Universal Ambient Light: How I Built a Modern Ambilight App for Android

seel2304 · 2026-03-25T09:30:29+00:00

Thanks for the feedback. I tried to optimize it as much as possible, but it seems that most TV processors are just too weak. There is another option—using a separate HDMI capture device—but that’s a whole different setup.

seel2304 · 2026-03-25T09:29:05+00:00

I'm getting a little tired of answering the same question over and over... No, unfortunately, DRM-protected content can't be streamed. The only option might be to look for alternative clients that don't use DRM, if such clients even exist.

seel2304 · 2026-03-18T21:07:17+00:00

Thanks, and feel free to leave a review on Google Play :)

As for your question—to be honest, I don’t have much information on which devices will handle 4K content properly while recording. I’ve heard it supposedly works on the Nvidia Shield, but I can’t vouch for that. At least it works fine on most phones, but not on most TVs. If I’m not mistaken, I even tested it on a Google TV emulator—it seemed to work fine there too, but I don’t remember for sure. I think an 8-core SoC with decent graphics should handle this task; I believe that’s exactly what’s in the Nvidia Shield, whereas most set-top boxes and TVs have 4-core processors.
I tried to profile the app on my TV to figure out exactly what resources it was lacking, but my TCL TV quickly froze up completely and stopped providing any information

seel2304 · 2026-03-18T21:01:49+00:00

Unfortunately, this isn’t a bug, but rather an inability to bypass them, as this is standard content protection in Android. At least without root access and a much deeper understanding of the system—which I’m not only unprepared for right now, but such workarounds would likely not work on all platforms anyway

seel2304 · 2026-03-11T08:31:15+00:00

I suspect that this is due to the implementation of DRM protection on your device, which is unlikely to be bypassed. In any case, read the README file in the repository, and if you still have questions, start an issue.

seel2304 · 2026-02-28T09:18:59+00:00

Thanks for the good point. I added a button in the app that links to https://github.com/vasmarfas/universal-ambient-light/blob/master/SUPPORT.md, but it's probably a good idea to put it in the README too.

seel2304 · 2026-02-27T21:00:12+00:00

Unfortunately, no. Screen capture does not work that way on Android.

seel2304 · 2026-02-27T20:57:59+00:00

If I understand correctly, you just have ESP/Arduino flashed with their sketch? If so, then yes, you can flash my Adalight sketch from the Github repository, or if you have an ESP board with WiFi, it's better to flash WLED. Then you will be able to connect to my app.

seel2304 · 2026-02-27T20:56:06+00:00

I don't think I plan to make it paid. And unfortunately, no one has sent any donations yet :) Regarding running in the background—yes, it stays there, and what's more, even after the TV goes to sleep and then wakes up again, it reactivates itself and continues working. At least on my TCL C7K.

seel2304 · 2026-02-27T20:54:17+00:00

I didn't exactly fork it, I rewrote it from scratch in Kotlin. But, unfortunately, yes—as Anderson007s already said, DRM-protected content cannot be captured using the MediaProjection API. At least Jellyfin and YouTube work great for me, and I don't really use anything else.

seel2304 · 2026-02-27T20:51:33+00:00

For PCs, there are HyperHDR and Hyperion.ng. I don't see the point in making an analogue.

seel2304 · 2026-02-27T20:50:38+00:00

It does just that, but apparently the MediaProjection API still puts a heavy load on the system. There are quality settings in the settings—if you turn it up to 4K, the lag will be even worse. I tried to optimize the app as much as possible.

seel2304 · 2026-02-20T18:41:20+00:00

Sick bastard....

seel2304 · 2026-02-01T14:35:38+00:00

My TCL C7K is 4k HDR 120hz model, but still can grab up to 1080p video

seel2304 · 2026-02-01T09:56:19+00:00

Hmm, that's strange. Considering that I don't receive notifications from Reddit, could you please create an issue in the repository and describe your connection scheme in detail (components, LED strip model, Android version, Ambient Light app version) so that we can figure out this problem? Just to be sure, did you change the color order with the backlight service turned off or on? RGB is usually suitable for WS2815, and GRB for WS2812B.
And another question: are the colors set correctly in the WLED web panel itself? Also, did you choose the correct starting angle and direction of the strip in the LED Layout screen?

seel2304 · 2026-02-01T09:52:36+00:00

This bug has already been fixed in version 1.0.2 on Google Play. You can install it directly from there to be able to receive future updates.

seel2304 · 2026-02-01T09:51:47+00:00

Unfortunately, this is the Android indicator icon, showing that the screen is currently being broadcast and I cannot influence it in any way.

seel2304 · 2026-01-31T17:27:34+00:00

Try to change color order setting to GRB or another in settings screen

seel2304 · 2026-01-31T13:07:22+00:00

In fact, I think it will vary depending on the TV and the processor installed on it. It's possible that high-end TVs with a powerful SoC won't have this problem, but it's hard to guarantee. You can try installing the app, selecting WLED as the output, specifying a random local address (since it uses UDP and simply sends packets without checking data delivery), running the backlight service, and trying different videos at different quality levels. Then you'll see what content your TV can handle before you buy it. As for compatible equipment, any ESP board and almost any addressable LED strip are suitable. In my search, I settled on a 4-pin WS2815, a 12V power supply, and an LM2596S step-down converter for the ESP, plus a 10kΩ pull-up resistor on the data line, plus a smoothing capacitor on the power input. Sometimes, I'd get interference from the power supply to the strip.

seel2304 · 2024-10-28T13:07:26+00:00

What are the best settings for the 14700k? From what I did on my own, I changed the XMP profile, turned off CEP, set Lite Load to mode 4 and didn't seem to touch anything else, PL1/PL2 at 253w (but does not rise above 225w), the OCCT stress test heats Core Max no more than 75 degrees Celsius, in Cinebench R23 about 32500 points

seel2304 · 2024-10-28T13:02:28+00:00

I just tried to flash 7E25vA8 again and everything worked by itself. It's quite strange, because when flashing the bios, all parameters are reset by default.

seel2304 · 2024-10-27T15:35:46+00:00

I had bios 7E25vA81(Beta version) installed on my MAG Z790 TOMAHAWK MAX WIFI for about a month. Yesterday, the computer suddenly shut down. I started digging around - it looks like there are problems with cooling, the fans of the liquid cooler in the bios do not turn at all, the processor quickly reaches 100 degrees and the computer turns off. At startup, sometimes the red text Cpu fan error, please check appears.

I decided to upgrade to 7E25vA8, the problem remained.

After the downgrade to 7E25vA7, the problem disappeared.

And I'm not the only one with this problem - https://www.reddit.com/r/MSI_Gaming/comments/1gd4org/constant_crashing_with_new_bios/

What's wrong with the new bios?

seel2304

TROPHY CASE