UK alexa can't switch to soundbar or launch netflux

[Bobbyp659]

Hi guys. Hoping someone can help me

I've got an echo and harmony hub but I'm having difficulty getting the TV to switch to the optical and therefore play the sound through my soundbar. I've set up the activity to turn on the soundbar which works but can't figure out how to get the TV to switch to the optical even though I have selected this in the activity.

Also is it possible to actually launch netflix  as when I try it just takes me to the smart tv homepage

Thanks in advance

[thealiendad]

Hi guys. Hoping someone can help me

I've got an echo and harmony hub but I'm having difficulty getting the TV to switch to the optical and therefore play the sound through my soundbar. I've set up the activity to turn on the soundbar which works but can't figure out how to get the TV to switch to the optical even though I have selected this in the activity.

Also is it possible to actually launch netflix  as when I try it just takes me to the smart tv homepage

Thanks in advance

it all depends on functions available on your sound bar & TV, for example, my TV only has a source function so will only rotate around the inputs TV-HDMI1-HDMI2- HDMI3 then around to TV again, but on the harmony list of commons was one for HDMI input so I was able to select the right input as part of the activity.
And for Netflix to be an activity you would need to be able to access Netflix as a direct function on your TV.

[Maff]

Hi guys. Hoping someone can help me

I've got an echo and harmony hub but I'm having difficulty getting the TV to switch to the optical and therefore play the sound through my soundbar. I've set up the activity to turn on the soundbar which works but can't figure out how to get the TV to switch to the optical even though I have selected this in the activity.

Also is it possible to actually launch netflix  as when I try it just takes me to the smart tv homepage

Thanks in advance

It can be done. First you need to work out the buttons on your TV remote you would normally do this with. Then, check that all of tbose buttons are present in the Harmony app under your tv's section. Don't worry if the button that selects is not there, you can teach the Harmony hub any button command it might lack manually.

Then you can write the button presses into the startup sequence for the start tv activity. This way it can reproduce all required button presses in sequence, with little pauses in between if needed to make the Tv do what you want it to do.

It's a little learning curve, but make sure you read your instructions or online info. You'll get there and if you get stuck feel free to ask me & I can write more instructions.

Netflix I am not sure about.. Depends on how you get there on your system. It would be possible to create a different activity called Netflix & put an extra sequence of buttons presses to get you to Netflix, so you could map the activity to one of your remote control buttons so would only require one button press or Alexa command.

[Bobbyp659]

Thanks guys I really appreciate you taking the time to reply. I'm going to give them another try so will let you know.

Thanks m