Appy Christmas Lights from Twinkly
With this and the previous video I fear that I’m giving off the impression that I’m someone who gets unduly giddy about Christmas. In reality I’ve got nothing against the event, but I can also take it or leave it.
I’m not one for parties (not that anyone is at the moment), there are no kids in the house (unless I’m being particularly unobservant), and my whole lack of taste and diabetes combo means that the indulgent food and drink aspect is a wash too. But with all that said I do like my flashing lights and gadgets - so what better thing to test out in the name of science, than an app controlled Christmas tree. Hope you enjoy it.
For more information on this range of devices visit https://www.twinkly.com
I think that’s Christmas covered for me now, so it’s straight back to work on other non seasonal topics.
Hopefully I’ll be able to collect enough extra stuff together for a patreon update video before the month is over. Perhaps by then I’ll have some stats for that 45 second version of the Chocolate record video (due to go live on Saturday) to see if there’s a demand out there for bite-sized content (see what I did there).
Have a good one.
Comments (68)
They haven't seen enough to bring in the Xmas spirit. The reef was interesting, would look perfect on my front door, twinkling light just beautiful
So cool, very nice, did not expect to see this, very high quality lights and tree, thanks for showing this pretty tree
Glad you liked it - it seems the general youtube audience isn’t as enthusiastic - perhaps they’ve already had enough of Christmas.
I looked it up, and I thought it was going to be silly money. But considering you're getting a really good quality tree as well, it's not *that* bad. They do look pretty cool, though.
Perhaps I’ll talk cars in the next update.
Cars? have you seen this? https://youtu.be/6t3YEOziAHQ
Not sure if it was your video promoting this, but the tree is 50% more expensive on Amazon than it was last week!
Personally, I'm looking forward to Festivus…
Really annoying when all the mapping is lost when you’re half way done, and accidentally step on the cable on/off switch! ;)
That tree reminds me of Snoopy's very commercial Christmas tree.
I agree, in a few years (if that) this company is going to go bust and no trees can be mapped anymore. But that's when it gets interesting because I'm sure someone will reverse engineer the thing and make it so you can play Doom on it or something. And because everyone is going to want to get rid of their trees on eBay then, they're going to be cheap and easy to get. I'll wait for that :-)
The 'smarter' these things get, the 'dumber' they'll be after the pulse..
By the way, really pleased to see the EVSE on the wall.
That is to technically clever, I love it. Every light individually addressable - brilliant stuff. And by the way - "less/fewer than" LOL Well done - a pet hate of mine. Merry Christmas, Mat.
My wife reckons it won't be long before you can't go to the toilet without a Smartphone App. 2020 the Christmas Tree. 2021 the Toilet door locks at your local restaurant ? :-) Have a good Christmas Matt and the Missus
The Japanese have a toilet that analyses your tinkle/poo and alerts you through the phone app if it detects potential health issues. Talk about nothing being sacred!
The mapping software is very cool!
it would be worse if it was covered in microphones instead of lights.
I don't want this in my own home. But the technology is really nice!
I had no idea Christmas lights had got this advanced, they do look nice though. Does the app work with Siri/shortcuts to allow you to create multiple timers that way or shout at your tree?
I couldn’t get the Alexa/Google stuff to work - not that I tried for more than a minute. I didn’t see any mention of Siri though.
My wife ordered one as soon as she saw this video :)
I hope it arrives in time.
I have to say, as both a Christmas decorations fan and a lighting aficionado I really like these. The augmented reality setup and the 3D effects are really something. Thank you for bringing attention to these, they're definitely better than the average rgb light strings.
Nothing to do with this video, but I just wanted to wish yourself (and The Missus!) a Merry Christmas. Like you, I've been trapped indoors through long term health issues (and I live alone) so, and hopefully this doesn't sound really weird, you've been a good companion this year. I always try to share videos that I know my online friends will like (after they've gone live to everyone, of course!) and I know a couple of your new subscribers will be down to this!
Well that's very kind of you and I hope your Christmas is enjoyable too. The people here on Patreon like yourself keep me connected to some degree of normality. Beyond some brief perfunctory conversations with the Mrs there is no-one I can share my interests with in 'real life' - but there's always a good group of people here who will both listen and provide support. It's been invaluable to me in getting through 2020 relatively unscathed.
That tree gave me an idea, could you make it show the colors lightblue, pink, white, pink and light blue again stacked from top to bottom, stand next to it and say "Trans Rights!" into the camera? It would be a nice middle finger to you highly transphobic government fucking around with trans youth by not giving them puberty blockers anymore. Merry Christmas. -.-
Wow, that is an amazing tree!
This video turned out to be the test of a new VU. 🤗
The first thing I thought when I saw the box was “what does his wife think?,” but I think you’ve sort of answered that. I think these are pretty neat, but not this year. Our family tree was purchased in 1971 by my mom, and it’s so wide we ended up buying an inexpensive pre-lighted tree a few years ago while the large one gathers dust in the attic. Of course I tripled the number of lights on it. Perhaps buying strings of lights is the answer for us. The wife would be amused if I programmed it to display the Union Jack. She’s already started repeating Monty Python quotes I use without knowing it.
Thanks Mat. Sadly I can't afford a tree (Covid unemployment) like that so we will have to get a free tree from the pine forest and put our ancient fairly lights on it. I'm drooling with jealousy. Happy Xmas to you and Mrs. Techmoan.
Tez, sorry to hear about the job situation. I hope things turn around soon.
The Internet of Trees
I would have liked to have seen the Union Jack pattern. Merry Christmas Matt.
It’s unrecognisable - just some red and white lights - it’d need another few hundred (or thousand) bulbs.
Late to the party but I look forward, each year, to the Techmoan Holiday Special and now it's here! #SoExcited
Call me a geezer (I am), but plain old incandescent miniature bulbs with random blinking are just right to give me a proper seasonal smile. Christmas trees connected to the cloud, indeed ....
Is that a 'Bah! Humbug!' I hear...?
A great seasonal video - thank you! I never thought I'd hear the words 'Christmas tree and instruction booklet" uttered in the same sentence (ho ho ho!) I never realised such a gadget existed - it's great that you bring these things to our attention. However, with all these restrictions around be sure not to get collared for holding illicit Christmas tree raves in your garage...
I know you avoided mentioning the price so I'll be annoying by mentioning that John Lewis are selling the 7' version at £419 `Reduced to clear`. Eight in stock at the time of posting.
What a hilarious video! I really like the part in which you ask the people to not to argue about artificial trees or real trees. Maybe you should reconsider to do more comedy-like content (I miss the puppets by the way). It would be great fun!
As someone who does serious christmas lights (full RGB LED on the house, sequenced to music etc) the twinkly strings seem reasonably priced. For what I can buy them for here in Australia, I'd spend probably 3/4 of that to DIY something, and it wouldn't have the slick app or clever mapping software. Their trees do seem pricey, but there are plenty of expensive high quality fake trees around. Assuming the quality is on par then its also not unreasonable.
Excellent video, really cool tree, and the accompanying music at 9:00 sounds like it came from a more recent "Legend of Zelda" game. When I was a kid in the 1980s, the closest we came to this was our battery-operated, 12-inch-tall fiber optic musical Xmas tree, which sat on the table and played music box songs, while the light was projected through a color wheel beneath the fiber optic bundle. We all thought that was "high tech" and "futuristic". Until I got bored one day during Winter break and took it apart, revealing it's "low tech" secrets (light bulb, color wheel, music box).
On the fence with this one. Is it worth the cost ? Will the novelty will soon wear off? App issues would certainly put me off 100% Will check back with you in Jan 2022 ? Would be great in a pub (if they ever open again) next to a table with a couple arguing.......Him in red, her in blue and the louder the person gets the higher the respective lights climb the tree...LOL
It’s only viable for me because I can make a video about it. If I wasn’t doing this, the price would be a bit too much for me to swallow.
I have the rgb strip only version of the twinkly set, I like them. It wasn't until I watched your video, however, that I realized it left some lights as red when you scan them. Yay for colorblind issues.
I see that twinkly also sells the version that's only the rgb string light without the tree, but out of stock unfortunately. I also see a knock-off version on aliexpress that uses an app which I would be concerned to install on my phone.
It's a good day when you can write off your Christmas tree as a business expense!
I didn’t chance it on this occasion - I was concerned that a Christmas tree on my accounts might draw unwanted attention.
When you leave the sound to light module on, the neighbours will see when Mrs. Is shouting at you. ;-) Does the tree have a bad smell or is it neutral?
I’ve just asked the Mrs and she says it has no smell.
This is definitely something for Alec at Technology Connections! :D
Was thinking the same thing!
Wonderful stuff, Mat. Note to self, 'On no account let my wife see this video'
now that's a dope ass tree
🤣 What people want... I stick to your perfect comment: do whatever you want. I got a little artificial tree, probably around 30 years old, I only changed once from incandescent bulbs to yellowish/white LEDs. Comes out of the basement every year on the 6th of December, and goed back on the 6th of January.
Is that a level 2 car charger in your garage? Good catch on replacing less with fewer--you've prevented thousands of angry comments. That tree is a wonderful gadget! It will now have a permanent home next to your stereo as your favorite music visualizer.
It's incredibly clever and incredibly tacky lol. My GF would never allow one and I guess if I was single I wouldn't have a tree at all. What I need is a GF who really wants one of these so I can get one.
I cannot wait for someone to cover their house in this and run DOOM.
You know it's only a matter of time!
It is very 21st century to speak of whether a Christmas tree is aware of a wreath and vice versa. Do they feel pain? Are they happy?
That was cool! But I am disappointed I didn't get to see the Union Jack one.
It didn’t look recognisable unfortunately. I think it needs a lot more lights.
We purchased one of these last Christmas. WE LOVE IT. It's sooooo cool. The app on the iPhone went through a major overhaul since last Christmas; it's much easier to control and appears to be more stable. As John McClane famously said, "Welcome to the party, Pal!"
Now I have a smart tree. Ho ho ho.
Just since a few weeks ago (the 600 “bulb” variety). A friend has had them since last year and is very happy with them! I also got the icicle ones but haven’t set them up yet (I want to use them outside). Here’s a picture of my setup: https://www.reddit.com/r/RGBProfiles/comments/k8m7it/twinkly_rgb_lights_these_are_compatible_with/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf
I have these on my staircase! Glad that I bought them before your video, so now I can flip them on eBay in January and buy a few laser turntables.
I think I may be a bit late to this party - have you had them a while?