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norrishh

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Everything posted by norrishh

  1. That's an option. But my harmony also just works (for now, until Logitech kills it off for good.)
  2. Yep, you're almost certainly right. It was just the only USB-A to USB-C cable I had because every other device I've ever seen supports USB-A natively at one end.
  3. Yep, using BT. I have two Flirc USBs lying around (the really early transparent ones) so I could use them, but my current solution works, and the shieldTV in my living room is inside a cabinet, etc, etc. It's pretty clear that universal remotes are a rapidly shrinking market. That's why Logitech threw away the whole Harmony product line, because it didn't bring in sufficient revenue to continue. Obviously Flirc is a far smaller company and I expect you'd be rather pleased to sell Harmony's old volume, but the base reasoning applies. Most people just use HDMI CEC these days, and anyone who isn't satisfied with HDMI CEC in 2023 is likely going to have esoteric needs and strong opinions. For example, I haven't even brought up the HDMI switch in my living room, or how I have my harmony programmed to turn off my air conditioner, or linked to Google Assistant to turn on my TV, etc. To be successful, aftermarket universal remotes need to offer really strong arguments over simply using whatever remote came with the user's TV/AppleTV/ShieldTV/FireTV or whatever with HDMI CEC. That wasn't the case for me, and even if all software issues were addressed and I had a functional home button, the hardware being IR-only means it would still control my devices via HDMI CEC. Even if I did use a Flirc USB, the IR signal wouldn't reach inside my cabinet, I'd need to move my shieldTV and probably Xbox Series X, PS5, and HTPC on top of the furniture. (IR does reach the HDMI switch, that's how I control it today.)
  4. Re button remapping, either solution would help, so long as how to get there is illustrated. I didn't find any device that had any way to go back to the fireTV home (or shieldTV home). That's when I gave up. I'm sure it has IR learning capabilities and I do have the original remote but my Harmony still works fine and the whole thing was becoming a big hassle just to basically clone my TV's remote and use it for HDMI CEC, with literally zero commands to the shieldTV STB plugged into the fireTV TV. There was simply no value in doing it over picking up the TV remote. Finally yes listing specific shield models with IR support would help. My shieldTVs don't have it, which is why I've been using bluetooth from Harmony hubs.
  5. Harmony native Sonos control is indeed largely broken (it's unusably unresponsive, is the actual problem) and I use HDMI CEC to do it now. That isn't a Sonos problem, it's that Logitech no longer supports or sells Harmony, which is why products like the skip1s have a real opportunity to enter the market. HDMI CEC would work on skip1s also, although it should be able to control the Sonos directly via IR too.
  6. Having finally made my remote connect via a USB-C to USB-A adapter, I have a bunch of feedback on the app in both UI and functionality. I'm coming from Harmony which also has an _excruciatingly_ bad UI so I'm used to that, although the skip UI managed to be just as bad in completely different ways. It's the missing functionality that renders it unusable for me. My feedback comes in no particular order, stream of consciousness as I messed around with it this afternoon. 1) I don't keep my PC in the living room. This needs to be a mobile phone app very badly. So frustrating. So I tried to setup my bedroom TV, which has many, many less devices, just the native fireTV (TV has fireTV built-in) and a shieldTV. Still didn't work due to reasons below. 2) App is slow, animations are glacial. 3) Getting to button remapping is extraordinarily counterintuitive. You need to go to activities and then click the little right arrow to get there. 4) The "tips" panel on the right appears to have movies from a completely different piece of software. There is no "filter view" etc. C'mon. 5) As mentioned in many other posts, since it doesn't have my devices listed I need to basically check all of them. Since my PC isn't in the living room this is an extremely frustrating experience. 6) Commands are missing. I can't find any way to "home" on the toshiba fireTV in my bedroom. None of the many, many commands labeled "menu", menu main, menu quick, men top, etc, do it. The only way for me to go to the internal fireTV input is to use the "input scroll" command (discovered via laborious trial and error trying EVERY SINGLE INPUT.) I did of course have to try EVERY single toshiba TV listed as well. 7) Erasing a command is annoying. You need to precisely click on the little trashcan and then hold the button there for a second. Very poor UI, I find myself failed to delete over half the time. There should be a drag handle to reorder, so a single click works to delete. 8) Since there's no way to give a CEC menu or home command there's no way to go home on the ShieldTV either (as it does not have built-in IR) unless you use a Flirc USB. That isn't necessarily the skip1s's fault, but it is a major obstacle to switching (in that I would not switch). 9) Even though many models of the ShieldTV don't have IR, the app lets you pick it anyway. This led to a lot of head-scratching for me until I realized what was up. Not to be completely negative, in the pros column, syncing is really quick, easy, and works flawlessly. Unfortunately that's the only positive feedback from me. I could go on if I were still trying to use the remote, but at this point I'm giving up until a lot of development goes into the software. This device is not usable for my purposes. I hope the app and the overall experience improves. Until that day comes, it will be sitting in a drawer.
  7. Update, the USB-C to USB-A adapter arrived and the app (0.9.4) recognizes it fine with the cable that came with the remote. So the problem was indeed that this device only supports USB-C. I do have Steam installed alongside pretty much everything else you could possibly imagine on this machine. @Nathan I suggest calling this out in the description so other people aren't hit by the same problem.
  8. OK, thanks. I guess I'll try the adapter when it arrives tomorrow but don't expect it to work as this is a known issue with the drivers.
  9. Going through the app this morning, it only lists two Sonos soundbars (arc and playbase, I believe), missing a bunch-- the beam gen1, beam gen2, and ray. The arc setting probably works, I can't test due to either USB-C or the broken windows software Xbox is similar, it only lists Xbox One not Xbox Series S and Xbox Series X. The Xbone setting probably works, but that's confusing for users and just generally feels like a beta product. I suggest changing to "Microsoft Xbox (One X/S and Series X/S)".
  10. Yeah, the IR database is very limited. It didn't have a bunch of my devices, and they're extremely common. No Xbox Series X, Sonos Beam, or LG OLED C1 in there. It did have the Nvidia Shield, so that's something, but given the Flirc history it would be astonishing if it didn't. Note that while those devices weren't listed, the Xbox One, Sonos Arc, and a bunch of generic "LG TV" codes were in there and my guess is they would probably work. I can't test it due to either USB-C or the Windows software issue.
  11. Ahh, could be? I know I didn't hear a connection sound from Windows when I plugged it in or removed it, but maybe that's a problem with their driver? In that case I guess I'm out another ten bucks for the adapter, shrug.
  12. I am very disappointed to discover the remote only comes with a USB-C to USB-C cable. This is the first consumer electronics device I've purchased that both requires PC connectivity to configure and doesn't work with USB-A. Actually, I've never even seen any other device like this. Everything else can either use a phone app or comes with some way to plug into a USB-A port. I tried a USB-A to USB-C cable I found lying around which physically fit but didn't connect, unsure why. And now I was just forced to order a USB-C to USB-A adapter from Amazon. My guess is this will be an ongoing problem for you guys. Not everybody has a recent laptop. I use an high powered desktop at home; 5950X CPU, RTX3080, 32GB RAM, blah blah, but no USB-C.
  13. Yes, I don't use them these days, but I own two Flirc USBs. Great devices. They're another option, but he can accomplish his goals with just the remote and the Kodi addon I linked.
  14. It's just an IR remote so no bluetooth keyboard commands are possible. It has a bunch of buttons not really used in kodi though, and you can remap them to do whatever you want inside Kodi with an addon. You may be able to map press and hold to different IR commands too, I don't know if the skip1s supports that functionality. A good FAQ question, actually. https://kodi.wiki/view/Add-on:Keymap_Editor
  15. Couple of reasons. First, the hub isn't battery powered. Since it's plugged-in, it can maintain persistent bluetooth and wifi connections which don't need to be reattached every time the user wants to use their remote. This persistence also allows Google Assistant and Alexa integrations. When I walk from my bedroom to the living room, I often call out "Hey Google turn on the TV". Silly, I know, but I like it. I also use Google Assistant to remotely turn on my air conditioner on hot days while I'm on my way home from work. This works in routines also, so when I leave the house my lights, fans, and A/C all turn off. Standard smarthome stuff. Also I may be talking out my butt on this one, but since it isn't power constrained, it also seems to shoot out a vastly more powerful IR signal than any handheld remote I've used. Even inside a partially obstructed cabinet it has no problems turning my TV or A/C on via IR. Second reason is the separate hub allows the handheld remote to use exclusively low-power RF signals, meaning it doesn't need to be aimed at the device you want to control, it works under a blanket, even in another room, and the remote's battery lasts *forever*. My simple little harmony smart control remote uses a button battery and it easily lasts two years of daily use. I have one in the bedroom too, use it a lot less, and I don't think I've ever replaced it over like 7 years. The app is something I don't use particularly often, so I wouldn't be at all upset if it was a webapp or electron or whatever. It's fine if something I open every 6 months uses a gig of RAM. What matters to me are features, UI design, and ease of use.
  16. You essentially answered (or TBD'd) all my questions. Looks to be a neat product, but as a Logitech Harmony Hub user I'm looking for a replacement for its functionality, including Bluetooth and Wifi. I won't be buying one, but I sincerely hope the skip1s is successful so you can come out with a hub-based RF remote in the future! The only other competitor is the SoftBaton X1, and while it's promising, it definitely isn't there yet. There's a real window of opportunity for Flirc.
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