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I just bought a not inexpensive soundbar - something that is specifically designed to go under a TV, something that it would be assumed is to be placed in a darkned room and directly in your line of sight....why then did the idiot who designed it stick a flipping bright blue LED right in the middle on the front speaker grill? The one it replaced was even worse - that had a led display that helpfully reminded me I was listening to the TV...yeah really, you don't say.
I have to charge all my devices in a different room overnight because the amount of blinking and static LED indicator lights make my desk look like SpaceX launch control.
Yes, I can stick a piece of electrical tape over these things but it looks rubbish and I'm sure a proportion of the money I spent on the thing was so it could look good in my lounge.
Please product designers, we don't need an indicator light for every tiny function and if they have to be there, make them discreet or dimmable
Agreed.
Very true. My living room looks like a funfair at night.
I've got a sound bar that I've had the best part of 10 years now - great big "OPTICAL*" on its front screen all the bloody time unless I actively switch off the display, then its back next time its switched on. Never understood why they thought it was a good idea. Only saving grace is that it's not really bright, but still . . .
*displays whatever mode its in, so can be "HEADPHONE", "BT", etc. Wallopers
Ive been known to take the back cover of such devices in the past, if the LED isn't attached directly to a circuit board, rather its just mounted in the case and has two wires comming out of it... snip, problem solved 😀
Sure you can't turn the LED off in the app? Every soundbar I've ever had has had this option (LG & Sonos).
Bought a separate router recently so put our Plusnet one into "modem only mode" which it now signifies by illuminating the entire front of the thing with a pink glow. Normally you can log into it to disable the lights, except of course if you've put it into said modem only mode... 🙄
timmys
Full Member
Sure you can’t turn the LED off in the app? Every soundbar I’ve ever had has had this option (LG & Sonos).
If you can turn yours off so that they stay off, I'm very jealous
Yep. Blu Tac is your friend.
^^^ a fiver for 2 sheets of stickers!! Good idea though & it dims rather than totally blocks.
Stickers look great, I think I'll get those for some of my other gear - unfortuntely the soundbar has the light behind the cloth grill so probably won't work on that. In addition having looked through the manual there is no way to dim it or switch it off, despite this feature apparently being available on the previous (cheaper) model! FFS
^^^ a fiver for 2 sheets of stickers!! Good idea though & it dims rather than totally blocks.
Yes pricey, this is more like it, 33p 😀
There's probably an EU directive that requires an indicator to remind the user that the device is turned on.
But, what with Brexit, we could get rid of it. At last, something useful!
I'm colour blind. Single LEDs that show different colours for various modes (think red, amber, green) are totally useless to me
(I appreciate this is slightly tangential 🙂 )
OP - Completely agree. I know things are on because they work. I don't need a light to tell me!
lamp
Free MemberOP – Completely agree. I know things are on because they work. I don’t need a light to tell me!
Username checks out.
A blue LED!? Take it you weren't a fan of the Technics stacker system in the 80s! 🙂
@the-muffin-man haha yes the 12 band spectrum analyser and MegaBass display certainly grabbed your attention! My current stereo system is nicely understated but still likes to tell me whats plugged in to it in a massive dot matrix display - luckily its in another room and the display can be turned off.
Cheers @mattyfez - never realised those stickers existed, and they look ideal for my overbright alarm clock 👍
@mogrim the ones on that amazon link are very small though, the sheets are 4" x 8".. you might be better off buying a larger cheaper plain sheet and cutting to size.
Our router lights up like an Insect-O-Cuter from a 1970's chippy.
A sharpie pen is your friend for dimming leds
A blue LED!? Take it you weren’t a fan of the Technics stacker system in the 80s! 🙂
Still using a Technics amp to this day. The remote works and everything. I love the sound of the stepper-motor turning the volume dial!
I love them, can navigate through the lounge on the way to the kitchen when I need a (soft) drink at 3am. Conversly the telly in the kitchen doesnt have one, sometimes i can only tell its been left on is if the kitchen is dark and the black screen glows slightly.
No quite sure why they need to be so bright though.
No quite sure why they need to be so bright though.
They're not bright, they're just close to you. If they were far away, they would appear dim
Cheers, nice reminder, I've been meaning to knock out a few in the bedroom. Twiddly openey snippy snip. Jobs jobbed.
I’ve been meaning to knock out a few in the bedroom. Twiddly openey snippy snip. Jobs jobbed.
Dear god
Twiddly openey snippy snip
I really wouldn't recommend a home vasectomy.
Our sound bar only emits light when turned on and when adjusting settings
The one that really gets me is phone chargers - I'm sure there's a significant number of people who charge their phones in their bedrooms. Some of the chargers I've seen have led lights that are brighter than bedside lights, and they *flash* when they're charging!
But, what with Brexit, we could get rid of it
So glad to have seen this thread, because i now realise that I’m not alone.
My new car has a bright Orange light right in my peripheral vision to tell me that the passenger airbag is either on or off, there is no way of turning this off. It’s now hidden under black electrical tape.
Totally agree OP, I got a headphone USB C adapter and the blue LED on it is genuinely bright enough to use as a torch.
In the past i've just stuck a square of electrical tape over it.
Toshiba TV, with a bloody bright green led right under the screen to tell me it is on. Because obviously the moving pictures and sound are too subtle.