I’ve recently read that subtle lighting behind a screen can improve the perceived quality and comfort of the viewing experience. A thread on AV Forums mentioned some affordable LCD strips sold by IKEA called TRETTIOEN, which seemed like good value for £21 a set.

As I was going to IKEA anyway, I decided to pick up two sets of those lights in blue (they’re also available in green and white). One set has been stuck to the back of my main Plasma TV, and the other set is on the back of my 20 inch iMac G5 (see the photo below).

So far I’m pretty impressed with the results for £21 a display. The effect is definitely similar to the backlit displays you can buy in the shops. I’m not sure whether any real difference is made to the quality of the image, but I certainly prefer the look of the both the iMac and the plasma with the backlight on, to having the backlight off.

The configuration I’ve used is one strip on each side of the screen, and two strips at the top. This seems to give a good distribution of light.