One of the big advantages of having a smart home is taking advantage of all the smart lighting options today. Personally, I’m a big fan of LED strip lights. The secret is strategic placement so you don’t see the light strip itself. Place them above cabinets, under desks, or behind TVs so the light reflects off walls. Today, I’m going to take it up a notch with smart lights that have literally gotten smarter. 

I’m reviewing the Nanoleaf 4D Screen Wi-Fi Mirror. It is an LED strip light that goes behind any TV up to 65”. It comes with a screen mirror camera that—in real-time—syncs the lights on the TV screen to the lights on the back. At the price point, it comes at, it almost seems too good to be true. Is it? Let’s find out.

Specs: Nanoleaf 4D Screen Wi-Fi Mirror

  • 65-inch light strip with 10 colours per meter
  • Produces up to 275 lumens of light with 7.2W 
  • Voice control with Google Assistant, Amazon Alexa, and Apple HomeKit
  • Included magnetic cover to block camera lens for privacy
  • LED lights provide a life expectancy of up to 25,000 hours
Nanoleaf 4D Unboxing

Unboxing the Nanofeaf 4D Screen Wi-Fi Mirror

Inside the box is everything you need to get the Nanoleaf 4D setup. The three main parts are the physical controller, the 65” LED light strip, and the 4D screen mirror camera. A power adapter, instruction manual, camera mount, and double-sided tape are also included. You’ll also find four plastic corner pieces with an angular curve that go on each corner. The LED strip curves through each corner while still having a flat surface where the tape sticks. 

Nanoleaf 4D Install

Setting up the Nanoleaf 4D Screen Mirror

Unlike most people, I don’t have a TV in my living room. I moved my desk into the living room. Now I’m surrounded by windows and natural lighting. The only TV I have in my house is in my home studio. It’s mounted on the wall. I took it down for this review. 

First, I used the tape to secure the corner pieces behind my TV. I then proceeded to tape the LED strip around the corners. The LED strip cuts to size with dedicated lines on the strip to cut it. However, I decided to just double-wrap the leftover end. Since this TV is mounted to the wall, I placed the camera mount on the top. It basically clips to the top of the TV and you can adjust the arm until the camera is pointed to the TV. Once that was done, I mounted the TV back up and connected the camera and LED strip to the controller.  

The rest of the installation happens in the app. I scanned the QR code on the instruction manual to add the Nanofeaf 4D device to the Nanoleaf app. You definitely don’t want to lose the instruction manual in case you need to install it again. My Handy Andy tip is to tape the instruction manual to the back of the TV.

Installation issues

This is the point where I ran into issues. While the controller was successfully added, the LED lights never came on during the calibration stage. For the life of me, I could not troubleshoot my way out of this issue. After searching on Reddit, I noticed others were having the same issue. One person mentioned that you really had to push the USB-C end of the light strip into the controller. When I did that, I could get the lights to blink once but then it went out. After trying this over and over again, the lights finally came on. Hallelujah, the tech gods answered my prayers. From there, I was able to successfully calibrate the lights on the TV.

Nanoleaf 4D center blue

Using the Nanoleaf 4D Screen Wi-Fi Mirror

Once the Nanoleaf was working, I was finally able to put it through its paces. Inside the app, there are a lot of customization options and pre-built scene modes. 4D screen mirroring and the rhythm mode is what I focused on. I played some Animal Planet on Netflix and sure enough, the LED strip lights matched the colours on the screen. When the scene was showing whales underwater in the ocean, the strip lights turned blue. Best of all, the lights were changing in almost real-time. It definitely adds to the television viewing experience. 

Next, I tried the Rhythm mode. This is where the lights react to music. It works great. In a way, you get to visualize the music you’re listening to with the lights. However, I used it while I was watching a movie on Netflix. The cool thing is the lights react to the dialogue on screen. In the app, I went to the custom colour section and picked red. Afterward, the light effect totally reminded me of the car “Kit” on Knightrider. As people would talk, the lights would wave back and forth. It sure took me back, I felt like a kid again. 

What I like about the Nanoleaf 4D Screen Mirror

The Nanoleaf 4D Screen Wi-Fi Mirror transforms your television experience. Movie and gaming nights will never be the same. I’ve used LED strips behind TVs but the 4D screen mirroring takes it to a whole new level. It’s all happening in real-time. There is very little latency. Kids, gamers, and techies like myself are going to love this. However, it’s ideal for nighttime viewing. The effect is not the same during the daytime so I would only use it at night. 

What I don’t like about the Nanoleaf 4D Screen Wi-Fi Mirror

I did not have a good experience setting this up. I spent hours troubleshooting and to be honest, I almost gave up. I reached out to Nanoleaf support, and they tried but could not fix the issue. They suggested a power cycle, reset, reinstall, and update to the firmware. After I did all that, they were out of suggestions. Thankfully I found a Reddit thread with a solution. The app also seems a little buggy. I’m still getting error messages and requests to set up the 4D screen mirroring calibration again. I’m sure it will get fixed in future updates. The installation was painful for me. Still, once it was working, I soon realized it was worth all that time and trouble. I hope Nanoleaf figures out the issue so it doesn’t happen to anyone else.

(Editor’s note: Nanoleaf sent a sample for the blog’s French reviewer, Myriam, and she did not experience any problems with her sample.)

Nanoleaf 4D Center 2

Take your TV experience to the next level

If you don’t have a smart home, start with smart lights. If you’re a gamer, movie watcher, or music lover, check out the Nanoleaf 4D Screen Wi-Fi Mirror. It’s perfect for any entertainment, gaming, or home theatre room. Kids will love it. Impress your friends and family with a light show. Remember, life is short. So do yourself a favour and take your TV experience to the next level with the Nanoleaf 4D Screen Wifi Mirror.   

Andy Baryer
Andy Baryer
http://handyandymedia.com
Andy Baryer aka “Handy Andy” is a technology journalist, gadget reviewer, and DIY/how-to content creator. Known as the handyman of tech, Andy enjoys fixing poor wireless networks, building smart homes, and cooking with the latest kitchen gadgets. He’s a competitive whistler, a budding woodworker, and loves gardening in his home-built smart garden.
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118 COMMENTS

  1. Great lighting and I don’t know what I would do without them! Everyone should have these and they will not regret it!

  4. I dont currently own any nano leaf products but they would make my movie viewing so much better! The hexagon panel lights would look amazing on the wall as well

  5. I do not own any products yet but I think this would be awesome for my gaming experience and would make an awesome home theatre!

  7. I don’t have any nanoleafs 😉 But my sister in law does and I love them. I think they’d be sooo much fun when watching hockey and my maple leafs!

  9. I don’t have any Nanoleaf products, and honestly I don’t know much about them. Reading the review, they sound like something that people are going to want in the homes.

    I would like to try them for watching movies. I watch lots of movies, and it would certainly enhance the experience.

  10. I don’t have any Nanoleaf products yet, but my games and movies would benefit the most from a Nanoleaf 4D system!

  13. I don’t own any Nanoleaf lights. I would benefit most from watching movies by installing Nanoleaf 4D in my home.

  14. I don’t have any smart lights right now but it would be cool to have one for watching movies! The blue light is calming.

  15. I currently don’t have any Nanoleaf lights but I would love to have them for background ambience while watching music videos.

  16. I have never heard of Nanoleaf lights before (I have none) – mind BLOWN! I love movies, and this would be a great enhancement.

  24. I currently don’t have any Nanoleaf lights but I love watching movies. Nanoleaf would really enhance my experience!

  25. I don’t have any nanoleaf lights. I love watching movies, and perhaps using the nanoleaf 4d system could add to the enjoyment.

  26. I don’t have any Nanoleaf lights in my home, but I would love to get some and try the Nanoleaf 4D. I think it would be amazing to have the lights match the content on my screen and create a 4D effect. I love watching movies, gaming, and listening to music, and I think the Nanoleaf 4D would enhance all of them. For example, if I’m watching a comedy movie, the lights could turn bright and cheerful to match the mood. Or if I’m gaming, the lights could react to the sound effects and actions on the screen. Or if I’m listening to music, the lights could create a light show that syncs with the rhythm and genre. I think the Nanoleaf 4D would make my home more fun and lively. According to the review, the Nanoleaf 4D is compatible with most TVs and monitors, and it can be controlled by voice or app. It also has a WiFi mirror that connects to the Nanoleaf app and reflects the colours on the screen to the lights. It sounds like a cool gadget that I would love to have.

  27. I don’t have any Nanoleaf lights, or any similar kind of backgrounds. But I would definitely love to try the Nanoleaf Mirror out when gaming, to add that extra moody atmosphere.

  31. What a cool & futuristic lighting setup!!! I don’t own any of these awesome NanoLeaf products but I’d love to have in my livingroom for watching movies.. would be sooo cool!!!

  32. I don’t own any yet but they look amazing. I think we would use these while watching movies, or listening to music. Everyone in the home would love them I am sure.

  36. I do not own any. I’d love to have them installed while watching movies and also for setting a nice tone for a dinner party with music.

  37. I currently don’t have any Nanoleaf lights but I love watching movies and they would really benefit my experience!

  38. I currently have Nanoleaf’s SMART LED strip & bulbs in my home and I can’t wait to try out their latest 4D launch!

    My family & I love to watch action movies and play Mario Party together, winning the 4D kit would make family movie & game nights so much more exciting!

  42. Currently, I don’t have any but would sure love to. But they are quite cool, I must say. I would synchronize my lighting to my favorite movies,

  45. I don’t currently own any Nanoleaf products but I would love to use one for watching Movies in my basement.

  49. I don’t have any but would sure love to. These are quite cool, I must say. I would synchronize my lighting to my favourite movies,

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