I'm new here, and I have a few questions

[willhu12]

Hey amBX users,

I'm considering asking for an amBX kit for Christmas (at 15 I think I can still get away with asking for presents ) but I couldn't find out how to get hold of them (something my mum would need to know).

I wasn't sure where to post this, so I thought general would be a good start.

I was also wondering, do you NEED to have a PC - or can you use a TV/video game with some kind of special box?

cheers for the help guys

also, has anyone tried Avatar (James Cameron's) with amBX, any good? I've got a good idea of some films to see, but I was wondering if a film with that much colour would overload the system.

[rogmi]

Hey amBX users,

I'm considering asking for an amBX kit for Christmas (at 15 I think I can still get away with asking for presents ) but I couldn't find out how to get hold of them (something my mum would need to know).

I wasn't sure where to post this, so I thought general would be a good start.

I was also wondering, do you NEED to have a PC - or can you use a TV/video game with some kind of special box?

cheers for the help guys

also, has anyone tried Avatar (James Cameron's) with amBX, any good? I've got a good idea of some films to see, but I was wondering if a film with that much colour would overload the system.

If you’re hoping to get one, you’d better have a word with Father (or Mother) Christmas quick

The Philips AMBX systems are getting harder to find now, as they’ve almost disappeared. They stopped making them about 2(?) years ago. They are good, though. It’s probably highly unlikely that you’d find a shop selling them.

I don’t know if you’re from the UK, but as an example, there are a couple of the full systems advertised on Amazon:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_nos ... &x=15&y=21

Ebuyer, once a source for cheap starter kits, only have the Extension Kit (Rumble pad and fan) left for £9.99 (which is cheap)
http://www.ebuyer.com/search?q=ambx

Play.com have the full and extension kits
http://www.play.com/Search.html?searchs ... chsource=0

SVP have the premium kit
http://www.svp.co.uk/product.php?product=PHILIPS097

or look on E-bay
http://shop.ebay.co.uk/?_from=R40&_trks ... Categories

You could do a Google search – AMBX BUY UK - and see what other firms have them/ Past experience has shown that often a search will list a supplier, but the web site will show out of stock

Note that prices do vary a lot, and delivery may be extra. Some also have games supplied with them

The AMBX will only work with a PC.

I don’t know about that particular film, but I don’t think there’s any problems with too much colour overloading

[willhu12]

Ah,

if I could rig a PS3/XB360/Wii to a PC - would the amBX work then, or would it have to be a DVD/amBX game?

[rogmi]

Ah,

if I could rig a PS3/XB360/Wii to a PC - would the amBX work then, or would it have to be a DVD/amBX game?

Probably not. I suppose it depends on what you mean by rigging it to the PC. The only way I can think of is if the PS3 etc. video signal is input to the PC via a suitable video converter, and then I wouldn't guarantee it. I suppose it depends if AMBX detects the video properly. I don't know much about the gaming etc. side, but I assume that however the PS3 was rigged up to the PC, even if the AMBX did work, there would be an increased delay between the action that you're seeing on the screen from the PS3 and the AMBX lights. Even then, any light reactions would, presumably, be based on the screen content, rather than the games' built-in AMBX commands

Somebody else here may have more experience with what you're thinking of possibly doing and may be able to give some advice. Personally, I don't think that you're going to have much luck with connecting anything external like the PS3 etc . and getting it working realistically, so you'll just be able to use the AMBX for whatever you have on the PC.

However, the AMBX is also very good just as an ambient light set up, whether it is reacting to the movies / DVDs etc. played on the PC, or the audio input, or just the lights on their own based on various scenes or settings. This is especially so when using the Aurora Synethesiser programme that you can download to work the lights.

I have a music source where the digital audio output goes to my amplifier and the standard phono output goes to the PC audio in. Although I don't play the audio through the PC, Aurora Synethesiser uses the audio input to control the lights according to what the frequency of the music is. Ii does look very good,

[Kryss2k]

You can get the lights to react to almost anything that outputs on the PC monitor (via the PC). So if you can get the PC to display the PS3/Xbox/Wii stuff then yeah it should work.

I have had some issues with certain programs though so it's not guaranteed but the PC MUST process whatever you want the lights to react to.

[willhu12]

You can get the lights to react to almost anything that outputs on the PC monitor (via the PC). So if you can get the PC to display the PS3/Xbox/Wii stuff then yeah it should work.

I have had some issues with certain programs though so it's not guaranteed but the PC MUST process whatever you want the lights to react to.

Ah, OK;

I'll try it with a few films first before I try anything fancy.

[thepentagon]

Just out of interest, why were the starter kits discontinued? They were a reasonable price, good for people that wanted to extend their kit and good for tinkering with. I was keen to buy another kit for an ambient room setup but was unable to because they'd stop selling these. I do not want to buy a kit with speakers built in as I already have a surround system and this would be completely redundant. It seems completely unreasonable to be paying roughly £50 more for speakers I don't need. It also seems silly that these were discontinued only a short while before christmas this year.

[PawPaw]

cause Philips no longer produce the kits so once stock is old sold thats it......
But mad catz are releasing a new product to replace the philips lights

[rogmi]

Just out of interest, why were the starter kits discontinued? They were a reasonable price, good for people that wanted to extend their kit and good for tinkering with. I was keen to buy another kit for an ambient room setup but was unable to because they'd stop selling these. I do not want to buy a kit with speakers built in as I already have a surround system and this would be completely redundant. It seems completely unreasonable to be paying roughly £50 more for speakers I don't need. It also seems silly that these were discontinued only a short while before christmas this year.

I think that all the Philips AMBX stuff has been discontinued for some while, with some firms like E-buyer etc. buying up lots of what is effectively surplus stock.

The other thing is is that he price that they are being sold for now is a clearance price, and nothing like the high price they were originally sold at. I think the pro version was originally over £250 and if you do a google search, you may still find the occasional store rather optimistcally advertising them (in stock) at a price similar to that.

One of the reasons that the Philips AMBX has got so popular is because they have become so cheap since they were discontinued. People who had no chance of being able to afford one, now can. I know that I certainly wouldn't have bought any at the original price, no matter how good they were.

[thepentagon]

Just out of interest, why were the starter kits discontinued? They were a reasonable price, good for people that wanted to extend their kit and good for tinkering with. I was keen to buy another kit for an ambient room setup but was unable to because they'd stop selling these. I do not want to buy a kit with speakers built in as I already have a surround system and this would be completely redundant. It seems completely unreasonable to be paying roughly £50 more for speakers I don't need. It also seems silly that these were discontinued only a short while before christmas this year.

I think that all the Philips AMBX stuff has been discontinued for some while, with some firms like E-buyer etc. buying up lots of what is effectively surplus stock.

The other thing is is that he price that they are being sold for now is a clearance price, and nothing like the high price they were originally sold at. I think the pro version was originally over £250 and if you do a google search, you may still find the occasional store rather optimistcally advertising them (in stock) at a price similar to that.

One of the reasons that the Philips AMBX has got so popular is because they have become so cheap since they were discontinued. People who had no chance of being able to afford one, now can. I know that I certainly wouldn't have bought any at the original price, no matter how good they were.

Thanks for letting me know. Sounds like a wait until Mad Catz come out with something. Hopefully they'll be a reasonable price. Wanted to crack open one of the old AMBX kits and put the lights in my PC case, but doesn't look like an option now. Shame that not many companies have jumped onto the home AMBX market either.

[rogmi]

If you do a search in the forum for mad catz, you should see a bit there that shows the new mad catz lights. Rather strangely, if this is the madcatz website, there is no mention anywhere of AMBX (I typed AMBX into their search box and got nothing),
http://www.madcatz.com/Default.asp

I don't know if the lights are on sale, or where they're on sale. The pictures of them in the forum post look good, but it's only two lights rather than the two sidelights and wallwasher that come with the Philips starter kit. Expect the lights to be much more than the starter kit, because the madcatz lights will be real prices, rather than the surplus price that the Philips were on sale for.

If you see a Philips starter kit advertised (and there were a few knocking around), I would still buy it because I think the Philps and Madcatz should work together.

I'm not sure about adapting the Philips lights to fit in a PC. You would need to fit the whole wallwasher, unless you extend the internal cable that fits the individual wallwasher light. It would be a bit simpler to adapt a sidelight without speakers to work inside the PC because you could use the existing cable, although it may mean cutting off and resoldering the plug on the cable (either at the PCB end or the SVGA plug end) because you won't be able you remove the cable from the sidelight case without removing a plug as well.


edit
the other thing is that the light from the LEDs won't look the same with the white diffuser removed. It will be more harsher and the individual colours will be showing (i.e. it will be showing a green and red light when the ambx is set to show a yellow light) rather than a softer, overall yellow colour light

[foxyboi]

basically, either wait for the madcatz products to be released.
Or, go on ebay who sell all the ambx range on there quite cheaply.
Be careful of ebay scams though, just a heads up.
Foxyboi