Starlight Controller App Modes Explained: Light, Blink, Breath and Custom

Every Starlight Ceiling install runs off one hidden Starlight Controller, and the app that pairs with it ships with four built-in modes: Light, Blink, Breath and Custom. Each one is a different pattern of brightness and movement across the same star points — no new hardware, just a different signal from the controller. Here's what each mode actually does, and which one fits which room.

Light mode

Light mode holds the star field at a steady brightness with no twinkle at all — every point on. It's the calmest of the four, and the one to reach for anywhere twinkle would be a distraction rather than atmosphere: a nursery during a feed, a bathroom soak, or a home theater the moment before the movie starts rolling. It's functionally the same steady, twinkle-off setting described as the Sleep scene in our bedroom sizing guide and the Movie scene in the home theater guide — those scenes are just Light mode saved at a specific brightness.

Blink mode

Blink mode is discrete twinkle: individual star points switch on and off in short, randomized bursts, rather than fading smoothly. It reads as more energetic and more obviously "animated" than Breath mode below, which makes it the better choice for a living room border, a hallway, or any space where the ceiling is meant to be noticed rather than to recede into the background. It's less suited to a bedroom or theater, where a subtler motion holds up better over an hour of use.

Breath mode

Breath mode is the slow, smooth twinkle most owners settle on for long-term use — star points fade up and down in gentle, staggered waves rather than switching abruptly, which is what gives it the name. This is the pattern behind the Wind-down and Evening scenes in the bedroom guide and the Intermission scene in the home theater guide. If you only ever use one mode, this is usually it.

Custom mode

Custom mode hands you the individual controls: brightness, cycle speed, and timing, adjustable independently, plus the option to blend elements from the other three modes instead of using one in isolation. It's the mode worth exploring once you know how you actually use the room — dial in the exact brightness a screen can tolerate, or a twinkle speed that reads as calmer than Blink but livelier than Breath. Every named scene described elsewhere in the Knowledge Center (Movie, Intermission, Showtime, Wind-down, Sleep, Evening) is really a saved Custom-mode configuration under the hood.

Modes vs. scenes: what's the difference

A mode is one of these four underlying patterns. A scene is a specific brightness-and-speed configuration, built from a mode, that you name and save in the app so it's one tap away — the app supports saving multiple scenes rather than resetting sliders every time. If a room needs to switch between distinct moods (movie night vs. hosting, wind-down vs. daytime), scenes built on Custom mode are the practical way to do it; if a room only ever needs one look, picking a single built-in mode is simpler.

How to switch modes

Modes and scenes are both set from the app or the included remote — no tools, no rewiring. Select a mode, adjust brightness and speed if the mode allows it, and save it as a named scene if it's a look you'll return to. Settings apply instantly, so it's easy to preview all four modes in a room before committing to one.

Frequently asked questions

What's the difference between Blink and Breath mode?

Blink switches individual star points on and off in short bursts, reading as energetic and animated. Breath fades points up and down in slow, smooth waves, reading as calmer. Breath is the more common long-term choice for bedrooms and theaters; Blink suits living rooms and hallways.

Which mode should I use in a home theater?

Light mode (steady, twinkle-off) during the film itself, so nothing pulls focus from the screen. Breath mode works well for intermissions, and Blink or a livelier Custom setting suits the moments before guests are seated. See the home theater design guide for the full scene breakdown.

Is Custom mode harder to set up than the others?

No — it uses the same app controls as the other three modes, just with brightness, speed and timing exposed individually instead of fixed. Most owners start with Light, Blink or Breath and move to Custom once they know what they want to fine-tune.

Can I save more than one scene?

Yes. The app supports multiple named scenes, so a room can switch between looks — for example Wind-down, Sleep and Evening in a bedroom, or Movie, Intermission and Showtime in a theater — without resetting brightness and speed each time.

Do modes work the same on every panel size and room kit?

Yes. Modes and scenes are set at the controller, and one Starlight Controller drives up to 30 panels, so the same mode applies uniformly across a single-panel accent or a full room kit.