Philips ambilight extension with Emulated Hue

Configuration
1

Hi,

I’m trying to use some RGB lights, with the built in ambilight extension function of a Philips TV.
Basically, the TV allows me to use RGB light with a Hue Hub, I can select the position and distance from the TV for each light.

I’m trying to use this function with the Emulated Hue bridge of HA. It’s kinda works, however the TV only adjust the brightness of the light, not the color.

If I acces http://haip/api/pi/lights I can see my light with a color parameter:

"6": {"state": {"on": false, "reachable": true, "mode": "homeautomation", "bri": 1, "colormode": "hs", "hue": 0, "sat": 0, "effect": "none"}, "name": "RGB",                     "uniqueid": "00:57:dd:fc:bb:c3:57:2b-8b", "manufacturername": "Home Assistant", "swversion": "123", "type": "Color light", "modelid": "HASS213"},
"10": {"state": {"on": true, "reachable": true, "mode": "homeautomation", "bri": 254, "hue": 0, "sat": 0, "ct": null, "effect": "none", "colormode": "ct"}, "name": "Segment 1", "uniqueid": "00:69:96:33:9c:0f:44:69-11", "manufacturername": "Home Assistant", "swversion": "123", "type": "Extended color light", "modelid": "HASS231"},

I tried with an RGB light, and an Extended color light (RGBW WLED) as well.

Anyone experienced the same problem?

2

Does anybody knows a Hue client software for Android which works with the Emulated Hue bridge?
I tried a couple of those, but none of them worked. The official one wants to upgrade the software on the Hub, and the others just crash, or wants me to push a button on the hub.

3

For the record, the TV wanted to set the color by XY values, and the emulated_hue component doesn’t supports this.
I modified the code, so after it makes it to the release version, it won’t be a problem anymore.

4

Hi @denes44,

I am very interested in your solution.

I am currently running a Hue bridge in parallel to my HA ZigBee radio. I keep running that bridge solely for the Ambilight coupling and want to get rid of it.

Do I read you correctly? You have issued a pull request for Emulated Hue to make it work with the Ambilight coupling? Was that request accepted and is it part of the integration now?

Anything else I would have to obey? I.e. does the Ambilight coupling require Emulated Hue to run on port 80 or can I also use the default port 8300?

5

Yes, the problem is fixed now. My Philips TV can control my lights in HA.
However this software solution was a little bit too slow for Ambilight.
I’m using port 80, I think it was a requirement back then, right now it’s only required for Alexa according to the documentataion. However it was not a problem for official Philips devices (the TV).

1 Like
6

Hello denes44. Could you please help me fix my emulated bridge as well? I have the same issue of not being able to change the colour of my lights. Only the brigthness is updating. Any pointer in the right direction is much appreciated! Thanks!

7

Hi there. Do you notice some delay with sync when the Ambilight changes color of the TV . Is there any solution for this ?

8

The fix I did, was patched in Home Assistant core in 2021.

10

How do you pair the emulated hue with the TV? When the TV waits for hue button press? I have it configured, I can see my /api/pi/lights, but my TV won’t see the emulated hub. Do I have to remove the real one? Also - how do I press the big button on emulated hue? My TV found emulated hub when I disconnected the real one, but it waits for me to “press the button to pair”. The docs say something about pairing mode in notification area, but nothig pops up…

11

Hello from the future,
So you don’t need a physical bridge to have the TV Ambilight control some IKEA lightbulbs?
Just a bit confused from when I check the integration, as it mentions the following;

image
image704×176 16.8 KB

Edit:
Nevermind, it’s to specifically control Hue lights etc, and turns my non-hue into hue-controllables. I’ll have a look whether or not my Tradfri’s will work!

12

i personally use hyperion android grabber (its available on github) to send a screen recording of my android devices to my hyperion server, doesnt work with all android devices, but its awesome on my tablet, hope that helps!