Smart HDMI Switcher with @AdafruitIO and @IFTTT #AdafruitIO #IFTTT
Scriptmonkey_ on twitter did a bit of hacking this past Easter weekend connecting their HDMI switcher to the internet. If you do not have enough HDMI ports on your TV or monitor, a HDMI switch can double (or quadruple!) the amount of possible HDMI inputs to your TV. One of the problems with these switches is that they do not usually work with the TV’s remote, requiring an extra remote. To avoid the remotes piling up on their coffee table, or getting up from their couch, they used an ESP8266 connected to an Amazon Alexa over If-This-Then-That to voice-control their TV’s inputs.
At first they tried to build an Alexa skill, but Scriptmonkey_ found the interface “clunky” and they felt that triggering their sky cable box was quicker using the combination of Adafruit IO and IFTTT than the skill:
I did actually develop a separate Alexa skill using @awscloud lambda to do the necessary work but the interface was pretty clunky and I really need to look into the canfulfil skill thing before I can improve on that. "Trigger sky" was faster than "tell X to Y" as this video shows pic.twitter.com/IJakAezUGR
Adafruit publishes a wide range of writing and video content, including interviews and reporting on the maker market and the wider technology world. Our standards page is intended as a guide to best practices that Adafruit uses, as well as an outline of the ethical standards Adafruit aspires to. While Adafruit is not an independent journalistic institution, Adafruit strives to be a fair, informative, and positive voice within the community – check it out here: adafruit.com/editorialstandards
Stop breadboarding and soldering – start making immediately! Adafruit’s Circuit Playground is jam-packed with LEDs, sensors, buttons, alligator clip pads and more. Build projects with Circuit Playground in a few minutes with the drag-and-drop MakeCode programming site, learn computer science using the CS Discoveries class on code.org, jump into CircuitPython to learn Python and hardware together, TinyGO, or even use the Arduino IDE. Circuit Playground Express is the newest and best Circuit Playground board, with support for CircuitPython, MakeCode, and Arduino. It has a powerful processor, 10 NeoPixels, mini speaker, InfraRed receive and transmit, two buttons, a switch, 14 alligator clip pads, and lots of sensors: capacitive touch, IR proximity, temperature, light, motion and sound. A whole wide world of electronics and coding is waiting for you, and it fits in the palm of your hand.
Have an amazing project to share? The Electronics Show and Tell is every Wednesday at 7:30pm ET! To join, head over to YouTube and check out the show’s live chat and our Discord!
Python for Microcontrollers – Adafruit Daily — Python on Microcontrollers Newsletter: Open Hardware is In, New CircuitPython and Pi 5 16GB, and much more! #CircuitPython #Python #micropython @ThePSF @Raspberry_Pi
EYE on NPI – Adafruit Daily — EYE on NPI Maxim’s Himalaya uSLIC Step-Down Power Module #EyeOnNPI @maximintegrated @digikey
