Infrared Light Control

Controlling the Infrared channel of lights such as the LIFX Night Vision

Our Night Vision range of LIFX products support the ability to emit infrared light. This will enhance night vision cameras by extending the visual range of the camera.

The infrared channel works differently to the other LIFX color channels (Hue, Saturation, Brightness and Kelvin). When the brightness of the primary channels drops below a certain threshold the light will turn on the infrared channel.

A brightness value of zero indicates that the infrared LEDs will not be used, and a value of 65535 indicates that the light should set the infrared channel to the maximum possible value given the other information. Retrieving and setting the maximum brightness of the infrared channel is done with GetInfrared (120) and SetInfrared (122) with StateInfrared (121) representing the current state.

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Viewing Infrared Light

Unfortunately testing the LIFX infrared capabilities can be difficult as it is invisible to the naked eye. The easiest way to see infrared light is to use a camera. Not all cameras will work as some contain lenses that filter out IR. You should be able to test by pointing a TV remote at the camera while pressing a button. If the camera can see infrared light while you press a button on the remote you should be able to look through the camera and see the remotes LED flash.