Hi, I received the light bar today and connected it. I only have the Hue Bridge and have no plans to connect the light bar to the TV. It works perfectly and you can also set 3 different colours via the app (gradient). So no restrictions as far as the light is concerned. Everything works wonderfully!

Yes

Yes, you can also use it without the Syncbox, but only as 1 normal (coloured) Hue lamp and, as far as I know, not with several different colours at the same time.