The use of voice assistants has been growing over the years, and it is already a component that we can find in many houses that want to create a smart home ecosystem. With them, we can control a multitude of devices in our home, even those devices that do not have the possibility to connect to the Internet.
Through a video, a user shows how he controls his VHS player by means of voice commands. For this he has used a HomePod Mini speaker with integrated Siri and an Aqara Smart Hub M2 device that serves as a bridge to send the order to the player.
Remote control through a Smart Hub
Smart Hubs are very useful and allow a high level of automation in our home. Many of them, in addition to WiFi connection, they are also compatible with infrared control, so it is possible to map commands through any remote control. In the video showing the YouTube user ‘Will it Work?’ it is exactly what it does.
Through a series of steps involving a HomePod Mini, an iPhone, an Aqara Smart Hub M2, and a remote control, this user has been able to control his VHS player through voice commands. Thus, Let’s see how you can remove the tape, pause, rewind, and more actions, through your own voice.
How to control a VHS player (or similar) through Siri
As we’ve mentioned above, what’s special about some bridging devices like the Aqara Smart Hub M2 you’re using is their ability to detect infrared signals. To map these signals, the user uses the Aquara Hub app, although it is possible to do it from the app of any manufacturer that has this type of device.
For Aqara Hub Gateway M2, ZigBee 3.0 WiFi Bluetooth Infrared Smart Remote Control HomeKit Siri Voice Control Smart Home Control Center
In the app we add a custom remote control, and to create buttons, just physically press them on the remote control we are using, and the Smart Hub will detect the signal. The tedious part of this is that if we have a remote that does not appear in the database, we will have to manually map each button that we want to add.
Once the button is created in the app, links to a scene programmed by Siri shortcuts. In this way, by mentioning the name that we have assigned to the scene through Siri, the command will be activated and it will perform the function that we have sent through the remote control.
The user uses Apple’s HomeKit ecosystem alongside Siri-provided shortcuts on an iOS device to do this. But nevertheless, this is also possible on Android with a similar operation, and even through the assistants of Alexa and Google.