Best way to control your AV system with Vera

Apps & Remote Access
1

What is the best way to control my AV system? I’ve read the SQ Blaster is probably the closest thing to use but i’m not sure if it’s 100% yet. I want to be able to control my AV system remotely as well as setup automation such as at 9am, my tv comes on and turns on the news as well as turning on certain lighting.

What’s the best way to accomplish this?

Thanks!

2

@IamLegend,

@Guessed has a plugin for Vera that allows you to control AV equipment via the SQ Blaster from vera.

SQBlaster

In addition, you can ‘convert’ the SQ Remote device files to the standard Mios IR device files as documented here:-

http://forum.micasaverde.com/index.php?topic=4639.msg29906#msg29906

This works great fro integration into Mios Scenes. Generally, talking directly to the SQBlaster (squareconnect.com) will give you the best response times. SQ Blaster has been significantly field tested and optimized to provide very low latency network responses. As long as you have a reasonable wifi signal where it will be placed, you will get very good response times from clients such as SQ Remote. In SQ Remnote you can create ‘client side’ macros that combine direct IR commands with Mios scenes, which a lot of people find helpful.

We have one user who uses the blaster via his VPN remotely to switch between multiple cameras using an IR controlled HDMI switch, and another to change channels and setup for his family when they call saying they are confused by the original remotes… err hmm.

Let mne know if you have specific setup and configuration questions…

Regards,

Mat

3

Hi Matt,

Thanks for your response.

So with SQ Blaster, I’d be able to setup a scene that would turn on my AV equipment, cable box, and set it to a certain cable channel and volume level?

Also, how would I go about being able to access the SQ Blaster remotely/offsite?

And one more thing… Does one SQ Blaster cover multiple devices without wires? Does it have to be pointed directly at the components somehow? For instance, my tv is straight in front of the couch, but my audio equipment and cable box is off to the right. How would I setup SQ Blaster to operate all these devices without wires?

Thanks!
Eric

4

IR control can be a bit tricky when put into scenes and macros… Without the visual feedback that humans have, it can get surprisingly frustrating.

So if your AV equipment has what are called ‘discrete’ codes ie specific codes for off and on, then you can reliably turn things on and off. Otehrwise, you are kind of stuck with the toggle on/off codes. I have heard a few people talk about putting ‘power monitoring’ smart plugs on the equipment and then using some smart scripting to see if it is already on…

SQRemote comes with a huge database of discrete codes that we have licensed that often come direct from the manufacturers… but some devices just don’t have them built in. Setting channel numbers should be pretty reliable. Volume, however, can be hard. Typically, the volume commands are relative. I.e. ‘volume up’. Hard to set an absolute volume in this case. You can do some ‘tricks’ where if you know that it takes say 50 repeats to alwasy turn it to ‘0’ and 20 repeats to the level you want, you can send a repeat of 50 down, followed by 20 up.

The procedure for getting this right would be to first make a macro work in SQ Remote… You can set the time between commands (often critical, as the equiopment usually has a number of seconds before channel changes are accepted after turning on, for instance), the number of repeats, the actual command etc.

Then if you wanted this to be executed from Mios, you would save the configuration to Box.net and then download the files onto a PC/mac and follow the instructions from the link above…

When we initially designed the blaster, we couldn’t think why anyone would want to change tv channels away from home… and since then we have found all sorts of use-cases where it is very convenient to remotely control IR equipment! A future version of the Blaster may well provide secure direct access - for now, you can use the remote access via mios and use the @Guessed plugin or some people have used the vpn function of thier iPhone and their router to createa secure tunnel over the internet. See squareconnect.com for a fuller discussion.

SQ Blaster has three builtin blasters that fan out in front of it. Typically, you can place it on a bookshelf, or side table or console under the big screen. In addition, you can plug in one of our three head emitters, or extension blasters and run the cable into a cabinet or shelves. The output can drive upto 6 emitters, if you use a headphone splitter, so most people’s equipment stack can be covered.
Usually a little bit of thinking about line of sight and taking advantage of the emitters or external blasters may inspire you to hide the rest of the equipment.

I now tend to have my DVD/blue ray and otehr AV kit close to my sitting area, and run emitters to the equipment, then I have the blaster (which being furniture grade cherry or bamboo, looks great on top of a cabinet, points at the big screen).

Hope this helps!

Mat

5

I have a scene that runs at 7AM to turn on a bedroom TV. It uses a mixture of RS232, IR (via the SQblaster and plugin) and Zwave (for power control) that turns on my HDMI matrix switch, selects the inputs/outputs, tunes to a channel with DirectTV and turns on my TV via Zwave the out of standby via IR.

This is all done through the advanced tab of a scene, which basically allows you to string together different controls at set intervals exactly like a macro,

6

So with the blaster, if I attach the ir extenders to my devices (tv, cable box, dvd, audio receiver), then I shouldn’t have any problems with on/off and all other commands… Does this sound correct?

I would be pretty reliable going that route instead of counting on wireless IR…???

7

Not sure if I understand what you are asking?

So with the blaster, if I attach the ir extenders to my devices (tv, cable box, dvd, audio receiver), then I shouldn't have any problems with on/off and all other commands.... Does this sound correct?

I assume you mean the regular passive wire extenders like the below plugged in to the SQ blaster:

If so then it will work fine.

I would be pretty reliable going that route instead of counting on wireless IR
Not sure what you mean.
8

I guess what I’m asking is if I plug in the wired emitters into the sq blaster and then Connected the other end of the emitters to my devices, then that would be the best most reliable way to guarantee my devices would be able to be controlled by sq remote and Vera.

Sound correct?

Doesn’t the sq blaster come with wired emitters?

Also, what powers the sq blaster? Batteries or wire to a power outlet?

9

It depends on placement really and also the sensitivity of the IR receivers on your AV devices; If you want to hide your blaster in an AV rack etc then I would go with external emitters; however if you have the blaster outside of the rack then it will work fine without the emitters… in fact it will most likely work fine even without emitters internally within your rack!

I believe the emitters are extra and you can either purchase them from the SQ shop, online elsewhere, or use some existing ones if you’ve ever owned something like a harmony remote or similar. They are very generic!

The puck has a mini USB jack for power, and the idea is that you either plug it into something that may have a USB port on a piece of your AV equipment, or again you will have to utilize either something you own already like an old blackberry / iPhone charger, or purchase one from the SQ store, or elsewhere online.
I believe the reason one is not supplied, is because most people have something that can be used in their racks (like an iPod port on an AV receiver or a Nintendo Wii etc), or in the worst case an old old charger like I mentioned before! I don’t know about you, but I have tons of old stuff like this!?

I can really recommend the Puck, it looks nice, works great and has a subzero cool factor when your friends see you controlling everything from your Apple iDevice! Also the support from the SQ team is also unprecedented if you were to experience a problem!

10

The blaster comes as a bundle with PSU, USB cable for set up and a single 3-headed ir emitter cable.

You can choose just to get the blaster unit if you don’t need the PSU and cables, or get a splitter and an additional 3-head ir emitter cable or external blaster Cable. We tried to make this flexible so you don’t have to buh what you don’t Need.

11

I ordered the SQ Blaster. I hope it meets my expectations ;D

12

We hope so too!

J

13

I need some help.

Once my MIOS web interface recognizes the SQ Blaster, how do I create functions with it or integrate it into scenes?

My phone can control my devices, but i’m looking more for scene setup help.

14

You need to pick the device / IR plugin you want to control through the Advanced tab of a scene.

I think @guessed just posted a good primer for this… however, if you are running the latest 1.1.1183 beta then there are some issues with IR control in general and you may want to steer clear of trying to get it to work (other than familiarizing yourself) until they (MCV) releases a fix.

15

I finally got it figured out.

Setting this stuff up isn’t for the weak of heart, and if you’re not technical, good luck!

16

I’m trying to do my research before I buy. Here is my dilema/confusion and my first time ever on a forum:

My objective is to use the Vera2 in tandem with my new Itouch (I’m hoping for on Father’s Day), to control my X10 devices as well as blast IR to my A/V equipment. I am assuming that I would need additional hardware to do both. The X10 portion requires me to purchase an Insteon modem from Smarthome – correct? The second piece of hardware (IR blaster) and all associated apps/software/plugins is where I really get lost.
I found that a SQBlaster from Square Connect is certainly an option, but an expensive one (almost as much as the Vera2). Technical support let me know that a USBUIRT device may be used, but their website says it requires Girder software. The Proximis website (Girder) shows a PIR1 at the same price as the USBUIRT. To me, it looks a little beefier. Also, SQRemote can be purchased seperately for $30, or included with the purchase of the SQBlaster.
In short, I would like to “duplicate” my existing setup, but gain WiFi connectivity. Currently, to program my remotes, I select key icons from a bitmap library, place them on a page positioned where I want them and “program” each key by dragging and dropping a command from the software’s master database. If the command is not available in the database, I can cut and paste it in Pronto format to that key. Many manufacturers have spreadsheets or Acrobat files with hex codes (ex. on, off, vol+, vol-) on their website. When I “get it like I want it”, I download my program via USB to my remote and my RF gateway. My gateway is connected to a Xanatech 791-44 blaster and blasts to more than 2 dozen locations.
Will the Vera2 software accomplish X10 and IR control for me, or do I need other apps or software? I want this to be as cost effective a solution as possible, but don’t want to shortchange myself. Does anyone have suggestions?

17

I wouldn’t get your hopes up about the X10 support as its a bit lack luster I’m afraid. Remote wise the USB-UIRT will work with a bit of effort, but at minimum for a good experience you’ll want the SQremote software to operate it through vera.

I know you don’t want to spend extra money but I can really recommend the blaster, and it really is worth the money and support the guys provide. Plus it’ll work in a stand alone mode without Vera anyway and give you the best of both worlds.

With a USB-UIRT and SQremote, you’d spend 80 ish bucks anyway, so save the extra money on the blaster!

The SQ guys are about to launch an adobe air designer app that can set up your controls which makes things a lot easier!

18

strangely,

Thanks a bunch for your reply. I don’t really need standalone mode since all my equipment is in a rack at the headend. I had planned to put the Vera2 there along with the needed peripheral for USB to IR conversion. Technical support made it sound like I needed Girder to make the USBIRT operational. So, would I need Girder and SQRemote in addition to the USBUIRT device? Also, thanks for the tip on X10. I have had enough trouble with it for years, so that was my reason for looking at Zwave in the first place. I was also wondering if the PIR1 would work in place of the USBUIRT?

19

I haven’t used my USB UIRT for a while, but last time I did, it never required Girder. Maybe they were talking about using it for learning codes with? Either way, if you have a windows PC then you can learn the codes with a program called lrnhelper.

20

@Stanman,

The big issue with using vera and usbirt is that not all codes can be easily learnt or played back correctly - the famous ‘toggle codes’ are in particular devilishly hard to capture. When you buy SQBlaster, you get two very large and very comprehensive IR device databases, along with built in learning. I am biased, but I have tried to learn codes using a pc and then manually cutting and pasting the codes into files to be then imported inot Vera and I believe that the value of the database (meaning many of the more difficult codes have already been captured and tested) plus ‘in app’ learning make the relatively small extra cash outlay well worth it.

The second is that SQBlaster has two modes of operation - ‘press and hold’ and ‘macro mode’. Press and hold is very usefuyl as lot of IR codes actually consist of two commands one for start and one for repeat. In press and hold mode, when you as a user touch say a volume key, then SQBlaster correctly fires the start and then continues to send the repeat codes until you lift your finger off. Some codes require multiple sends of the code to get the equipment to respond correctly.

Hope this helps…

SquareConnectMat