ARCHIVED FORUM -- March 2012 to February 2022READ ONLY FORUM
This is the second Archived Forum which was active between 1st March 2012 and 23rd February 2022
Has anybody with a Beolink Gateway also used IFTTT in a smart way (if its possible)?
Also, has anybody successfully integrated Beolink Gateway with Philips HUE HomeKit enabled stuff?
Would it be possible to automate e.g : dimming the lights when I press DVD on my Beoremote One? Switching off my B&O stuff when I leave home, including switching off Philips Hue Lights? Switch on TuneIn on Moment, 7am weekdays?
I´m tired of my LC2:s and would like more future proof stuff for light control, and building scenes.
Livingroom: BL3, BL11, BV11-46 Kitchen: Beosound 1 GVA, Beocom 2 Bathroom: M3 Homeoffice: M3, Beocom 2 Library: Beosound Emerge, Beocom 6000 Bedroom: M5, Essence remote Travel: Beoplay E8 2.0, Beoplay EQ, Beoplay Earset
The BLGW is not compatible with HomeKit and probably will not be. HomeKit has some ridiculously rigid requirements. Also, Scenes are currently limited to 12 lamps on Philips Hue to be compatible with HomeKit.
However, you can certainly build some great macros with the MLGW/BLGW to incorporate the Philips Hue lighting as you suggested. You can even incorporate multiple platforms in the macros. For example, I have a Lutron RadioRa 2 keypad on the wall next to my door. When leaving, I push the button that I labeled "Goodbye" and it sends a command to turn off all Hue and Lutron lighting and to put all B&O audio and video devices into standby.
I have a RadioRa 2 tabletop keypad on my nightstand. When I press the "Morning" button, the Philips Hue lights gradually turn on and my B&O tv turns on and tunes to the news channel.
I am currently using IFTTT for geo-fencing and for Amazon's Alexa. I can activate Alexa to turn on Philips Hue in many configurable ways. We demonstrated at CES the ability to ask Alexa to trigger party mode which allowed her to turn on the Philips Hue's to different colors in different areas at the same time turning all B&O products on to the same Deezer stream. We also had Alexa make a cup of coffee from our coffee maker. All through the BLGW. Incredibly powerful.
Ah, you know... A little B&O here, a little there
I'm REALLY REALLY going to have to consider BLGW as my next B&O purchase, it seems like the device has almost limitless possibilities.
BeoMegaMan: I am currently using IFTTT for geo-fencing and for Amazon's Alexa. I can activate Alexa to turn on Philips Hue in many configurable ways. We demonstrated at CES the ability to ask Alexa to trigger party mode which allowed her to turn on the Philips Hue's to different colors in different areas at the same time turning all B&O products on to the same Deezer stream. We also had Alexa make a cup of coffee from our coffee maker. All through the BLGW. Incredibly powerful.
Which coffee maker were you able to incorporate into the home automation? I know that a Miele coffee maker is shown in the B&O home automation video. However, that Miele coffee maker is not available in the U.S.
It was a Mr. Coffee version. I think retail was only $150 for it. Not a bad cup of java either.
Interesting replies.
Macros are mentioned. Are they complicated to build?
Hiort: Interesting replies. Macros are mentioned. Are they complicated to build?
Macros are very easy to build and are a more direct, stable form of control than IFTTT. You simply select the trigger command from the drop-down menus and then select the resulting actions from drop-down menus on the screen. For example, you would select the driver (such as Beolink or Philips Hue) and then select the command (such as "CD"). You can add multiple commands for a trigger and the commands can be from different drivers.
There seem to be two very different competing popular platforms for home automation right now: HomeKit and Amazon's platform. B&O seems to be embracing Amazon's platform and IFTTT. Each have their strengths and weaknesses. HomeKit is focusing more on security at the sacrifice of openness - while Amazon and IFTTT have more openness but at the loss of security. With the quickly developing area of the Internet of Things, I think that Apple has the right idea about increasing security. However, HomeKit has some very rigid requirements that would require new hardware from most companies. Also, I've read that HomeKit does not allow devices to bridge HomeKit capabilities to non-HomeKit compliant devices. This is quite contrary to how the MLGW/BLGW works. The MLGW/BLGW is in itself a way to bridge together various platforms -- which HomeKit does not want.
I have been very disappointed with how Philips Hue works with HomeKit. HomeKit has a limit of 50 actions that can result from a trigger. This might seem like a lot. However, HomeKit treats each light in a Hue Scene as 4 separate commands. This means that only 12 lamps can be acted upon with any HomeKit command. This really seems quite daft since the Hue Scenes API can act on an entire Scene of lights with just ONE simple command.
HomeKit seemed to have so much promise, but it doesn't allow for much control of devices' own APIs.
beojeff: Macros are very easy to build and are a more direct, stable form of control than IFTTT. You simply select the trigger command from the drop-down menus and then select the resulting actions from drop-down menus on the screen. For example, you would select the driver (such as Beolink or Philips Hue) and then select the command (such as "CD"). You can add multiple commands for a trigger and the commands can be from different drivers. There seem to be two very different competing popular platforms for home automation right now: HomeKit and Amazon's platform. B&O seems to be embracing Amazon's platform and IFTTT. Each have their strengths and weaknesses. HomeKit is focusing more on security at the sacrifice of openness - while Amazon and IFTTT have more openness but at the loss of security. With the quickly developing area of the Internet of Things, I think that Apple has the right idea about increasing security. However, HomeKit has some very rigid requirements that would require new hardware from most companies. Also, I've read that HomeKit does not allow devices to bridge HomeKit capabilities to non-HomeKit compliant devices. This is quite contrary to how the MLGW/BLGW works. The MLGW/BLGW is in itself a way to bridge together various platforms -- which HomeKit does not want. I have been very disappointed with how Philips Hue works with HomeKit. HomeKit has a limit of 50 actions that can result from a trigger. This might seem like a lot. However, HomeKit treats each light in a Hue Scene as 4 separate commands. This means that only 12 lamps can be acted upon with any HomeKit command. This really seems quite daft since the Hue Scenes API can act on an entire Scene of lights with just ONE simple command. HomeKit seemed to have so much promise, but it doesn't allow for much control of devices' own APIs.
Thanks! Very helpful reply.
I´ve just got the Hue lamps and bridge but have not installed yet. Also got an Elgato Eve plug. Assume Elgato Eve will not work with the Beolink Gateway since Elgato communicate with BT to the phone or through the AppleTV (ver 3 or 4) over Homekit.
Is it possible to communicate with BLGW from somewhere else other than the house?
You'll love the Hue lamps! I have written a lot of custom command lines -- for example to trigger Scenes, to act on Hue groups of lights, and to control the fade time. There are ways to have more control than the rudimentary Hue driver for the BLGW provides. PM me if you need any help!
Have you taken a look at the Hue lightstrips? You can do some very amazing accent lighting with them. You can cut them to the required length. They have an adhesive strip to place them underneath kitchen cabinets, under stair steps, under tables, etc.
beojeff: You'll love the Hue lamps! I have written a lot of custom command lines -- for example to trigger Scenes, to act on Hue groups of lights, and to control the fade time. There are ways to have more control than the rudimentary Hue driver for the BLGW provides. PM me if you need any help! Have you taken a look at the Hue lightstrips? You can do some very amazing accent lighting with them. You can cut them to the required length. They have an adhesive strip to place them underneath kitchen cabinets, under stair steps, under tables, etc.
Thanks!
I´ve checked the strips and will for sure do something cool with them as well, once I´m up running with the bulbs :)
Also, I have been able to copy images of the light scenes used on the Hue app over to the Beo6. I have several Beo6 screen pages of 6 light scenes per page. This is a very easy way to select the light scene visually to trigger through the BLGW. I have some photos of this on the Gallery on this site.