So, I sterted this journey so I can use my existing NEST cameras, with my Apple TV (to view the camera feed on my TV). I managerd to get HA installed using VirtualBox on my Windows 11 machine…HOWEVER, even after reading through the steps to set up Google integrations, and homekit integration to make it all work…I am VERY lost and confused.
So, two part question…I have no problem spending $200 for the Green machine, however, will that makes things EASIER to set up, or am I still going to have to learn all these processesd to get Nest and Homekit working together? Does the cost of the mchine include phone support, extra help, etc…or am I stuck having to learn how this all works and get it set up correctly?
This forum and some machines (not explicitly excluding “stupid” AI) can help, but buying H.A. Green will never help with this.
And yes, i know google integration is such a mess but now, 2 years later, i am setting up something from google again and it is very very simple, just follow docs, basically fill out 2 fields copy api key ad you are all set.
Yes, but what about apple?
And i know that google assistant and their smart home things can be easier with nabu casa but what about calendar, gemini etc?
For apple you have the companion app. No Siri. They don’t believe on open source, so that makes things very difficult.
Gemini, I don’t think Google knows what that is yet. The flip date is like today, right from Google Home. Nothing it working right there now. One big C-F.
Google Home assistant on Phones has been deprecated and replaced by Gemini as of Sept 4, today. Google home in some form will still live somewhere but is enhanced be the Gemini AI thing. All the google applications have been flakey for about a month now, it seems to me monitoring the forum here. Weird reports of things not working that always worked, things like that. So something is happening and it has not yet settled. I’m betting API’s are changing and devs are adjusting to match, like always happens when Google drops something that works great to go to the next thing on the list.
I vaguely remember putting that in there years ago as a joke when someone asked my if I was an AI… I’m pretty sure I’m not but this could be a Matrix situation, can’t be certain…
I adjusted the profile a bit, see if that helps.
So, Vic, back to you. I would not make the change to Home Assistant Green just because you run into something.
Outside of NEST cameras & Apple TV, is your HAOS-as-VM setup working fine otherwise? I’m asking because, if the HAOS is working already, then as other mentioned, switching to Green would not necessarily make things easier or harder.
Now, what kind of issue or issues you specifically running into? Could you elaborate? Which Apple TV? Which Nest Cam model? What else? Everything in the same LAN?
If I were you, and to help you map out the steps, here are the things I would do:
I would first get the Apple TV working first, which should be straightforward: Go to Settings → Devices and services → click the blue “Add integration” button → type “Apple TV” → a popup would ask for the IP address of your Apple TV → Submit & Done!
Secondly, you would want to integrate your Nest camara (or any other camera) into your HA. I do not specifically know Nest, but in the end you should get to a camera.xxxx entity inside HA, where you open and would get the video stream.
(Not likely I know, but is this Nest Camera by any chance also a HomeKit camera?)
And then, once you get your apple TV and (Nest or non-Nest) camera working in HA, you would then want to expose this camera as a HomeKit camera, so that Apple TV would pick up. This part is a bit tedious but still straightforward. The folks here can help you when you get to that point.
As an example, here is my setup for step #3 in the configuration.yaml:
homekit:
- name: Frontdoor Cam
port: 21064
mode: accessory
filter:
include_entities:
- camera.frontdoor_cam_profile_1 # this is the camera.xxxx entity I talked about
entity_config:
camera.frontdoor_cam_profile_1:
name: "Frontdoor Cam"
linked_doorbell_sensor: event.doorbell_sensor_action # this is where I tie the camera to a doorbell button
support_audio: false
So my goal (which likely would be different from yours, but anyways) would be: whenever someone pushes the doorbell button the video stream would automatically pop up on my Apple TV, regardless of what I’m watching at the moment.
In my setup, the Apple TV, the camera, and the doorbell button are all coming from different vendors / different integrations. And with the help HA I could then tie them together.
