Santa just delivered a Sonos

danielccm · December 25, 2015, 8:27am

Yup! I got lucky and Santa remembered to leave my first Play 1 under the tree…

I’ve tried using the sonos integration but it doesn’t find it… Could it be because I’m not at my home but at my parents’ place?

Should I try again when I get home later today?

Sonos-Newbie thanks!!!

danielccm · December 26, 2015, 12:14am

OK scratch that! Sonos found and working!

Now if only I could find the smart apps for it… (Alarm clock, intruder…)

MichaelS · December 26, 2015, 5:52pm

There is a Talking Alarm Clock that I developed in the apps included with SmartThings. Unfortunately, it appears SmartThings has deprecated the Text To Speech function, so it is only slightly useful. One tip is to ensure you can play music on it and use a Hello Home Routine to ‘turn on’ the speaker at a specific time. It acts like a switch in this case and can easily be turned on and off, playing the last track (or radio station) that was on it previously.

Enjoy your new toys!

danielccm · December 26, 2015, 9:48pm

Thanks for the answer Mike (may I call you Mike? Lol!)

Why would they ditch the text to speech functionality, being as useful as it is???

Where exactly did you say I can find the alarm clock? I can’t find a thing lately with the search function having been deleted!

Again, thanks!

MichaelS · December 26, 2015, 9:58pm

I don’t know for sure, but I have my guesses on why they got rid of TTS. My first guess is that it was being done ‘in the cloud’ at Amazon and the fees became too much (typical for Amazon). My second guess is that they wanted to develop it in house and give it a more usable API. It could also be a combination of things, including Amazon changing their API making it incompatible with SmartThings.

Either way, in looking for my app it appears SmartThings removed it from the list of available ones…figures since the main functionality no longer works…However you can find what I was proposing as the next version here:

github.com

MichaelStruck/SmartThings/blob/master/Other-SmartApps/Talking-Alarm-Clock/TAC-Beta

/**
 *  Talking Alarm Clock
 *
 *  Version - 1.0.0 5/23/15
 *  Version - 1.1.0 5/24/15 - A song can now be selected to play after the voice greeting and bug fixes
 *  Version - 1.2.0 5/27/15 - Added About screen and misc code clean up and GUI revisions
 *  Version - 1.3.0 5/29/15 - Further code optimizations and addition of alarm summary action
 *  Version - 1.3.1 5/30/15 - Fixed one small code syntax issue in Scenario D
 *  Version - 1.4.0 6/7/15 -  Revised About screen, enhanced the weather forecast voice summary, added a mode change option with alarm, and added secondary alarm options
 *  Version - 1.4.1 6/9/15 - Changed the mode change speech to make it clear when the mode change is taking place  
 *  Version - 1.4.2 6/10/15 - To prevent accidental triggering of summary, put in a mode switch restriction
 *  Version - 1.4.3 6/12/15 - Syntax issues and minor GUI fixes
 *  Version - 1.4.4 6/15/15 - Fixed a bug with Phrase change at alarm time
 *  Version - 1.4.5 6/17/15 - Code optimization, implemented the new submitOnChange option and a new license agreement change
 *  Version - 1.5.0 10/1/15 - Added the ability to use a remote control to enable/disable alarm scenarios and utilize presence sensors to determine if alarm should trigger
 *
 *  Copyright 2015 Michael Struck - Uses code from Lighting Director by Tim Slagle & Michael Struck
 *
 *  Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License"); you may not use this file except
 *  in compliance with the License. You may obtain a copy of the License at:

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Araforn · December 26, 2015, 10:12pm

Oh man. Please don’t tell me that Smart Things are not going to fix the text to speech??.

I’ve followed your posts on your Alarm Clock app and was excited for that and many other speech related functions!.

Jesus even their official advertisements have been touting this feature. I’m a new adopter ( ST only released in Ireland recently) and strong textI’m frankly shocked with all the issues but this one takes the p&@€!!.

Really disappointed.

MichaelS · December 26, 2015, 10:25pm

I was rather surprised my app had been removed…but it is better than me receiving emails complaining, so I understand it. However, the TTS feature was rather neat, but now that I have the Amazon Echos in my house I can still have a voice to talk to

danielccm · December 26, 2015, 10:36pm

Lucky you! You live in the land of instant tech advances! We Europeans have to wait I don’t know what/why for! I’d love to have a few echoes here too!
Thanks for the code! Just installed/configured it!

2b. Just a few things… If I want the weather report, is the zip code mandatory or will it default to the hub’s location? And second, I just hit the play button to confirm the alarms and the sonos is quiet… That’s not what’s supposed to happen right? Lol!

MichaelS · December 26, 2015, 10:43pm

For your question, yes, it will use the hub location, and what you are hearing (or not) is due to the TTS being gone

danielccm · December 26, 2015, 11:00pm

Doh!

I should seriously look into my memory problem! Lol! We were talking about text to speech being taken out in the first place! Lol!

So no weather report for me… Just the music station I choose?

** edit: anyways… What else can we do with a sonos and ST at this time? Ideas?

MichaelS · December 26, 2015, 11:04pm

I still use my Sonos to wake me up in the morning…I basically set up a Routine that simple turns on the Sonos like a switch at a specific time with some specific lighting settings. I can then ask Alexa the weather report.

Sonos speakers are very nice, and while I bought them just to have ST integration, I have increased my Sonos footprint because of their quality. I also found a way to control them with my Alexa, so I have the best of both worlds.

danielccm · December 26, 2015, 11:08pm

So basically I’m good to go with just your app as it is? For now?

MichaelS · December 26, 2015, 11:11pm

You can if you want some of the unique functions such as having two alarms go off (a sound and then music). Otherwise you can just use a built in routine to turn the device on or off.

danielccm · December 26, 2015, 11:13pm

I’ll go your app’s way just in case TTS decides to reappear in the near future (fingers crossed!)! Lol!

Thanks!

MichaelS · December 26, 2015, 11:15pm

Oh, if it comes back I will be the first to sing its praises. I just hope they improve the API and give different functions (i.e. change the voice maybe??).

danielccm · December 26, 2015, 11:16pm

Ooh yeah! Always wanted to be able to talk to KITT or the Enterprise’s computer! Lol!

** edit: maybe we should tag someone important here as there’s ideas for improvement being thrown?

danielccm · December 26, 2015, 11:36pm

Hey @MichaelS !

Maybe I’m pushing too far (sorry if i do) but… My 7 year old daughter just told me before to create an alarm if the main door opens… And I’ve already got a open close sensor there…

Can that be done with the sonos?

Thanks!

MichaelS · December 26, 2015, 11:48pm

Yes…There are a few options for doing that…in your ST app go to Marketplace>>>SmartApps>>>Music and Sound>>>Speaker Control. That might do what you are looking for.

danielccm · December 27, 2015, 9:59am

It’s almost there! Lol! The basics are there… Open the door, and the sonos plays… Yes, but!

There should be a way to select the “song” -> “Intruder detected! Get out!”… Instead of just playing anything…

Darn, how I wish I knew how to program in groove (or is it Groovy…?)

MichaelS · December 27, 2015, 4:34pm

There used to be a program that would allow you to play a custom MP3…is that no longer in there? (did you try the bose program?)

Santa just delivered a Sonos

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