Beginner/Lightweight

Bluefoam

mossym wrote: »

that's not even remotely true.most people have zero issues getting the harmony working. even on this sub forum, the number with the harmony working properly far far outweighs the numbers with issues. and that's in a newly emerging segment. i know a few people who could hardly turn on a computer, two of whom are using old harmony remotes of mine, that had them up and running on their own within minutes. i setup my new elite from scratch christmas morning in about 20 minutes, and that included some pretty uncommon gear in a dedicated cinema room i have.

it's a pity you're having issues, but that doesn't make it true that everyone has issues, the nvidia shield is far from a common device. but i bet enough will get it that logitech will get it working.

the cable box sounds like it's IR controlled? if that's the case there is no reason you can't fix it easily, if the power off command it is sending is different to the one the remote is sending, either change the power off sequence or teach the harmony remote the power command from the standard remote.

Hey, please don't take offense at my comments. I am specifically talking about these products in reference to a smart home environment. As a collection of devices, they do not operate in the expected manner. No doubt many of these issues will be ironed out.

In particular reference to the Logitech Harmony, they seem very interested in fixing the issues, so that their equipment works flawlessly & I can see that they've put allot into the device & need it to be hassle free... So fair play to them! But as it stands, the device doesn't function to the expected standard with a very major piece of consumer equipment. In theory, they should have liaised with Nvidia prior to launch to iron out the problems... But all of these issues coupled with the Echo issues make for a less than satisfactory experience.

bk

Bluefoam wrote: »

In particular reference to the Logitech Harmony, they seem very interested in fixing the issues, so that their equipment works flawlessly & I can see that they've put allot into the device & need it to be hassle free... So fair play to them! But as it stands, the device doesn't function to the expected standard with a very major piece of consumer equipment. In theory, they should have liaised with Nvidia prior to launch to iron out the problems... But all of these issues coupled with the Echo issues make for a less than satisfactory experience.

I'm sorry, but Harmony's device database supports literally millions of devices. Thousands of devices are added every week. You can't expect Harmony to liaise with thousands of companies around the world, adding thousands of devices on a weekly basis!

The Nvidia Shield TV isn't a particularly mainstream device, it is nice, but it is pretty niche compared to the likes of the PS3, PS4, Xbox, Apple TV, Roku, FireTV, etc.

I've been using Harmony for almost ten years now and I've seen them try really hard to add new devices as they come to the market. However Harmony can't be blamed when companies like Sony and Nvidia decide to release devices that implement non standard, proprietary and broken interfaces and refuse to work with Harmony (e.g. Sony and the PS4).

If you want to get it fixed, it is Nvidia you need to get onto.

BTW what cable box are you using? Harmony should work no bother with any cable box that uses IR. You might need to tweak the settings for repeating the IR signal, etc. or timing between buttons. But a little patience and a few minutes effort experimenting with it should have it working consistently.

Bluefoam

I've now got the Harmony app functioning as described above... thanks to bk & mossym, as without your comments I wouldn't have known what I was looking for. I can't understand the issues, but sideloading it has brought about some positive changes & the app seems to be fully functioning. I have added a number of steps to each activity... so instead of just turning on the selected box, it also hits the 'okay' command... this seems to help the devices come to life, although not 100% of the time.

The smartest application I have found for all of these devices is to link the hue bulbs to my harmony remote... Therefore, when I ask the Echo to turn on the TV/play a movie etc... it also turns on the lights and dims them to 10%... When I turn off the TV, the lights turn to 100%... which is actually more useful than I had expected. I'll be moving apartments this weekend & will be adding the 2 number Hue light strips to the system... This will give me two clear/separate zones with their own lighting systems, audio setups and TV's/Chromecasts...

I'm debating whether to set up some Hues on the balcony/terrace, but that might be overkill. The speakers outside are my biggest problem, as it's a dusty environment & I don't have an IP rated speaker...

bk

Bluefoam wrote: »

I'm debating whether to set up some Hues on the balcony/terrace, but that might be overkill. The speakers outside are my biggest problem, as it's a dusty environment & I don't have an IP rated speaker...

Maybe the UE Booms or MegaBooms (to really piss off your neighbours )

Bluefoam

bk wrote: »

Maybe the UE Booms or MegaBooms (to really piss off your neighbours )

I have a UE Roll that I use when I'm travelling. It's loud enough to piss off my neighbours, but I want a casting speaker that'll play the same music in the apartment and outside... I'm waiting for Vizio to launch with a 3 pin plug... It's got a power doc, so very handy just to pick up and place outside...

On the other hand, I just got an extra two LG H3's that were nicely discounted... I could sacrifice one of those, keep it outside and if it gets b*lloxed I don't have to worry too much... But I'd prefer to keep them as a stereo pair.

Bluefoam

So... The project goes on. I have two rooms set up with Hue lights... The apartment is littered with spots which burn energy and burn out quickly, so I want to remove my dependance on them & limit their use to the Kitchen & Bathrooms... It's a rented space, so no point in me spending too much or physically altering anything.

Living room is fully integrated with the TV & Android box & change settings based on the activity... Run through Alexa & Harmony, but TBH I use the remote control more often... theres a srip light behind the TV cabinet, a central pendant in the room & a wall washer...

Bedroom is on a sensor with a central pendant & a strip behind the bed... I have it set to last two minutes after motion detected & to give me a 10 minute wake up in the morning... Light switch is now redundant...

Now I plan to do another wall washer in the hallway, set to turn on lights for 5 mins when motion is detected. That should cover everything from entering the apartment, answering the door and guests using the bathroom...

With regard to the balcony... I want to set up a sensor there. I'm a little worried about the proximity to the router/hub, but I've now switched all devices to 2.5ghz as opposed to 5 including my phone. What is the sensitivity like on the sensor? Will it be possible to stop it reacting to birds, but still sensitive enough for humans? I may also set up some strings of lights... will it be possible to set up a command with a TP Link socket to allow the sensor to trigger it? Can I use IFTTT or similar?

Apparently while I have been in work today, LG have released the new firmware for my speakers... Happy Days! I'll now have full Chromecast Multi Room & have bought a spare for use on the balcony.