Hive Lighting Antenna vs starCTRL
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Hive Lighting Antenna
This app offers comprehensive control for C- and CX-Series lights via Bluetooth. Easily adjust colors, select from numerous presets, and apply dynamic effects. Group lights for synchronized control and explore billions of color combinations for creative lighting setups.
- Bluetooth control for C- and CX-Series lights
- Color and tint adjustment sliders
- RGB and color wheel selectors
- Over 100 preset lighting sources
- Preset lighting effects (e.g., Cop Car, Fire)
- Individual and group light control
- Demo mode for offline use
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Hive Antenna gives you complete control over our C- and CX-Series lights via Bluetooth. Quickly assign colors and choose from multiple effects, with billions of combinations. Lights can be controlled individually or grouped together to create limitless lighting possibilities. Multiple color control options • Output, Color Temperature, Tint, Saturation, Hue sliders • RGB sliders • Color Wheel selector • White light calibrations optimized for different cameras and subject matter More than 100 preset Sources • Natural (Sunrise, Moonlight, etc) • Artificial (Pink Glow Stick, Blow Torch, etc) • Corrective (+Green, -Green, CT Straw) • search for Sources by hue Preset lighting Effects • Cop Car, TV, Fire, etc • customize some color combinations Demo Mode (no light required) FREE TO DOWNLOAD AND FREE TO USE
starCTRL
Design custom lighting setups with this app. Connect and control compatible fixtures, adjusting color, intensity, and effects. Save presets and group lights for complex designs.
- Auto-discovery of compatible fixtures
- Control lamp color and intensity
- Adjust color temperature and green offset
- Access built-in lighting effects
- Group lights for larger designs
- Save favorite colors and effects
- Set smooth transitions with fade times
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Designed for Litepanels Astra IP and Quasar Science Rainbow 2 and Double Rainbow, starCTRL is a simple-to-use app that allows users to connect wirelessly, create custom lighting designs and quickly adjust standard parameters. Unlock fast and creative lighting designs with the starCTRL app. 1. Connect instantly The starCTRL app is compatible with the following fixtures: - Quasar Science Rainbow 2 and Double Rainbow - Litepanels Astra IP series Supported fixtures are automatically discovered by starCTRL for fast easy setup. Simply set your lights to starCTRL mode in the fixture menu and open the starCTRL app — it’s that simple! 2. Control simply Take full control of your lights from your fingertips. Quasar Science control parameters: Intensity, CCT (1750-10000K), ±Green, Hue, Saturation, Output Mode, and FX Litepanels Astra IP control parameters: DIM and CCT (2700-6500K) Quickly adjust color and temperature using common presets. Access the full range of Rainbow series lighting effects, with the ability to fine-tune individual effect parameters. 3. Customize Group lights for more complex designs. Apply settings to an entire group or fine-tune individual fixtures. Save your own Colors and FX settings to Favorites for quick recall onto any selected fixture or group. Enable smooth transitions by setting a fade time of up to 5 seconds. Firmware Requirements Rainbow 2 & Double Rainbow - Recommended*: QS 0.9B with TimoTwo v1.1.1.5 - Minimum compatible: QS 0.8B with TimoTwo v1.0.7.2 *iOS26 users must update to recommended versions or later Litepanels Astra IP - Firmware v1.5.0 with VLPM v1.0.2m (or later)
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: Hive Lighting Antenna at 78% against starCTRL's 25%. Hive Lighting Antenna also leads on rating (4.1 vs 2.9) and update cadence (every 6 weeks vs every 6 months). On price, ratings volume, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Hive Lighting Antenna holds the better App Store score, 4.1 against 2.9. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 14 and 7 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 78% of Hive Lighting Antenna's written reviews are positive against 25% of starCTRL's.
Hive Lighting Antenna ships an update every 6 weeks, starCTRL every 6 months. The most recent releases landed on October 5, 2026 and September 30, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Hive Lighting Antenna | starCTRL |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.1 (14 ratings) — better | 2.9 (7 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 77.8% of reviews — better | 25.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 14 — better | 7 |
| Update frequency | Every 6 weeks — better | Every 6 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 13.0 — better | 14.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 9 MB | 3 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Hive Lighting Inc. | Videndum Production Solutions, Inc. |
Customer experience
Hive Lighting Antenna
starCTRL
In-app purchases
Hive Lighting Antenna
No in-app purchases
starCTRL
No in-app purchases
