Hi there
i am trying to figure out wich of the ambx and a.r.e. to buy for my htpc....
it is unfortunately quiet hard to get a full review for both those products to help me decide, so i am actively investigating both in the hope to shed some light on the pros and cons...( i am not judging on the ambx extra features like the wristpad and fans as i just want lights)
Althought the ambx is supported by phillips wich means a lot of money to invest in research and devellopeemnet if they believe in the future of the product ( and i believe they do and so far games producers as well) the A.R.E team without probably having one tenth oh the man power behind ambx is definitely present and it took them a very short time to answer my questions after i emailed them.
my concern is that regarding the new way ( in theory better)for those system to work instead of using display analisis : _embed_ded ambilight _script_ into dvd or games now available with the ambx only. ambx is already suported by various games studios who have been working for a while with ambx to release ambx enabled games ( already a few out there). Will a.r.e being a small company be able to get the back up from the game studio to create a.r.e enabled games??
I so did ask the guys at a.r.e if they would instead make their software recognize ambx _script_s _embed_ded in games and movies and they answered that they were not looking into that right now and would focus on the way their software work.
At the moment i have got to say that after viewing demos videos of both system i believe the a.r.e system to be
1/ quicker to answer to color change
2/ having a better color recognition system
3/ having far more option and setting than the ambx

on top of that the a.r.e seems to be far more user friendly regarding the possibilities to have different types of leds strips , the type of cable and connections used ( rj45 instead of the minisub used by ambx) and the diy feel to it.
ambx is a closed productadds on will be available in the future licensing other manufacturers.
my main this here is that the 2 side lights of the ambx just dont do it for me, i will be far happier with two thin led strip that i can attach beind my front speakers and tv set. btw the ambx has been criticized a lot regarding the short lenght of their cables beetween the ambx washer and the side light but hasnot yet answered by releasing extension cables.
neither has anyone answered yet to my basic question off how long are those famous cables and no technical information is to be found on the net so far ...
another concern is that the ambx wall washer has only 3 leds and that might not be enough to use with my 42inches tv. for a.r.e only one 50cm 15 led strip might do the job and if it doesnot i just need another strip

but the ambx wall washer lights are independent and can display different colors so the ambx can display 5 different colors at the same time instead of 2 for the a.r.e ( shame you guys are only in stereo) wich should allow to more subtle tansition beetween left and right.

so for now i am just seating it out and waiting either for ambx to add some led stripes and and get their software to work better or for a.r.e to get a massive back up from another company as for sure the giant out there wont let phillips to far ahead in the ambilight market and a.r.e might just be the perfect partner for them with their years of experience

Thanks Jeric putting this site up as it is for now the only unbiaised ambilight dedicated forum. lets hope a lot of people register here and comment on their ambilight quest
cheers
livil
all comments and questions more than welcome, lets see some action over here