Feature Request: API / Integration

[fram]

Hello Emo Team,

Most AV and processors have implemented an API so that devices can be integrated into home automation systems. Dennon, Anthem, Yamaha, Marantz, etc. The ability to tie together media players with various control systems and IoT devices has now become necessary. The ability to poll and modify an Emotiva device setting or attribute for status, settings, and controls would ensure Emotiva is keeping up with the technology it surrounds itself with.

Please consider this feature request within current and future products.

Thanks,

[millst]

It already exists. There is a UDP interface. I looked briefly, but didn't see the thread. In the past, people have e-mailed Emotiva support and they send it to you.

[fram]

Fantastic! I'll call on Monday! Thanks millst!

Ward

[AudioHTIT]

Feb 11, 2023 9:38:28 GMT -5 fram said:

Hello Emo Team,

Most AV and processors have implemented an API so that devices can be integrated into home automation systems. Dennon, Anthem, Yamaha, Marantz, etc. The ability to tie together media players with various control systems and IoT devices has now become necessary. The ability to poll and modify an Emotiva device setting or attribute for status, settings, and controls would ensure Emotiva is keeping up with the technology it surrounds itself with.

Please consider this feature request within current and future products.

Thanks,

I assume you’ve used the Emotiva Remote App, which is the best example of putting the current API to use. However, I don’t know of any cases where this API has been used to integrate the G3P into a home automation system (other than the Harmony Hub which uses the IR versions of these codes).

Though this topic has come up before, I think it’s an important time to revisit it for a few reasons: 1) With the G4P on the horizon, some work will inevitably be done with the API and remote app. 2) The Harmony ecosystem is seemingly coming to an end of life / maintenance phase (while they claim support will continue, many have had problems recently that seem to point to a deteriorating back end). 3) Many are looking for a full featured IP based Remote / Home Automation system

I think you will find it difficult to integrate the current API into something like Home Assistant, or other IP based systems, but possibly with the proper coding skills it can be done. Someone will need to write a ‘driver’ or ‘interface’, and for many years that hasn’t happened. This isn’t meant to discourage, and I for one would love to see this happen, but it seems to be more than most are up to. 

Here are some various threads related to this topic (Harmony included as it is a good model for integration and where many are coming from). 

Home Assistant Integration Thread

The Emotiva Remote App V3

Emotiva Remote App

Harmony Remote New Command Set & API

Current Harmony Thread

XMC-1 Network Control App

[fram]

I looked at the API yesterday and since I am a 'hardware' guy, the programming required for such integration into HA would require some time and skill. Denon and Marantz for example, must have a much easier or usable interface as integration into Home Assistant is practically automatic.

[millst]

I doubt that Emotiva's API is significantly better or worse that the rest. I've worked with the Onkyo one in the past. While the networking portion is more straightforward, the command set is very cryptic. XML can be easily parsed in any programming language these days. I'd bet Denon/Marantz are already integrated due to their massively higher market share. Plus, those companies have way more engineering resources that may have contributed.

[vcautokid]

As time goes by the more you build, the more you have to be careful what you want to become. A hardware company, or a software company. It becomes more and more difficult to stay isolated to be one or the other. I think of Schiit Audio for instance that fights really hard not to become a software support company. Will be interesting as time goes how much further Emotiva may, or may not go on the software front. I am curious for instance what support Emotiva has for Crestron, Savant, and Control 4 for instance. It maybe in the post from AudioHTIT previously and I missed it.

[napsterau]

I've never learnt programming but don't laugh, I used ChatGPT to help setup some basic remote functionality of the XMC-2 in Home Assistant since I couldn't find a damn thing online about it.
I just have some shell command lines in the config.yaml which sends a UDP payload to the XMC which I then have setup as automations and buttons to trigger running those commands.

I meant to keep working on it to get status updates but just have not had the time but least I have some basic stuff in HA.

Having a full integration into Home Assistant would be greatly appreciated though so hope something comes along.

[petes]

I've written a home assistant integration to the XMC-1, creating a media player entity so you can do things like on/off/volume/mute/sources/sound modes etc.. It also has a remote send command, to allow you to send any supported command from the API. It uses notifications from the XMC, so the xmc tells HA when things change, and is fully async, so plays nicely with HA. I've only tried it myself at the moment on my XMC-1. If anyone fancies trying it out on XMC-2, RMC-1 or on their XMC, let me know as I'd like to get it tested more broadly before pushing it to HACS. It's at github.com/peteS-UK/emotiva if you want to try it.