My TV - and I suspect most (if not all) that use toslink do not shut off the visible light output, even in standby mode, as it’s used to trigger events in other AV equipment (my receiver will automatically turn on when it detects light from the toslink). The output of the LED is probably so small, it’s not worth shutting down for power conservation. But - I’m sure there’s more research to be done that me saying “it works on both my tvs”.
I have one of these devices: http://www.ecrater.com/p/16200883/samsung-vg-irb2000-smart-tv that came with my TV and I haven’t used.
That’s bluetooth to IR. I have a Raspberry Pi coming tomorrow and a Bluetooth dongle. I’m hoping to get the IR blaster working with the Pi - then write an API to have SmartThings send commands. If it does work, I’ll probably buy another IR blaster to use in the den, so I can control all AV equipment from an intranet web app.
Additionally, I’m investigating the web api for Samsung SmartTVs, cited here: http://build.smartthings.com/forums/topic/samsung-smart-tv-support/
I will likely set my TV and Roku to have static IPs on the network and see about either having ST interface with them directly, or using the Pi to relay commands. Using the Pi as a proxy is appealing, as having a web based interface that the ST can hook into allows for interfacing both with ST and using a phone / tablet as a standard remote.
For finding state of a TV being off or on - I’ll either use a light sensor on the Toslink digital optical output - or (more likely) just send a ping to the tv and see if it responds. For the dumb TV, it does have USB ports for showing media. I may look into a very cheap device - maybe Chromecast that will be powered from the USB slot. If I can ping the Chromecast IP, the tv must be on - if the ping fails, the TV is off. Plus, I’ll have the functionality that comes with the Chromecast.
Lately, I’ve been working on creating a universal remote to control my AV equipment (and potentially other things, such as lighting). I have basic functionality working with my Samsung SmartTV, PS3 and Roku.
I believe there’s a good chunk of Smart TVs from various brands that allows direct communication via TCP, thereby avoiding the use of an IR blaster entirely. One limitation I’ve found with my TV is the lack of “Wake on Lan” support, so I do require a CEC device to power it on. Thankfully, my PS3 does that well - and is my primary use of the TV anyway.
I’m interfacing with my Samsung SmartTV via web sockets, with my receiver using Anynet+ connected via ARC, with the Roku via it’s built-in REST api on the device and with the PS3 by spoofing a registered PS3 controller via bluetooth using GIMX (Game Input Multiplexer). I have these all working (at some state or another) on a node.js server running on a Raspberry Pi with a web interface and basic (and normalized) API. It has basic support for macros so you can chain together events (currently only on any one device).
Determining if TV is off is if the socket connect fails. Determining if PS3 is on or off, I use a lock file to determine if it’s been initiated via the Raspberry (it’s removed once the PS3 is shut off, automatically).
Once it’s more usable, I’ll have it all on Github along with setup instructions. My hope is that I can simply hit a “play video games” button on my cell phone and have it turn down the lights, turn on the TV, receiver and PS3 and enter the game.
I know the topic is about IR - but thought this method might be of interest to someone on this thread.
Just thought I would point out that if Smartthings doesn’t include this functionality, Webee is going to eat their lunch.
http://www.webeeuniverse.com/en/bee/skipper
And I note that the Indiegogo supporter price for this module is only $89.
Please add this, Smartthings!
@differentcomputers (et al),
Regarding your comment on IR functionality…; I agree that IR relay is tremendously useful, but…
Few points:
- Webee is a VERY low target funding goal project with aggressive delivery timeframes. I think they have a very tough challenge to develop with such constraints, and Webee will be yet another crowd-funded project with major delays and feature failures. I hope they survive this, of course, but "eat their [ST's] lunch" is definitely not a given. Highly unlikely that Webee will be a serious challenger to ST for a long time. Same goes for WigWag which just delayed their delivery by another 4 months ... at least.
- Nearly any/every IR relay has the challenges discussed on this forum: Primary: How to detect if the IR signal was properly received? This is particularly challenging when the "on" and "off" signals are identical.
- Building an IR relay, is actually not that difficult. Arduino (AVR/ARM) with very simple IR transmitter can handle the job ... you just need to communicate via some sort of radio. While we are hoping (!!!) that SmartThings provides local-LAN connectivity so that WiFi or even wired-ethernet is an option, in the meantime the Thing Shield (ZigBee) could be used. SmartThings would probably even partner with you or I to help bring such a product to mass production, if we can do this effectively.
Thanks for sharing the Skipper, by the way… I’ve been following Webee, and I like what they are offering … they are just very sketchy from a funding perspective…
…CP.
A truly killer IR device would be one that connects via WIFI and accepts standard REST requests to relay IR messages. Then it could be integrated into any number of systems.
Anyone wanna throw together a kickstarter for that?
Isn’t it what Global Cache iTach Flex already is?
A truly killer IR device would be one that connects via WIFI and accepts standard REST requests to relay IR messages. Then it could be integrated into any number of systems.Wouldn’t be hard to build and even mass produce.
(And, yes, I think the iTach seems to have the functionality under discussion…)Anyone wanna throw together a kickstarter for that?
But harder to raise funds for. It’s a marketing issue; this is why I have mentioned quite frequently to Smart Things that they could/should/will provide marketing/partnership assistance. Should it be “SmartThings” branded (look & feel, store)?