LightDims Review

By:AlanV[yasr_multiset setid=4] Modern electronics provide us with entertainment, efficiency, convenience and many other positives in our daily lives. Unfortunately, a lot of these devices are coming with obnoxiously bright LEDs that pollute our homes with unnecessary light. The perfect embodiment of this is the Motorola Arris SB6141. It’s a dependable cable modem with terrific performance, but a close look at reviews reveals an Achilles heel: blindingly bright LEDs.This is where the LightDims come in. These little stickers can be placed over LEDs to diminish the amount of light they emit. They come in black, silver and white, which is enough to cover the vast majority of electronics currently on the market. The black LightDims come in two variants: Original Strength, which block out 50-80% of light and Black Out Edition, which completely block light.As soon as they were received I put them to work. Now on to the results.Test 1: Motorola Arris SB6141The first thing I tried the LightDims on was my cable modem, the Motorola Arris SB6141. I applied one of the white rectangular stickers to the front panel of the modem. There was a definite difference once the LightDims were on. There was only one problem, which has nothing to with the stickers. The modem is perforated with holes throughout its body so that it can dissipate heat from the internals.While the lights coming from the front panel was diminished there was still a ton of light escaping from the side and the back of the device. Something more drastic will be needed to tame the SB6141.Test 2: Icy Dock Black Vortex HDD EnclosureUp next was an external HDD enclosure, the Icy Dock Black Vortex. The enclosure has LEDs to signify activity on each HDD. An Original Strength dim was applied to one LED while a Black Out Edition was placed on another LED. Both of the stickers performed as expected, with some light still visible on one LED while the other emitted zero light. A success!Test 3: XBOX 360The final test came in the form of the XBOX 360’s touch sensor that blasts out a bright green light whenever it is turned on. This is a big issue for me because I use my XBOX 360 as a Windows Media Center extender to watch live television, and the green light can be distracting during night-time viewing. A round silver LightDim was the perfect solution, stopping the LED in its tracks.I couldn’t be happier with the LightDims. It allowed me to block LEDs completely, or only let some of the light through on devices where I needed to know their status. It’s a simple, elegant solution to an annoying problem. Anyone who is having issues with bright LEDs of any kind should really check out LightDims.The wonderful folks at LightDims have a special offer for our readers. Anyone making an order of the “5 kinds of LightDims” pack will automatically be upgraded to the “Get all 6 kinds” pack for three weeks. Get them at their official store, or Amazon.