Govee TV Backlight 3 Review

About the Govee TV Backlight 3

• Cameras: 4MP dual camera
• LEDs: 60 per meter
• Zones: 24
• Sizes: 55–65 inches, 75–85 inches

If you're unfamiliar with TV backlights, they're a great way to enhance your immersion experience without having to buy a bigger TV. Backlights sit behind your TV, displaying colored lighting like an aura that's in tune with what's playing on the screen. You don't look directly at this lighting, but when it's in your periphery, it can make the image seem more expansive.

The Govee TV Backlight 3 has two built-in cameras and comes with everything you need to get set up. It comes in two variants: a 55- to 65-inch model and a 75- to 85-inch model.

The Govee TV Backlight 3 costs $109.99 for the smaller model or $139.99 for the longer one.

What we like

This LED accessory makes for more immersive viewing

The Govee TV Backlight 3 achieves what it sets out to do, making viewing content more immersive by extending what's on your TV screen beyond the TV itself. I watched a number of movies and TV shows with the Backlight 3 and found that cinematic content, in particular, benefited from the addition.

Of course, some content won't benefit much from the TV Backlight 3, but that's true of any TV backlight. The experience of watching episodes of The Office for the tenth time won't change much with a backlight. Watching a nature documentary or Marvel movie, on the other hand, will.

It's important to note that adding backlighting can affect perceived color accuracy. If this matters to you, you'll want to calibrate the light carefully.

We experienced good software and smart home support

The Govee Home app gives you granular control over brightness, saturation, hue, and white balance, which matters if you want to ensure the lighting complements what's on the screen rather than colliding with it.

There are preset modes for Movie, Gaming, and a sound-reactive Music mode that pulses the lights to audio picked up by the control box's microphone. Some of these are gimmicky, but the core viewing modes are useful.

The app also has a built-in AI assistant that can help you create lighting effects using natural language. It works well enough, but I rarely reached for it. I mostly wanted the backlight for extending on-screen content, and while I tried other modes like Music for fun, I didn't explore them further.

The TV Backlight 3 is directly compatible with Alexa or Google Assistant, and it supports Matter, so you can add it to any modern smart home. Through Matter, you won't get the advanced controls available in the Govee app, but you can still control the basics of the light.

The LED lights are reasonably bright and accurate

The Govee TV Backlight 3 offers 60 LEDs per meter, and I found it bright enough to create an impactful effect. That's the same number of LEDs as the previous-generation Govee Backlight T2; however, Govee says the new model is 20% brighter than the T2. It's not as bright as the Govee TV Backlight 3 Pro, which has 75 LEDs per meter and uses a triple-camera system.

That said, as you might expect, the effect is more vibrant when you're viewing in the dark than in bright lighting. Still, even during daytime viewing with the windows open, I could see some of the backlighting effect—it holds up reasonably well in ambient light.

I also found it mostly consistent with the on-screen content, likely thanks to the four-megapixel dual-camera system that Govee says is designed to deliver sharper, more accurate colors than the previous-generation model. I'll cover the exceptions below, but unless you're looking closely, you're unlikely to notice the lighting diverging from what's on screen.

It is mostly easy to install

The Govee TV Backlight 3 is easy to install, though it takes about 20 minutes. The light strip comes with adhesive on the back, which you'll use to stick the strips to the back of your TV. You'll need to do this in the correct orientation, as the strip has dedicated sides for the vertical and horizontal edges of your TV. I installed the 55- to 65-inch model on a 55-inch TV and found that the strips extended across the entire back of the TV. Check the strip length against your TV before you stick it on to ensure it's centered.

The only issue I had with installation was the corner wires, which connect the different sides of the strip. They were tricky to hide, though the kit includes clips to help. They're reasonably flexible; just plan on spending a few extra minutes tucking them in.

After you physically install the TV Backlight 3, you'll set it up in the app, which is quick and painless. Open the Govee Home app and walk through adding a device. The app should detect it automatically, then follow the on-screen instructions to set up the proper orientation, brightness, white balance, and so on.

What we don't like

There are camera-based issues

Enthusiasts in this space often prefer HDMI pass-through TV backlighting systems because cameras can introduce inconsistencies. The cameras in the TV Backlight 3 kit were precise for the most part, but they're not immune to picking up reflections on your TV's screen or ambient lighting from around the TV, resulting in the strip displaying the wrong colors or turning on when it should be off. The system handled these situations well most of the time, but it wasn't perfect, and you should expect the occasional hiccup, especially in a brightly lit viewing room.

The other downside to a camera-based system is the camera itself jutting from the top of your TV. You'll probably forget it's there eventually, like I did, but it's not the most subtle solution.

Should you buy the Govee TV Backlight 3?

Yes, if you want budget-friendly immersion

The Govee TV Backlight 3 (available at Amazon for $109.99) is a solid option for those who want to enhance movie and TV immersion without paying for an HDMI pass-through. It's easy to set up, bright and vibrant, and it works with a well-designed and full-featured app.

If you nitpick and want the most consistent, accurate TV backlighting, you're going to have to keep saving up for a different option. Govee itself has an HDMI pass-through model called the Govee AI Sync Box 2, so if you want something that integrates with other Govee devices, it may be worth considering.