HomeKit TV and HomeKit

[MDF314159265]

Why can’t homekit control TV?
If I ask Siri to turn on the lights - DONE!
If I ask Siri to set thermostat to 72 degrees - DONE!
But if I ask Siri to turn off the living room TV - NOPE!
This should probably be a standard feature of TV, yes?

And for extra credit, why can’t I get a Siri function to shut off the TV in “## of minutes?” It’s almost 2018 and a basic feature of all TV sets from the 90s is missing... it’s called “sleep” and I’m not talking about the auto shut off function - that should serve as a backup function.

 

[boston04and07]

Why can’t homekit control TV?
If I ask Siri to turn on the lights - DONE!
If I ask Siri to set thermostat to 72 degrees - DONE!
But if I ask Siri to turn off the living room TV - NOPE!
This should probably be a standard feature of TV, yes?

And for extra credit, why can’t I get a Siri function to shut off the TV in “## of minutes?” It’s almost 2018 and a basic feature of all TV sets from the 90s is missing... it’s called “sleep” and I’m not talking about the auto shut off function - that should serve as a backup function.

Agree. It’d be useful to me if the tv could somehow be included in HomeKit integration for the purpose of actually controlling it. I’d like to have it come on and off in certain scenes.

 

[hface119]

Agreed - and since Apple TV can control the TV turning on and off, and the iPhone can control the Apple TV turning on, then there is no technical reason that this can’t be. The TV being not Apple would simply be packaged with the AppleTV as one device - what are they waiting for?

 

[vipergts2207]

Personally, I'm hoping Logitech launches a HomeKit compatible harmony hub sometime in the relatively near future.

 

[cynics]

THAT is why you can't do it?!? Jeez I was just going on in another thread why I don't find Alexa as intelligent as it seems and than Siri explains the limitation it can't do this is because of a such a basic word (which is obviously BS). Granted I'm asking my watch to turn off a TV, 1st world problems at their finest.

However you can have the AppleTV sleep after X amount of time. Settings > General > Sleep After. But its based on inactivity and thankfully is kept awake by playing videos. So if you are in an app with auto play next it wont fall asleep.

I used to just set ATV to Sleep After 1 hour and TV to 6 hours. If I fall asleep in front of the TV its probably already been a few hours and since the ATV activity doesn't effect my TV it will fall asleep regardless and turn the ATV off with it.

However due to HDMI CEC issues I still have I currently have that turned off. My new solution is the same as above except I ignore the ATV if I see its on and the TV is off. Its a low power device anyway and I don't have auto play turn on in any app because I know I'll fall asleep.

 

[FunnelDog]

I feel like there is a solution somewhere here that includes taking a smart outlet and putting actual TV (not apple tv) through it. From there, there are probably automations based on time you could set but I don't think this solves the apple tv running all the time issue. hmm...

 

[MDF314159265]

I feel like there is a solution somewhere here that includes taking a smart outlet and putting actual TV (not apple tv) through it. From there, there are probably automations based on time you could set but I don't think this solves the apple tv running all the time issue. hmm...

You mean shut off the tv at the power source?? That might be okay once in a while, but too much of that and you may start to have problems with your TV.
Sensitive electronics should always be shut down properly to prolong life and performance.

 

[cynics]

You mean shut off the tv at the power source?? That might be okay once in a while, but too much of that and you may start to have problems with your TV.
Sensitive electronics should always be shut down properly to prolong life and performance.

This is true. A lot of electronics have built in devices to regulate the initial surge of the incoming power. Depending on that components resiliency can be hit or miss.

I know this because I work with a specific piece of equipment that can’t tolerate power cycling very well. Failure is catastrophic sending a light show of spark across the room and sometimes into my face.