KISS way to "press IR skip button 8 times"?

[asheville]

I use Windows Media Center (WMC) with HDHomeRun's (yes, I know how old it is -- I have CableCards -- old dog thingy)

While I have a significant Harmony Hub setup -- and I realize I may lose that any-day-now, I don't want to go down the Harmony Hub integration road (even if that is still possible)

I'd love to be able to say "Alexa, skip commercials" -- and close a virtual switch, which kicks off "something" that presses the IR "skip" button 8 times for the WMC. Commercials are almost always "8 button presses"

I'm not looking for anything else IR wise. Just that one thing.

What's my best / easiest / KISS solution to solve this?

[Sebastien]

Using the Broadlink integration would be an option. You would need to get one of their devices (the Mini would work for this) and program the “skip” button. Then you could use Rule Machine to have it send the button press the number of times needed.

Broadlink IR/RF remotes integration (RM3 Mini, RM Pro, RM4 Mini/Pro)

I wrote an integration for Broadlink IR and RF universal remotes. It works with RM3 Mini, RM Pro, and RM4 Mini/Pro devices. All functionality is local-only (no interaction with internet or cloud required). The code and readme are available here: You can also install via HPM (search for "broadlink"). The process for learning, saving, and generating codes is straightforward once you get the hang of it. Please review my readme in detail for instructions on how to use both the driver a…

[tomw]

@Sebastien

Then you could use Rule Machine to have it send the button press the number of times needed.

Actually the push() or sendSavedCode() commands on my integration have an optional parameter for IR codes only that causes the repeat to happen automatically on the Broadlink device. I use it for things like "volume up/down 5 times" which is very similar to the use-case that @asheville described.

[asheville]

@Broadlink IR/RF remotes integration (RM3 Mini

It works with RM3 Mini, RM Pro, and RM4 Mini/Pro devices

Done. RM3 Mini - $19.99 at Amazon. We'll give that a whirl. Thanks for the suggestion -- a whole lot cheaper than I thought it might be.

@tomw

integration have an optional parameter for IR codes only that causes the repeat to happen automatically on the Broadlink device

Yea, that sounds very much like my use-case.

[tomw]

@asheville

Yea, that sounds very much like my use-case.

Cool! Just post in my Broadlink thread if you have any trouble setting up or using it. The feature I described (repeated IR button press) is described in my readme on GitHub.

[asheville]

Ok, got my Broadlink in. I'm a pretty savvy tech guy -- but this thing is kicking my butt.

1. Got it online, in the app.

2. Cannot find a pre-configured "Windows Media Center" set of buttons in the app -- that's OK, I just need to learn ONE button.

3. Set it into learn mode. Pressed the SKIP button on my original remote -- a skip-forward occurs on the TV, and the Broadlink gives me the "learned"

4. THEN -- it gives me the button to "test" what was just learned. I press it.... NOTHING happens. Gives me a did it work? YES/NO. NO returns to learning again.

I've tried multiple buttons to "learn". All fail. The Media Center is recognizing the function being pressed on the original remote. And the Broadlink RM3 says it "learned" the key pressed. But it doesn't work.

My media center has an external IR receiver -- which has a red LED light up when a code is received (in fact, it lights up when I press any of my IR remotes)

It IS lighting up when the RM3 tries to send a code -- so we know it's transmitting "something" -- just not "something" that the Media Center recognizes.

Any suggestions?

[tomw]

@asheville

Any suggestions?

Sorry to have missed this - I didn't get a notification from the thread.

Did you get this working? If you intend to use my Hubitat integration with your Broadlink device you actually don't need to use the Broadlink app at all (once you have it connected to wifi). All of the learning is done from the Hubitat device page.

Let me know if you're still having issues and I will try to help.