We received a Kaleidescape Starto E and tested today by integrating the API into our system. It was simple and straightforward. We are now able to pull the poster as thumbnail and displaying on the Haptique screen.
This integration will be released in the next update. We are moving forward covering the Roadmap we initially released. There are more such integrations to come. While we have shifted our focus slightly from general smart home products toward media centers , our goal is to cover the most commonly used devices first.
If there is a specific product you’d like to see added via IP integration , we would love to hear your suggestions!
What about Plex and Kodi? Kodi was on the initially released roadmap on Kickstarter and Indiegogo for September 2024.
Kaleidescape does offer there service only in the US, Canada and UK not the EU, because of license reasons. So for EU citizens other media centers solutions are more relevant and more widespread.
Also integration of the common PlayStation 4 / 5 ist still missing. This was on the initially released roadmap on Kickstarter and Indiegogo for November 2024.
What does this shift in focus mean in concrete terms? What does it mean specifically for the roadmap published on Kickstarter and Indiegogo and the smart home manufacturers that were promised support? Will the smart home manufacturers listed in the roadmap, such as Homematic IP (roadmap October 2024), Shelly (roadmap October 2024), and Aqara (roadmap November 2024), no longer receive timely support?
There is less or no demand as users use Home Assistant in the first place to control Smarthome devices which we do support. We modify our targets based on the demand. We are doing IP-Symcon because you suggested and we see its potential in Germany.
If we get more users or inquiries for other platforms/devices, surely we will make them priorities. There is TCP control support which we have to bring to Haptique where any user/dealer will be able to make drivers. This is more important for us to bring. Most of AV devices support TCP today and that will be very useful for the AV market.
A seamless switch between this interface and the Kaleidescape interface is essential, and it must be possible to use and assign the RS90’s buttons even when the Kaleidescape app is open. Without this functionality, the RS90’s added value is diminished, as users would first have to use the Kaleidescape app on their phone to select and start a movie before using the RS90. The purpose of a fully functional AV remote with a display is not to switch back and forth between a phone and the remote, but ideally to support the entire process from title selection to remote control.
This applies to all media players that will be supported in the future: either it must be possible to select and choose titles directly from the RS90’s user interface, or at the very least, it must be possible to display the manufacturer’s app on the screen while simultaneously using the RS90’s buttons for control.
Because the normal process for watching a movie or listening to music is to first select and start the movie or music, and then control playback using the same AV control device.
While control is possible with the RS90 integration—play, stop, etc.—the actual selection of the movie or music on the RS90 interface itself is not. Therefore, you absolutely need the manufacturer’s app to first select and start the desired title; only then can you control that title via the RS90’s remote control interface. This is why you currently need the corresponding app for a media center, or the manufacturer’s app for music streaming services like Spotify, to be able to select music or a film.
This interface is solely for basic remote control functions like play, pause, etc., and displaying the currently playing track. Selecting a specific track or movie is not possible using the RS90’s built-in interface; therefore, the Kaleidescape app must be used for this. The same applies to other applications: while I can perform play, stop, or forward on Spotify, selecting the desired track is still not possible. This, too, requires the Spotify app.
This is simply meant as feedback so that the RS90, and in the future the RS90x, can demonstrate its long-term value as a fully-fledged AV remote.
Accessing the manufacturer’s app is now possible with the introduction of the OPUS 1 interface, even on an RS90. What’s missing is the ability to use the manufacturer’s app with the integrated RS90 controls and the RS90’s buttons simultaneously.
