up the stereo.

Almost a year later, I simply cannot watch TV at night without the backlight. It’s a huge difference. I turn it off, and it’s immediately uncomfortable; turn it back on, and I can literally feel my eyes relaxing. I totally hadn’t noticed how uncomfortable the completely dark room was, and I thought that if anything the backlight would be distracting (why the hell would you want to light a wall, won’t it compete with the brightness of the picture, etc.), but for me it’s an absolute winner.

So, I’d say Lena has the right idea: get a cheapie and see if the general effect is something you like, then get the fancy bulb if you feel like it would make enough difference to justify the cost (it seems like when I researched that it was a standard size bulb, just a different color temperature). I’m fine with el cheapo until I get further along with my system.

Just my .02, YMMV...

I am basicly using the same cheap bias lighting fixture, which originaly came with a black light, and since I re-painted my front room a sort of mocha coffee color I have been needing to find a lower Kelvin temp bulb. In the mean time though I have been am able to use a small dark-shaded lamp with a 60 watt bulb, located about 10ft. off to my right and at just the correct angle so that it doesn't reflect off of the screen. This has worked extremely well for me in the past as an eye-strain reduction, but doesn't have the ambience that some of you may be looking for. But as Lena said, using a bias bulb is absolutely critical when watching movies in a dark room. I personally think that the same effect could be achieved by using specially lamped wall sconces behind your display, or track lighting with two or three spots aimed at the wall behind your display, especially if they were wired to a nice dimming system. But just a thought!

-Jeremy