Philips Hue Ludere Smart Security Floodlight

I will start off by admitting that after having tried several different wifi based smart lights with little or no success, I eventually caved in and joined the Hue side-mostly for its build quality and Zigbee protocol. And I have to say that not having to deal with bandwidth issues and unreliable bulbs/apps, I couldn't be happier. The old adage that you get what you pay for most certainly applies with Hue. In early 2019, I began the journey of migrating over to Philips Hue. Since that time, Ive not had a single glitch with almost 100 bulbs and two Hue bridges. Every automation works, every light performs as expected. I can use both HomeKit and Google Home (and Alexa if I had one of their products). Like all my other Hue investments, with these Hue Ludere Floodlights, I have gotten a huge return on my investment. I currently have 6 of them (12 bulbs) around the perimeter of my house. They are programmed to come on at sunset, progressively brighten to full brightness in an hour until midnight, then dim down to their lowest level until sunrise. They never fail. Ever..with the oldest being almost two years now. Initially, I was concerned about the asthetics of the fixture itself, but after the first install, I grew to realize that these are just fine (not fancy, but certainly functional and well built). The fixture is made mostly of a hard resin type plastic that has been caste black (no other color option), with metal components in the base and adjusters. In that regard, they are similarly built to the generic fixtures that you can buy online or maybe even at your local hardware store with a small difference: the price. I actually found that buying these Hue floodlights as a kit (the regular non smart fixture with the bulbs you have to screw in) is cheaper than buying the Par 38 bulbs separately, then buying similar housing. To be clear, you get the bulbs AND the fixture for $79. If you purchase a similar non Hue fixture and the Hue bulbs separately, it will cost significantly more. The cheapest I priced the non Hue fixture was $40-which was of comparable material. You're also taking a chance on whether or not the fixture is optimal for the Hue bulbs. However, with the Hue fixture, you can rest assured that they are optimized for their brand of outdoor smart bulbs (a definite plus for me). Here's the breakdown: Currently the Hue food light bulbs 2pk sale for $55 on amazon. Add a separate light fixture for $40, you will have paid $95..whereas this kit (2 bulbs AND the fixture) goes for $79. That's why I bought 6 of them over time. Now if you already have a fixture you are happy with, then of course only get the bulb pack-IF it completely covers the bulb that's great. But if you're looking to replace the housing with a fixture that sets the bulbs flush in its housing-jump at these because I haven't seen the kit for quite some time on Hue's website-which leads me to believe the kit has been discontinued. Hope this helps you make a decision.