Help needed on project - getting Siri to control TV via voice commands

Forums › Home Theatre (including HTPC and EPG Collector) › Help needed on project - getting Siri to control TV via voice commands

timbosan

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#272167 12-Jun-2020 14:36

So, new project time!

For ease of use (and to get a high WAF) I want to be able to control my home theater via voice, specifically via Siri (household is mainly Apple). My current setup is:

Panasonic Plasma (on used as a display, no aerial connected)
Rotel AMP (old 5.1 but love the sound)
Apple TV 4
Homebridge (Running on Windows 10)
Kodi (on a Pi)
SmartVU

I want to be able to do things like "Hey Siri, change the TV to Bravo" or "Hey Siri, turn on the TV and play TVNZ". Ideally I would like to use the Apsattv / MattH Freeview content I have running in Kodi. I have the TVNZ app on the Apple TV, but it's channel line is obviously limited and there are not enough apps to fill also the FTA content from Apsattv / MattH. I would prefer to utilise the Apple TV if possible.

So far I have tried to use the Kodi Homebridge add in with the Pi, but that doesn't work with Siri (at least I cannot get Siri to change channels, or do anything apart from change the volume).

I have Kodi running on the SmartVu but the thing is so damn slow it's annoying! And I don't know if (how?) I can hook it into Homebridge.

So, question is, what options do I have? I have considered getting a Harmony Elite and using that in Homebridge. Anyone tried this with Siri / homebridge?

Any other options I haven't considered?

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#2503684 12-Jun-2020 15:13

Are you able to change to bravo (for example) with the home app?

If so then you should be able to do with siri......it's a scene though.

I have an old radio controlled via a broadlink rm3 (ir) and have the power and selected radio stations set up as a "tv" in homebridge (using the mqttthing addon). Byt having it as a tv, I can then create a scene that says turn on the radio and set to the breeze. I actually have my radio set up as two tvs.....one for radio stations, and the other with has the inputs. As part of my scene i actually turn both on, and set the input one to tuner and the other one to the breeze.

Then as a shortcut I can say "Sri, turn on the breeze"

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davidcole

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#2503724 12-Jun-2020 15:16

Just been re-reading your message. The kodi addon for homebridge does mention tv channels.....but I dont know if an IPTV stream can be considered one of those.....maybe with a IPTV "tuner"

FineWine

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#2503740 12-Jun-2020 16:02

OH please Apple bring on TV 6th Gen with NZ activated Siri OR maybe the whole enchilada mix of an all-in-one TV AND HomePod - NAS with FULL smart home HomeKit integration for that total home automation experience. (including the now appearing and ever expanding Ikea smart home automation systems

I mean Google needs competition for its Nest mini which arrives here in NZ any day now.

PS: is there an international smart home automation system standards like; WiFi, BlueTooth etc, so you can mix and match products from different manufactures - webcams from Ring or Swann, lighting from Philips, blinds from Ikea, door locks from Yale, etc then smoothly hook the whole lot into one central control, say like an HomePod or a Google Home Hub and all can be contolled remotely from your iDevice locally or from far far away ??

Whilst the difficult we can do immediately, the impossible takes a bit longer. However, miracles you will have to wait for.

timbosan

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#2503753 12-Jun-2020 16:28

davidcole:

Are you able to change to bravo (for example) with the home app?

If so then you should be able to do with siri......it's a scene though.

I have an old radio controlled via a broadlink rm3 (ir) and have the power and selected radio stations set up as a "tv" in homebridge (using the mqttthing addon). Byt having it as a tv, I can then create a scene that says turn on the radio and set to the breeze. I actually have my radio set up as two tvs.....one for radio stations, and the other with has the inputs. As part of my scene i actually turn both on, and set the input one to tuner and the other one to the breeze.

Then as a shortcut I can say "Sri, turn on the breeze"

Yup, in the Home app I have a Kodi icon (2 actually, one for channels and the other for TV Shows, Movies, etc. - what is shown on the main menu) for changing channels, and it lists the channels I added to the HomeBridge JSON file, and it changes the channels fine from the app. But I cannot get Siri to work on this. Although the Home app shows Kodi as a TV, so I thought it means I could change SOMETHING like channels or inputs etc.

I haven't played with Scene's yet, I kinda-knew you could 'chain' together commands, so I will look into that more. But your use of IR blasters sounds similar to what I was thinking with the Harmony Elite, I would prefer to not have to buy another piece of hardware. Although the Broadlink looks way cheaper than the Logitech option.

In an ideal world we would have an app on the Apple TV that has all the NZ channels in it. But we don't even have a Freeview App for the ATV, which would at least be a step in the right direction!

geekiegeek

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#2503781 12-Jun-2020 17:31

I think you have to use Siri Shortcuts. Basically for Apple TV you setup Siri Shortcuts using the iOS Apple TV remote. Siri Shortcuts can be called from HomeKit but are personal so would need to exist on all users devices. This is how I control my Apple TV and Sensibo devices (which support shortcuts but not HomeKit natively) although I only use it to turn the Apple TV on and off as I can’t be bothered creating shortcuts for all the apps when you would still need a remote to navigate the app anyway.

timbosan

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#2503793 12-Jun-2020 17:46

geekiegeek:

I think you have to use Siri Shortcuts. Basically for Apple TV you setup Siri Shortcuts using the iOS Apple TV remote. Siri Shortcuts can be called from HomeKit but are personal so would need to exist on all users devices. This is how I control my Apple TV and Sensibo devices (which support shortcuts but not HomeKit natively) although I only use it to turn the Apple TV on and off as I can’t be bothered creating shortcuts for all the apps when you would still need a remote to navigate the app anyway.

So, I do this on my phone, but using the ATV remote? So it becomes like a learning remote?

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davidcole

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#2503825 12-Jun-2020 18:43

Set up a scene in the home app. The scene is:
Turn on tv
Turn on kodi
Set tv input (if needed)
Set kodi input to channel bravo.

Name it something like watch bravo. And Siri should respond to that .

geekiegeek

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#2503833 12-Jun-2020 19:16

timbosan:

geekiegeek:

I think you have to use Siri Shortcuts. Basically for Apple TV you setup Siri Shortcuts using the iOS Apple TV remote. Siri Shortcuts can be called from HomeKit but are personal so would need to exist on all users devices. This is how I control my Apple TV and Sensibo devices (which support shortcuts but not HomeKit natively) although I only use it to turn the Apple TV on and off as I can’t be bothered creating shortcuts for all the apps when you would still need a remote to navigate the app anyway.

So, I do this on my phone, but using the ATV remote? So it becomes like a learning remote?

no I was just using ATV as an example as I don’t use Kodi

Lastman

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#2503842 12-Jun-2020 19:55

The problem you run into is some of your devices are older and will need ir control (unless you have rs232 on the amp which is more involved). Ir control almost universally didn’t have discrete codes for off and on which is fine until a send doesn’t go through and the control loses knowledge of whether the device is off or on. I gave up on integrated control a long time ago for this reason. Perhaps ethernet/wifi or bluetooth has improved this but I wouldn’t hold my breath as device manufacturers have never cooperated on control.

I think that’s Apple’s idea with HomeKit, that manufacturers will accept a standard to join the system but several of your devices won’t be compatible.

davidcole

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#2503858 12-Jun-2020 21:08

I have ir Control of my tv and stereo. Both are not smart. But I’ve got a chromecast on the tv, powered via USB, and a chromecast audio on the stereo powered by the amp. So when the chromecast comes online, the system knows it has power and can set the state.

input control is another issue entirely.

bazzer

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#2506967 17-Jun-2020 21:11

Lastman: Ir control almost universally didn’t have discrete codes for off and on which is fine until a send doesn’t go through and the control loses knowledge of whether the device is off or on. I gave up on integrated control a long time ago for this reason.

How accurate is this statement? Most original remotes didn't have on and off buttons, but pretty much all my IR controlled devices had "secret" discrete power commands.

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davidcole

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#2506972 17-Jun-2020 21:27

bazzer:

Lastman: Ir control almost universally didn’t have discrete codes for off and on which is fine until a send doesn’t go through and the control loses knowledge of whether the device is off or on. I gave up on integrated control a long time ago for this reason.

How accurate is this statement? Most original remotes didn't have on and off buttons, but pretty much all my IR controlled devices had "secret" discrete power commands.

orly, any ideas how you find them? My Yamaha amp does, but would love to find discrete codes for my 2008 Samsung tv.

bazzer

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#2507024 17-Jun-2020 23:53

davidcole:

bazzer: How accurate is this statement? Most original remotes didn't have on and off buttons, but pretty much all my IR controlled devices had "secret" discrete power commands.

orly, any ideas how you find them? My Yamaha amp does, but would love to find discrete codes for my 2008 Samsung tv.

Mine just show up in my logitech remote. When I was doing a bunch of customisations for my 2008 Denon amp I found a website with all its codes detailed (and there are heaps not on the remote). I would be surprised if you couldn't find something similar for your Samsung. If you let me know the model number I could check it out on my Harmony etc? I don't know that would really help you though.

Edit: something like this

davidcole

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#2507038 18-Jun-2020 06:59

bazzer:

Mine just show up in my logitech remote. When I was doing a bunch of customisations for my 2008 Denon amp I found a website with all its codes detailed (and there are heaps not on the remote). I would be surprised if you couldn't find something similar for your Samsung. If you let me know the model number I could check it out on my Harmony etc? I don't know that would really help you though.

Edit: something like this

Yeah I found that right after. Will have a play. Thread can resume now, sorry for the diversion.

timbosan

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#2507062 18-Jun-2020 08:36

So, back to the original problem - I think @geekiegeek had it - I created a shortcut on my iPhone to change the channel, and then Siri can run that. It's not quite 100% as Shortcuts appear to be limited to the device you create them on, and not in the Home app.

I also seems you can run shortcuts on the HomePod, which would be fantastic!

Next up, getting some sort of IR control - like a Harmony Hub, to turn on the TV as well and add that to the Shortcut!

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