I'm struggling with this a bit and don't know what route to go for.
I'd like to add an audio capable device for doorbell, motion sensors etc but I'm at loss what route to go.
I do not own any Chromecasts / Google Nest, home etc devices / Alexa based devices so I'm open to any ideas.
I'd basically want this to be as reliable as possible -> doorbell is pressed -> I can trust to it that it notifies, TextToSpeech would be great but not a must.
I'd really appreciate any suggestions for possible ways I should look into. I've tried to find various possibilities, one seems to be a Sonos device, other seems to be buying a Chromecast and perhaps a Next hub, third being doing this via Alexa Echo etc?
Thanks for the reply. What do I basically need? Any Echo based device will do (Echo show for example as I'd be tempted for one due to other features it offers)? Do I need anything else?
Could you please let me know how to achieve this and use Android tablet as an audio device for Hubitat? Thought this is not actually even possible :). I do have extra old android tablets lying around.
Will that tablet be loud enough, that would be my concern. Echo shows typically suck unless your doorbell happens to be a Ring or Blink... Both owned by Amazon and can display the camera feed when the doorbell is pressed. Check Woot for clearance. They have the original show for $25.
European myself so that will not be an option but thank you for the tip. I guess I just settle with echo dot to test it out. Idea is that catch the doorbell button press with hubitat and play chime sound / TTS of sorts so that I know to look into unifi protect which sucks when it comes to notifications and options.
When it comes to Android tablet though, one could always attach an external speaker for it when it comes to volume issues but it goes perhaps bit too much into "hacky" territory.
Sonos does seem to be an interesting option for the future, never really looked into it until just now.
Thank you! This is all new to me. Going to look into this right now, if nothing else then as a temporary solution / solution for other locations.
I use an aeotec doorbell has work excellent so far 18months old.
i then link this to my AVR's, TV's, chromecast ect and it will it pauses what ever is playing and resume afre the door has been shut
it also flash lights depending on what mode the house is and where we are in it
the volume also adjust with the house mode from 100% at night time to 0% if we are not home, if were not home it will alert us that someone is at the door.
The IKEA Symfonisk speakers are made by Sonos, and work great with Hubitat with no need for custom code. The built-in Sonor integration works great, especially for Text to Speech, and for playing mp3 files stored locally on the Hubitat hub. I play a little audio clip each time our mailbox is opened.
Ah, ok, I did see those. I'd hoped they had made an even lower cost unit. Thank you
I'll eventually splurge for one. I just don't want a smart speaker that transmits like Echo etc. Already have enough things that are "transmitters" lol.
One device with which I have been successful is the Ecolink 700 series Chime Siren.
I also have an Aeotec Gen 5 doorbell that works similarly, but the newer Gen 6 device does not allow custom sounds.
It is a Z-wave device that comes with a variety of built-in chimes and alarms. However, if you add a micro SD card, you can replace the default sounds with your own sounds. You can create these sounds by recording your own voice using a microphone, or you can use text to speech software. I used free software called Zabaware Reader. The built-in voices are rather lame, so I paid extra for a higher quality voice, but that is your option.
When you create a custom alert, you have to save it as a mono wav or mp3 file and name it starting with a number and a description. In order to play the sound, you reference the number, but the descriptive name will help you decide which sound to play. Be sure to play all the default sounds first so you will know which ones are chimes and which ones are repeating sirens. Use the chime slots for routine alerts such as "The doorbell is ringing", or "The back door has been opened" and use the siren slots for such things as "There is a water leak in the laundry room" or "There is an intruder in the living room".
If you do decide to get the Ecolink chime/siren, I will be happy to provide any additional help you might need to get it working. I do not work for Ecolink, but I am satisfied with their products. I also use their tilt garage sensors and their water leak sensors. For things like motion sensors and contact sensors, I typically use Zigbee.
After looking into the most simple way to do this (familywise as well, so that it doesn't get overwhelming to better half) I decided to just get few echo's that can notify around the house.
I admit I'm tempted to splash the cash for Sonos One's but without having the possibility to hear and judge for myself if they're worth 200 euros a piece, I think I'll pass for now.
I already set up Android tablet and it works out great. (thanks @Grizzlebeard!) but audio is just way too low for my needs.
Thank you to everyone, happy to see community where one gets advice!
I put an order in today so not sure about the process yet (I normally have no problems with configuration / setting things up though, programmer and nerd of sorts myself). I'm sure the set up is very straightforward though, Echo's seem to be easy peasy to add into Hubitat, when they're seen as device just use TTS feature in actions for speech and media / player action to play the chime file and I should be all set.
How did it go with Google speaker? Which one did you pick? Did you need any additional equipment (such as chromecast) or does it work straight with that Google speaker? (Nest perhaps?)
