Aha!!
Thanks.
So many macros, so little time…
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A problem I’ve run into.
Mapping cursor commands to the buttons so I can control my media streamer or other devices.
These commands get ignored. The cursor buttons on the remote scroll the pages on the remote screen, they don’t trigger the scripts that I’ve mapped to those buttons.
Is it only a problem with the button mapping? Can you just map the macro to an icon on the screen of the remote and try it again with a „virtual“ button
Custom button mapping doesn’t work within the integration itself. You have to start the activity for this. Otherwise the direction buttons will always control the user interface.
Even after starting the activity, the buttons still only control the remote screen, not the devices that were mapped.
However, I’ve discovered that if you create another page and swipe to it, the mapped buttons do what they’re supposed to do.
It works, but it is a major pain in the backside. My family will never get used to firstly starting an activity, then swipe across before the buttons will work.
I was hoping I could have a page that listed all the activities, and the button mappings would change according to what devices they had to control for that specific activity.
This is the way the Harmony works.
Well, I managed to create two Activities using Home Assistant and my Harmony hub as a bridge between the R2 and my media devices.
I created 80 scripts in Home Assistant, each calling the Remote Send service for each button for my Sky Q box, Nvidia Shield Pro and Pioneer (Onkyo) AVR. I pulled these into the Home Assistant integration in the R2 and then mapped them to buttons in each Activity.
The Activity is triggered by a call to a Remote: Turn on and Remote: Turn off service which is mapped to the Activity On sequence and Off sequence. This activates the existing Harmony hub activity which powers on and sets inputs for all the devices.
The Android TV integration is not working for my Shield, even though it pairs to it. None of the commands work.
It works, but is a bit laggy. The added steps of commands being processed through Home Assistant and the Harmony really affects the responsiveness of the R2. Also, it would be handy to have the buttons repeat when held down (Long press). Moving the cursor and changing volume is painful as you have to press the button multiple times.
As an experiment, it is successful. But, in my case, the R2 is not ready for primetime. I cannot unleash it on the family.
Until proper integrations are developed that will talk to my devices via IP and/or Bluetooth (as IR is a no-go for me), I must rely on my Harmony Elite. I will pray to the gods of IOT that it continues to function.
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To be honest: this is not what I expected how to get it running. Remote arrived Monday, but I only opened it.
I am okay with spending some time to get it work, but just for controlling home theater it should not be like this.
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This is a Kickstarter project and it’s early days. I understood when I ordered it that this would not be a finished product on delivery. In fact, I enjoy trying to make it work and giving my feedback.
The team behind the R2 is small, but definitely committed. I have every confidence that this will become not only a viable replacement for my Harmony Elite, but a vast improvement on it. The fact that it shipped with a working integration to Home Assistant gives me hope for the future.
Anyway, I don’t see any other alternatives out there. I backed and have tried the Sofabaton X1. It makes a nice paperweight, but it is unreliable and unusable for my user setup.
Hang in there.
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That’s crazy and you have to come up with it first.
To build a “remote control” of entities on Remote Two, you have to create an activity that has an empty start and end sequence.
It would be very nice if this possibility, which is given when adding an IR remote control with the grid and the virtual buttons, could also be given for integrations. Currently it is only possible to create a long list of entities as a page, which quickly becomes confusing.
Re: my comments about the Sofabaton X1.
Recent firmware updates have actually made this remote usable. It is much more stable now and stays connected to the hub.
Also, I have discovered that the hub has quite a strong set of IR emitters. By mounting it on the wall behind and to the side of our sofa, it communicates IR commands without direct line of sight. The IR signal must be bouncing around the room. It is much stronger than the IR emitters in the Remote 2. I thought IR was out of the question for my setup, but it does seem to work. I can also control my Nvidia Shield using Bluetooth from the X1 hub.
I have managed to trigger lights etc. through Home Assistant. Although there is no direct control of HA entities as there is with Remote 2 (a win for Unfolded Circle), I got HA to trigger automations by monitoring the state of my LG TV. As the TV is involved with every activity in my media centre, its On/Off state is a useful way to control room lighting etc. Also, the Pause/Play state of the Nvidia Shield and Sky Q box trigger other lighting changes.
The X1 now does everything my Harmony Elite did. All I have to do is train the family to use it properly. I have also ordered an IR receiver that I will attach to an ESP32 so I can trigger other automations in HA. This will help me get around the lack of direct HA integration. More on that when it arrives and I get it working.
I still consider this a stopgap until the R2 has a Bluetooth keyboard, proper IP integrations and a clear path to create activities and entities. I fear I cannot rely on IR with the R2 as its emitters are too weak to reflect around the room as the X1 does and I cannot mount it on the wall as the remote has to sit in it to charge.
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Except there is an HA integration. I’m using it to run literally my entire setup. I have the HA integration on the remote, and it runs scripts in HA to do whatever I need done. Or maybe I missed something from earlier in this thread where you can’t get the HA integration working?
Yes. Of course you are correct. I was speaking of direct HA integration on the X1. There is none, unlike the R2.
I have created scripts in HA to control everything via the R2, but it is slow and cumbersome.
Until I can get IP or Bluetooth integrations for all my media devices, I can’t run the R2 successfully. The IR is not strong enough to get ‘around corners’ as the Sofabaton X1 seems to be able to do. Trailing IR extender wires to compensate will have me sleeping on the sofa as the wife will not countenance that.
So I will try to create an IR receiver linked to ESPHome in HA so I can cheat and trigger (via the X1 remote) other automations and scripts to mimic what can be achieved directly with the R2 and its HA integration.
Once again, I do want to wind up with my R2 replacing my Harmony Elite (and now also the Sofabaton X1) but, as for now, it is not ready for prime time with my setup.
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X1 working well for me.
I have successfully created an IR receiver that talks to Home Assistant via an ESP32 and ESPHome.
I’ve taught the Sofabaton X1 various IR signals from an old unused IR remote I have. And I’ve programmed Home Assistant to activate automations based on the IR codes it receives.
So far, this works really well. The X1 is working perfectly and is controlling all my lights and IOT devices as well as my media gear. It is now better than my Harmony Elite.
I will persevere with the R2, though. I’m finding it difficult understanding the logic to create Activity screens and separate Device screens on the remote. And I still haven’t figured out a way of overcoming the weak IR signal emanating from the hub, and where to position it for best IR coverage while still making it convenient as a charging dock.
There is also a DIY R2 Dock that runs on an ESP32 that can be integrated like a second dock: GitHub - petchmakes/ESP32-IRBlaster-UCR2: An ESP32 IR blaster implementing the UCR2 dock websocket API.
Thanks. Sounds intriguing.
Might give it a go if my soldering skills are up to the task.
Any idea if it is more powerful than the R2’s IR extenders?
I guess it’s more powerful if used the ir leds have a wider beam angle. That seems to be the main problem with the original dock. There is also a thread in community projects on Discord.
Someone else has also modified the original dock. Unfortunately the documentation is only available in German: https://ibtk.de/project/remote/UCR2-IR-Booster.pdf
Hi,
I am one of those who modified this integration in order to make it compatible to standard boards : no need to have soldering skills, you just have to order the right parts.
On my side I order Olimex POE board with the MOD-IRDA and the case. Nothing to do than assemble pieces together and plug the ethernet cable (after uploading the integration through USB).
I wanted to have a reliable dock with ethernet. It works very well
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If you don’t need Ethernet then this will probably also work: A.IR Shield ESP8266/ESP32 Tx, advanced infrared module - AnalysIR Blog
Just to fully understand: These two parts mentioned by albator are plug n play with the capability to SEND ir codes? The part description only contains ir receiver, not transmitter.
I build a similar solution but with home assistant and an broadlink r4 pro.