I just found your forum while searching for help regarding using Harmony to control an Ipad. I wound up on a thread in which a user alluded to the problem of automating toggle switches to turn TVs on and off. I have experience with this problem and I tried to post and was rejected because I don’t have a reputation that allows me to post on an old thread.
So, I’m posting it here now in case someone might find it informative.
The problem is that many electronic devices do not have a remote code available for all states of a toggle switch. While a toggle switch is convenient for a human to turn a device like a tv on or off, it’s a nightmare to automate. Automation does not know the status of the device when it is toggled off by a human or by any means outside of the automation’s scope. This problem could be fixed if the manufacturer of the device would provide a code for “on”, “off”, and “toggle”.
When faced with only a toggle, other ways must be devised. One of Harmony’s solutions is the “fix it myself” function to ask the human to indicate which devices are not on. Another of their solutions is “always on” for a device. There is also “always on but power down when power down switch is pressed”, but these too are subject to humans foiling the system. One can also use a remote code that functions differently when the device is off or on. On my dvd player, “play” will turn the player on if it was off, but does not turn the player off when the player is already on. I modified the startup sequence to include a “play” order after the device is supposedly turned on, so if the player was actually toggled off, the “play” turns it back on.
So, I’m posting it here now in case someone might find it informative.
The problem is that many electronic devices do not have a remote code available for all states of a toggle switch. While a toggle switch is convenient for a human to turn a device like a tv on or off, it’s a nightmare to automate. Automation does not know the status of the device when it is toggled off by a human or by any means outside of the automation’s scope. This problem could be fixed if the manufacturer of the device would provide a code for “on”, “off”, and “toggle”.
When faced with only a toggle, other ways must be devised. One of Harmony’s solutions is the “fix it myself” function to ask the human to indicate which devices are not on. Another of their solutions is “always on” for a device. There is also “always on but power down when power down switch is pressed”, but these too are subject to humans foiling the system. One can also use a remote code that functions differently when the device is off or on. On my dvd player, “play” will turn the player on if it was off, but does not turn the player off when the player is already on. I modified the startup sequence to include a “play” order after the device is supposedly turned on, so if the player was actually toggled off, the “play” turns it back on.
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