Bose Soundtouch

SlicingHaunt · April 2018

I knew once I bought Homey that it was possible to control these devices with HTTP cards but now I finally had some spare time to create an Bose Soundtouch app!

You can find it HERE.

I'm still working on adding features but the basic stuff is working. For example:

Triggers are available to check if a speaker has started playing or has stopped playing.
Conditions to check if a speaker is playing or paused
Actions to play presets, control volume, next, previous, play, pause, mute, unmute, set bass reduction and to create zones with other speakers!

This makes it possible to create zones directly when something has started playing on one of your speakers. something that isn't even available from the official Soundtouch app right now!

I hope you enjoy using the app and please let me know if there are features you like to see.

Future development and updates about the app will be posted here and on the app store page.

Update v1.1.0
New features:

Added volume change trigger with volume token, this makes it easy to keep volume between speakers in sync.
Changed way bass is set of speakers, it is now done using a percentage slider which is later transformed by the bose api to the correct bass level. 100% means highest level of bass and 0% means lowest.
It is now possible to check if a speaker is the master of a zone
It is now possible to set a speaker in standby or turn it on
It is now possible to set repeat options
It is now possible to set shuffle options
It is now possible to select the source, only AUX and Bluetooth are supported at the moment.

I'm still looking into the possibility to start spotify tracks via Homey, this is going to be alot of work since it probably requires to write a new app that makes the spotify api easily accessible.

Tiyrell · April 2018

Thanks! Trying it it out now!
First impression is super! Things are working as expected with the limitations that the Bose API has

First request is if you could implement a card where we can send the "Power" command and it will toggle the standby state. Together with a condition card "Is Playing" we can then turn off the Bose Reliably.

Another request is if we can set a volume using a number, this way we can ask homey to lower the volume and we can set it at Volume == Volume - 5 or something each time we ask it ?

Happy with it!

SlicingHaunt · April 2018

Thank you @Tiyrell ! I'm glad you like it so far.

For your first request, I'm looking into that. I didn't add that functionality in because I mainly just pause my speakers and after a while they turn themself off.

For your second request, you are already able to do so! Just make a variable that always sits between 0 and 1 and place that variable as a tag in the volume slider action card. I'm not going to implement speech in the bose app since Athom is going to discontinue the speech. (and I never used it anyway since Homey has serious hearing problems

)
*edit: You can control that variable with speech and then with a variable value change trigger re-set the volume of the speaker

Tiyrell · April 2018

I disabled the auto-turn off on my Bose Soundbar, it was sooooo annoying when I paused netflix a few minutes that the soundbar turned itself off, and by doing this it also shutsdown the TV (using CEC) and you could start everything up again. I think you can imagine.

#2 > Great! I'll give that a try Thanks

Tiyrell · April 2018

SlicingHaunt said:

(and I never used it anyway since Homey has serious hearing problems )

True, but I do like it when I can simply say "Ok Homey, Stil" And it mutes the soundbar so I do not have to walk to the remote and do it. It's the simple things that do make it handy, relying on it is something else and not usable then.

Tiyrell · April 2018

Allright, volume control works like a charm as well now! Great stuff very happy with your work!

jacquesvzijp · April 2018

Thanks for this great app! I had something like 30 flows with XML Post and JSON stuff to do it and I started at looking to develop my (first) own app, but now it is there! Great (will donate shortly;-)
Of course I have some wishes as well, select bluetooth, like this XMLPost:

http://172.16.1.26:8090/select <ContentItem source="BLUETOOTH" location="" sourceAccount=""></ContentItem>

And I need Spotify connect select, did not yet have the time to create the XMLPost but will sort it out unless you know how to do it.

Will now start to do some heavy testing and migrate my flows including my NEEO remote control to drive it all;-)

Thanks a lot,

Jacques

GPaz · April 2018

Thanks for taking the time to create this app!!! It opens up many fantastic options for automation and music for me. Thank you! I will definitely donate once I overcome the following issue: I installed app on my Homey last night and created a simple flow to play a preset on a specific Soundtouch (I have several in the house). Music starts ok but is on a different Soundtouch. I have checked every IP address and all are assigned correctly / no conflicts. Is anyone else having similar issue or is it user / my configuration? All guidance appreciated.

SlicingHaunt · April 2018

@Tiyrell

First request is if you could implement a card where we can send the "Power" command and it will toggle the standby state.

Is being worked on.

@jacquesvzijp

Of course I have some wishes as well, select bluetooth

Is also being worked on.

Don't expect the update to be soon, but know I'm working on it.

@GPaz That seems odd. Are you sure you have selected the right soundtouch device to play the preset on? I can only test the app with 2 speakers at a time at my home, but it never fails as long as I select the right speaker.

GPaz · April 2018

Thanks for your response @SlicingHaunt. I have just spent a little time with it now (Homey is too time consuming ... <span>

</span>) and reset all Soundtouch units, removed and reinstalled the app and yippee all seems to be working. Must have been something odd with my network / original installation. Thank you.

SlicingHaunt · April 2018

App updated to v1.1.0, see OP for feature changes/bug fixes.

Tiyrell · May 2018

Working great! Turning it off now when I go to sleep is perfect, due to the HDMI It also turns off my TV. Very happy with how easy it works now.

Great work!

SanderVlotman · June 2018

Hi SlicingHaunt, thanks for creating the app. I can now stop using the HTTP cards ;-). I have a different question and that relates to the beta spotify connect app. Are you or anyone else in this forum able to connect the bose soundtouch speaker via homey to spotifty? I read that there is a bug in the api (of bose and other spotify connect devices other then Heos and Sonos) but it can also be my network.

bvb · June 2018

Hi, I can not add my soundtouch... I have installed the app with the latest version, but when I enter the IP address of my speaker/s then there happens nothing, when I press the save button. Looks like the button does not work. Any ideas?

SlicingHaunt · July 2018

SanderVlotman said:

I have a different question and that relates to the beta spotify connect app.

I have looked into it, and it is something that I want to use aswell so I can use my my speakers more freely instead of only the presets. Since I'm really busy at work I haven't been able to work on Homey apps as much as I would have liked so this is probably going to take a while.

SlicingHaunt · July 2018

bvb said:

Hi, I can not add my soundtouch... I have installed the app with the latest version, but when I enter the IP address of my speaker/s then there happens nothing, when I press the save button. Looks like the button does not work. Any ideas?

Thats odd. You should be able to connect to one of your speakers using your browser, E.G. Chrome or Internet explorer, by going to http://192.168.1.1:8090 (where you obviously replace 192.168.1.1 with the IP address of your speaker you are trying to connect)

If you don't see any results using your browser there is something wrong with your setup, either the IP address you entered is invalid or something else in your network is blocking access to the speaker.

bvb · July 2018

If I klick on Save, nothing happens! I can see the speaker if I enter the adress in the browser and can also control the speaker over the "HTTP request flow cards"-App, so it is not a connectivity issue I think.

MatsB · August 2018

Hi!
I'd love to be able to use the SoundTouch speaker(s) as output for the voice from Homey too. Right now the only speaker I can chose is the internal Homey speaker but this is "not very loud" :-). I would prefer not to use a cable and a standard Aux speaker connection as I use Homey as part of home security and want it in a different place from the loudspeaker.
Cheers! /Mats

Oy1974 · August 2018

MatsB said:

Hi!
I'd love to be able to use the SoundTouch speaker(s) as output for the voice from Homey too. Right now the only speaker I can chose is the internal Homey speaker but this is "not very loud" :-). I would prefer not to use a cable and a standard Aux speaker connection as I use Homey as part of home security and want it in a different place from the loudspeaker.
Cheers! /Mats

And the question is???

SlicingHaunt · August 2018

MatsB said:

Hi!
I'd love to be able to use the SoundTouch speaker(s) as output for the voice from Homey too. Right now the only speaker I can chose is the internal Homey speaker but this is "not very loud" :-). I would prefer not to use a cable and a standard Aux speaker connection as I use Homey as part of home security and want it in a different place from the loudspeaker.
Cheers! /Mats

I understand what you want, but it is simply not possible to use the bose soundtouch speakers as wireless speakers the way you would do when using a AUX cable. The only solution you have right now is to create a flow that puts your soundtouch in AUX mode before homey starts speaking and using a very long AUX cable from homey to your speaker

Bose Soundtouch

Comments