Amazon Fire TV Blaster

fordy1227

Feb 8, 2022 3:25 AM

211 Comments

Joined Oct 2017

fordy1227Feb 8, 2022 3:25 AM

211 Comments

I have one. Temperamental to set up BUT look at the directions on the reviews for steps to mitigate. Well worth it once configured correctly!!

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TodayOnly

Feb 8, 2022 4:08 AM

9.5K Comments

Joined Aug 2018

TodayOnlyFeb 8, 2022 4:08 AM

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"Fire TV Blaster is also not compatible with Fire TV Edition televisions or soundbars."

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Ride_The_Sky

Feb 8, 2022 7:32 AM

15.9K Comments

Joined Jan 2010

Ride_The_SkyFeb 8, 2022 7:32 AM

15.9K Comments

Quote from TodayOnly

:

"Fire TV Blaster is also not compatible with Fire TV Edition televisions or soundbars."

Can this control AC via IR? I am looking for something that can send specific IR signals to the A/C like I can tell Alexa to Turn Down AC by 5 degrees, so it would "push" down button 5 times by replicating IR commands? Maybe we can trick it to do it if this has learning commands for AV equipment?

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karazi

Feb 8, 2022 7:39 AM

4.8K Comments

Joined Sep 2008

karaziFeb 8, 2022 7:39 AM

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Quote from Ride_The_Sky

:

Can this control AC via IR? I am looking for something that can send specific IR signals to the A/C like I can tell Alexa to Turn Down AC by 5 degrees, so it would "push" down button 5 times by replicating IR commands? Maybe we can trick it to do it if this has learning commands for AV equipment?

You can program your own with an Arduino type thing if you are inclined enough. First you capture the IR codes from an existing remote then you program a new transmitter with said captured codes and voila. However if your AC didn't come with a remote then you're barking up a whole other tree.

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pet1700

Pro

Feb 8, 2022 12:36 PM

4.1K Comments

Joined Aug 2007

pet1700

Pro

Feb 8, 2022 12:36 PM

4.1K Comments

Quote from fordy1227

:

I have one. Temperamental to set up BUT look at the directions on the reviews for steps to mitigate. Well worth it once configured correctly!!

I still have to say turn off Fire TV for it to turn off my Samsung tv. Weird.

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nocturnalmerkin

Feb 8, 2022 1:53 PM

517 Comments

Joined Nov 2005

nocturnalmerkinFeb 8, 2022 1:53 PM

517 Comments

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Quote from Ride_The_Sky

:

Can this control AC via IR? I am looking for something that can send specific IR signals to the A/C like I can tell Alexa to Turn Down AC by 5 degrees, so it would "push" down button 5 times by replicating IR commands? Maybe we can trick it to do it if this has learning commands for AV equipment?

I have a couple of these devices and they work really well for basic control, should work for your AC. You may need to use in conjunction with the IFTTT app to set "triggers". I had to do that to make it work with my motorized shade that is now Alexa enabled since it would not work with the generic device option within the app that's included with the IR blaster. IR range isn't that great, you'll want to have it within 8-10 ft of the AC unit. If the URL below is blocked, search Amazon for Smart IR Remote Control,All in One IR Blaster Control, Universal Infrared Remote Control for TV DVD Air Conditioner STB etc,Compatible with Alexa, Google Assistant

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product...UTF8&psc=1

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Phenomesaurus

Feb 8, 2022 2:44 PM

2K Comments

Joined Oct 2012

PhenomesaurusFeb 8, 2022 2:44 PM

2K Comments

I've got a Vizio sound bar (the "basic" but nice $50 slick deal from a little while back) and would like a better way to control the volume on it. You can teach it to respond to your TV remote volume presses but it gets to be a pain when the TV and sound bar volume levels are out of sync. I just want to be able to use voice control but don't have any other Amazon/Alexa devices (just Google Home/Smartthings). This advertises being able to control your sound bar but it can't do that without having some other Fire Device in your network? Seems strange.

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kuns88

Feb 8, 2022 3:29 PM

156 Comments

Joined Aug 2019

kuns88Feb 8, 2022 3:29 PM

156 Comments

It doesn't seem to do much on its own…you need so many other things.

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3

alwaysw

Feb 8, 2022 3:52 PM

153 Comments

Joined May 2015

alwayswFeb 8, 2022 3:52 PM

153 Comments

Quote from Ride_The_Sky

:

Can this control AC via IR? I am looking for something that can send specific IR signals to the A/C like I can tell Alexa to Turn Down AC by 5 degrees, so it would "push" down button 5 times by replicating IR commands? Maybe we can trick it to do it if this has learning commands for AV equipment?

Perhaps look into the Harmony Hub. It can definitely do what you are interested in accomplishing. I found a new one for cheap on eBay a couple years ago. It handles anything IR and some Bluetooth. It also integrates with Home Assistant.

Edit: Forgot to mention it works with Alexa out of the box.

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euuser28410442

Feb 8, 2022 4:56 PM

17 Comments

Joined Jun 2021

euuser28410442Feb 8, 2022 4:56 PM

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Quote from Ride_The_Sky

:

Can this control AC via IR? I am looking for something that can send specific IR signals to the A/C like I can tell Alexa to Turn Down AC by 5 degrees, so it would "push" down button 5 times by replicating IR commands? Maybe we can trick it to do it if this has learning commands for AV equipment?

Have you considered a kid?

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ShetBoyardee

Feb 8, 2022 6:13 PM

7.1K Comments

Joined Aug 2013

ShetBoyardeeFeb 8, 2022 6:13 PM

7.1K Comments

What's the point of this

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Ride_The_Sky

Feb 8, 2022 6:14 PM

15.9K Comments

Joined Jan 2010

Ride_The_SkyFeb 8, 2022 6:14 PM

15.9K Comments

Quote from karazi

:

You can program your own with an Arduino type thing if you are inclined enough. First you capture the IR codes from an existing remote then you program a new transmitter with said captured codes and voila. However if your AC didn't come with a remote then you're barking up a whole other tree.

Of course A/C has remote, that's why I said replicate the IR command. Arduino might work but the problem is these things are not open, you can't make Alexa do something to trigger IR sensor without having a server sit in the middle to capture Alexa's action and convert it to AC. Hopefully one day we'll have open source voice command system.

2

Ride_The_Sky

Feb 8, 2022 6:15 PM

15.9K Comments

Joined Jan 2010

Ride_The_SkyFeb 8, 2022 6:15 PM

15.9K Comments

Quote from alwaysw

:

Perhaps look into the Harmony Hub. It can definitely do what you are interested in accomplishing. I found a new one for cheap on eBay a couple years ago. It handles anything IR and some Bluetooth. It also integrates with Home Assistant.

Edit: Forgot to mention it works with Alexa out of the box.

You are right, I totally forgot about that. I had one before, but it was painfully slow, even turning on TV, changing inputs, etc was pain. Sometimes it would leave the input in wrong one and totally mess up everything. I had to return it because it wasn't worth the price, but I understand there were a lot of sales recently. I don't need to remote but just the IR Blaster and the hub.

Ride_The_Sky

Feb 8, 2022 6:23 PM

15.9K Comments

Joined Jan 2010

Ride_The_SkyFeb 8, 2022 6:23 PM

15.9K Comments

Quote from nocturnalmerkin

:

I have a couple of these devices and they work really well for basic control, should work for your AC. You may need to use in conjunction with the IFTTT app to set "triggers". I had to do that to make it work with my motorized shade that is now Alexa enabled since it would not work with the generic device option within the app that's included with the IR blaster. IR range isn't that great, you'll want to have it within 8-10 ft of the AC unit. If the URL below is blocked, search Amazon for Smart IR Remote Control,All in One IR Blaster Control, Universal Infrared Remote Control for TV DVD Air Conditioner STB etc,Compatible with Alexa, Google Assistant

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product...UTF8&psc=1 [amazon.com]

Thank you for this, I think this is exactly what I needed, technically anything with IR should be able to be controlled by these fire blaster but they prefer to make it work with only those who support the ecosystem and not provide custom learning functions. I'll definitely grab one of these and give it a try. One of my AC is wifi connected, but it's kinda dumb, because I can tell Alexa to turn it on and off, but I can't tell it to set temperature or adjust fan speed. LG screwed up the implementation I think. It does have phone app that you can set the temperature/fan etc but can't do it via voice commands. So I was thinking of utilizing IR blaster to replicate remote control buttons, and map those to voice command.

1

alwaysw

Feb 8, 2022 6:26 PM

153 Comments

Joined May 2015

alwayswFeb 8, 2022 6:26 PM

153 Comments

Quote from Ride_The_Sky

:

You are right, I totally forgot about that. I had one before, but it was painfully slow, even turning on TV, changing inputs, etc was pain. Sometimes it would leave the input in wrong one and totally mess up everything. I had to return it because it wasn't worth the price, but I understand there were a lot of sales recently. I don't need to remote but just the IR Blaster and the hub.

I remember reading on some old forum threads that service was poor at some point years ago because everything got switched over to cloud-based. But for me, the thing just works and it's responsive. The only time it's slow is when I access the app to adjust some settings, and it checks the hub firmware upon loading.

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Amazon Fire TV Blaster

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