universal remote

So I am always in search of working universal remotes for my mom and myself because it's guaranteed you will lose or break it and a lot of TVs now don't come with any physical buttons or a limited selection.

I've been using the Logitech elite; hideously expensive, but it worked with literally all my media. I love it, it was definitely worth the money. But I wanted one for my TV in my room specifically and also get one for my mom, since the grandkids (and uh her kids) lose teh remotes like a lot.

I found this: BroadLink RM4 pro IR RF Hub - $47.99

It's not a remote per se: it's a wifi hub you put by your TV that translates your phone commands in the app to IR/RF for your devices.

What you do is plug it in, get it on your wifi network, download the app, then in the app, say add a device. Then you use your existing remote and the pre-installed codes to basically recreate your remote in the app. It then creates a neat little interface for each device, some more elaborate than others. So far, it works on my Samsung TV--though that's a gimme--and my Polk Command Bar. If the preinstalled codes don't work or don't have the functionality you need, you use your existing remote to show the command for the hub to learn and replicate. For my Polk Command Bar, I added HDMI switching since it has two HDMI ports, and lowered my stress considerably since I hate having only one remote for that.

Going through the device list, however, this isn't limited to TVs/entertainment. It apparently can do this with anything that has a remote, either RF or IR. I haven't tested that yet but I'm hunting up my old remotes now just to see.

It interfaces directly with Alexa and Google Assistant, and Home Assistant, among others.

On Broadlink's Website:
Device and Specs

Note:

1.) wifi controlled devices work; bluetooth-only, not so much. There are workarounds for that (a lot, actually), but it's something to consider. My NVIDIA Shield TV is going to take some work, in other words and I'll post when I get it working. However, it looks like all the most common devices and brands are represented, and for my Polk soundbar, there was community support as well ('unofficial' community created codes are also in the app).

2.) there is a distance factor like with any remote or wifi. Generally you probably need to be in the same room whenever possible to use it.

There are actually several versions of Broadlink's universal remote; I picked this one because it had the widest range so I could check if it would be a good fit for my mom and also be able to control my Polk Soundbar if I lost the remote (it is also an Alexa device, but I consider voice control of my soundbar a secondary way to control, not primary).

I'm mostly reccing this because of ratings, universality, and price.

Comments

[azurelunatic]

Ooo, and Home Assistant says it will talk to the thing.

[seperis]

Like, incredibly well, but it works like this; it doesn't transfer teh devices you put in the app (at least, it didn't for me). Instead, you just run the remote.learn_command service in home assistant pretty much with the same method you did with the app and it creates a file with all the device info and commands. Then when you want to use HA itself as your remote, just run remote.send_command with device name and command.

IT IS BEAUTIFUL.

[azurelunatic]

I wound up ordering the (half the price) IR-only hub, since upon examination it looks like the only two RF remotes we have are the garage remote (which Reddit says doesn't work due to the security features), and a device that typically remains in the boudoir and therefore a living room remote wouldn't do much good for it (as we have housemate).

So now I'm speculating smugly whether we could use a couple more to alternate the air conditioner power draw between the two rooms on the same circuit, in case we have my daughter staying with us for any amount of time during the summer. (She's less heat sensitive than I am, but she also has a cat who might need climate control.)

[sgac]

Look, I can barely write an HTML link, but I feel you might get something out of this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v7eHTNm1YtU

It's a guy running code on his xmas tree lights.