New Developments in Light DJ

Hey there,

Kevin from Light DJ here. It’s been a while since my last post but that’s because I’ve been plugging away at something brand new and I’m finally ready to share it with all of you, but some back story first.

Light DJ blew up a bit during COVID when lots of people were bored at home and streaming concerts were on the rise. After 8 years of developing light apps, I've seen various attempts at a solution:

  • You can use a Hue Sync box, but then you're limited to HDMI, only Hue products, and only screen mirroring effects.
  • You can use a Nanoleaf 4D camera, but then you're limited to Nanoleaf and screen mirroring effects.
  • You can use the Hue Sync TV app, but then you're limited to Hue on certain TVs.
  • SYFY tried something called SYFY Sync. It was a bit ahead of its time but only worked on certain shows with Hue and has since been decommissioned.
  • LIFX users are left out in the cold.

I sought to create a system that could work with any brand of light without needing any extra hardware. After 10 months of research and development, I’m finally ready to share my creation with the world: LYTVOX (pronounced "light-vocks"). It's an entire light show authoring pipeline that allows content producers to easily create ambient lighting experiences that sync with their video content.

You can see a demo here:

Flying Lotus - Zodiac Shit (LYTVOX Demo)

Some of the benefits of our solution include:

  • Fully customizable 4K surround lighting video presentations streamed directly to users.
  • Creators have full control of the light show authoring process.
  • It can support any combination of lighting hardware & any number of lights.
  • Adapts to your room based on light placement.
  • tvOS and Google TV apps for accessing content directly from TVs and streaming devices.
  • iOS and Android mobile apps for broad compatibility.
  • Light hardware agnostic.
  • No additional cameras or boxes needed; runs on devices most users already own.

How to Help Us

We're currently seeking Early Access beta testers who would like to try our client app and give us feedback. We have over 5 hours of content for you to enjoy and about 30 different types of videos available. Beta access is free. To access the beta you must have an iOS/tvOS or Android device and supported smart lighting:

  • Hue (v2 bridge required)
  • Nanoleaf (all panel types)
  • LIFX (all devices)

If this sounds like something you're interested in, head over to our website and submit your email address for early access: www.lytvox.com

What about Light DJ?

Don’t worry - Light DJ is here to stay! A lot of the work done for LYTVOX will benefit all Light DJ apps for iOS and Android, including:

  • All entertainment effects work with LIFX lights.
  • New support for Hue Gradient Strip and all light brands can be mixed freely using entertainment effects.

Nanoleaf Lines & Other Improvements

Light DJ now supports more types of Nanoleaf lights than ever before. Improvements include increased sync and responsiveness for users controlling multiple Nanoleaf controllers simultaneously.

Android Cloud Support

The Android version now fully supports and syncs with the Light DJ Network cloud service. This means all your patterns, playlists, and color palettes are fully backed up to the cloud.

Updates and Changes

The in-app documentation received an update to mini-tutorials, improving the user experience. Additionally, the app now includes full German and Spanish translations.

Community Sharing Features

The community content sharing feature has been updated. As of today, it will feature all the official content available in the app.

Promotional Offers

Unique promotional offers will be available in the app for users considering re-subscribing.

Sunsetting Bonus Effects

After careful consideration, the development of new bonus effects will be sunset. Light DJ will continue to receive updates as new lighting hardware becomes available.

Family Updates

Lastly, on a personal note, I've spent significant time this year managing and improving the app while also welcoming twin babies into my family. Your support has enabled me to continue this work from home.

Thanks for reading this blog post and I can't wait to see the kind of content you create. If you have any suggestions or feedback, feel free to reach out via email.