How to Add LED Backlighting to Any TV in Five Minutes!

See how to add LED backlighting to any TV in just FIVE minutes!

It’s such a cool effect that really enhances the viewing experience, and is SO simple to install…just peel, stick, and plug!

Easiest DIY project ever!

How to Add LED Backlighting to Any TV in Five Minutes!

Last spring, we had a custom entertainment built-in installed in our living room by my pal James from Southern Boy Woodworks.

It turned out SO great…and maybe I’ll eventually get around to sharing a post all about it. #slacker

My husband and I made a deal beforehand though: he could get a new bigger TV — IF AND ONLY IF — we mounted it on the shiplap wall instead of having it rest on the countertop.

I think it just looks nicer.

Since he was more than down for that idea (the man loves his electronics), he got to researching TVs and wall mounts right away.

While perusing the available options, he stumbled upon another fun accessory that he just HAD to have too: TV LED backlighting.

And since I love me some color, this was a home improvement project we could both instantly agree on.

TV LED Backlighting Supplies

Now, I’m certainly not an electronics guru, so there may be some TVs out there that this won’t work for.

Ya know, like those gigantic ancient box televisions that even thrift stores won’t accept anymore?

However, adding LED backlighting to newer (and especially Smart) TVs can be done in a jiffy:

Flatscreen TV
- Ours is the 65″ 2016 model of this Samsung
USB TV LED backlighting strip sized for your TV
- Here’s what we have
Optional: Wall TV mount
- We used this one

How to Add LED Backlighting to a TV

So here are the extremely complicated and time-consuming directions for how to add LED backlighting to any TV.

JUST KIDDING!

Nothing hard or complicated about this at all.

It’s seriously one of the quickest and easiest home improvement projects you’ll ever do.

I’ll explain in more detail below, but here is a quick rundown of how we added LED backlighting to our TV:

Snap the ends of the strips into flexible corner pieces and then peel off the backings, one at a time
Adhere one strip at a time to the four edges of the TV, making sure the folded corner pieces stay hidden behind the TV
Plug the adapter into the USB port on the back of the TV

Tada!

Like I said, easiest DIY project ever.

Ok, so here are all the deets…

Our LED backlighting came as four long strips with sticky backs that each got adhered to the edges of the back of the TV.

In between each sticky section is a bendable corner piece that has arrows that guide you when snapping them into the strips.

The power for the LEDs come via the USB port on the back of the TV.

Hooray for no hardwiring!

How the TV LED Backlighting Looks

Here’s how the LED backlighting strips look straight-on after we applied them and fired them up, but before mounting the TV on the wall.

They’re pretty darn bright!

And since these strips will be facing the wall (ours is shiplap painted in Shoji White by Sherwin Williams), the LEDs will cast a soft, subtle glow behind and around the TV.

Here’s a little slo-mo animation demonstrating how the LEDs cycle through the colors in one of the settings called Smooth (our favorite).

The entire rainbow is covered:

The TV LED Backlighting Settings & Remote Control

Our TV LED backlighting came with a handy remote that has all kinds of options to choose from.

You can either have it remain a single color (we like WHITE for Game of Thrones, RED when watching Stranger Things, and BLUE when a Kentucky basketball game is on), or select one of the settings that cycles through all the colors at different speeds.

It’s amazing how a subtle backlight can really enhance what you’re viewing.

Probably 99% of the time, we keep ours on the Smooth setting.

This is a nice slow, gradual transition from one color to the next (see the animation above).

It’s super neat and, surprisingly, not distracting at all.

We actually notice more when the LEDs are off…everything is so dark!

The really nice thing is that since the backlighting is plugged directly into the TV, the LED strips turn on automatically whenever the TV is turned on, and they shut off about five seconds after the TV is turned off.

So there’s no need to constantly fiddle with the LED remote unless you want to change the settings.

Just set it and forget it.

LED Backlighting remote control for a tv.

Our Easy TV LED Backlighting!

It’s hard getting an accurate depiction of how the backlighting actually looks in person, but here’s a pic of our TV with the LED backlighting fired up!

It doesn’t overpower the TV or any other lights in the room, but it definitely adds some pizzazz and is a real WOW factor.

And I can’t tell you the number of people who have commented on it as soon as they walk in our house.

It’s definitely a cool conversation starter!