Logitech Harmony vs. Broadlink RMx Mini/Pro

[cjkeenan]

Continuing the discussion from [WITHDRAWN] NATIVE Broadlink RM/RM Pro/RM Mini/SP driver & RC HVAC Manager:

@stevenascott

You will find that the Harmony hub setup is a rather good bang-for-buck when you consider all that it has to offer.

Yeah I am starting to realize that the harmony hub seems to be the king of the home theater still, but if you need ir or rf anywhere else in the house, probably look elsewhere. Is there anyway to control hubitat devices from the screen/buttons on the remote?

Now if broadlink added external ir in/out ports, the story might be different.

[stevenascott]

Depends on which remote you have. My Ultimate doesn't work because it doesn't have native smart device control. I can't remap my colored buttons to just Toggle a light, for example.

That being said, I can make an activity control lights or whatever I want. Just no instant access.

[ogiewon]

@cjkeenan

Is there anyway to control hubitat devices from the screen/buttons on the remote?

Yes, there is a workaround to allow those home device control buttons to behave as a Button Controller device in Hubitat. Please see the details in my Harmony Hub thread's first post.

[Release] Logitech Harmony Hub Driver v0.1.20230311

WARNING - v0.1.20221230 is a BREAKING code change. DO NOT UPGRADE to this new version unless you are willing to spend the time to start anew with your Hamony Hub integration with Hubitat. This new version now uses Hubitat's built-in Generic Component Switch driver, which has the benefit of allowing the Child Activitiy Switch devices to show up in the new Hubitat HomeKit integration. v0.1.20230311 Added proper support for the push() and hold() commands on the parent device page. v0.1.20221231 …

[cjkeenan]

@stevenascott

My Ultimate doesn't work because it doesn't have native smart device control.

Unfortunate, that is the remote I have as well. What do you mean by activity? Can you control hubitat via the touchscreen? Also what do you mean by no instant access, just no physical button or?

[stevenascott]

With this remote, you can only add home-control actions within the activity start, and activity end parameters.

E.G.:

• System is off.
• Select Movies from touchscreen.
• AVR powers on, projector, all change to the right sources.
• Google TV comes up.
• Logitech tells Hubitat to control some devices... turn off switches, lights, etc. (Can use this to adjust virtual switches like auto lighting control.)
• Once the activity is running, no physical button or touchscreen control within the activity can be used for "Home Control."

There has been chatter in the Harmony threads about potentially getting this to work on Ultimate remotes, but the latest gossip is that it is not easy, and may never happen. That being said, Logitech does offer a remote with home-automation buttons. Things like brightness, etc. I've never used one, however.

My $0.02 would be not to worry to much about the harmony home control on the Ultimate, and if you need more, put a simple button controller/remote on your end table.

In my living room, my automations see that my harmony is in a certain mode, and that my AVR is online -- based on that, prevents lighting, shortens lighting in nearby zones, and sets maximum volume depending on time of day... along with cutting power to some massive subwoofers.