For the first time ever, consumers who own Philips Hue lighting products will be able to sync their connected LEDs to the Times Square Ball in New York City as it drops this week on December 31 at midnight. The 2016 Times Square ball drop marks the 16th consecutive year that the lighting is handled by Philips LED.
Philips Hue users can experience the Times Square Ball festivities live at home through an immersive blast of color by syncing their Philips Hue lights to the Ball as it drops. With a new feature in the Hue Fireworks for Philips Hue app (developed by iMakeStuff), Philips Hue lights will follow the changing Philips LED bulbs used in the Ball as 2015 becomes 2016. Simply select the Times Square Ball feature in the Hue Fireworks app ($1.99 in both the Apple and Android app stores), and join the final two-minute countdown to experience the same dynamic, color-changing fun that illuminates Times Square.
“Bringing together the connected lighting experience that Philips Hue offers with the Times Square Ball drop – one of the most well-known lighting moments in the world – demonstrates the possibilities to create immersive and memorable moments with light,” notes Amy Huntington, President of Philips Lighting Americas. “The adoption of connected lighting among consumers is accelerating and changing how people interact with light throughout their home. With Philips Hue, it has never been easier to change your lighting experience throughout the day and easily move between everyday livings to celebratory moments like New Year’s Eve.”
The modern lighting technology that Philips provides in the Times Square Ball is similar to the technology provided by Philips LED lighting for consumer homes. The Times Square Ball is illuminated with 32,256 Philips Luxeon Rebel LEDs, grouped in 672 modules of 48 bulbs each. Each module contains 12 red, 12 blue, 12 green, and 12 white LED bulbs that can create a palette of more than 16 million colors and billions of patterns.
This year, leading up to New Year’s Eve, Philips is asking consumers to share their personal, celebratory moments for a chance to win Philips LED lighting product bundles by posting a photo on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram showing how light enhances their celebratory moments using the hashtags #MyPhilipsNYEMoment #sweepstakes. Entries will be judged based on the quality of the photo and how lighting plays a part in the captured celebrations, no matter what lighting source is used. Visit the Philips Web site for details on the Grand Prize, 3 runner-up prizes, and complete prize details and contest rules.
