xador123 / homebridge-webos-tv

Homebridge plugin for LG webOS TVs

homebridge-webos-tv

homebridge-webos-tv is a plugin for homebridge which allows you to control your LG webOS TV from your Home app! It should work with all TVs that support webOS2 and newer.
If you are already running a TV with native Homekit integration then you can still benefit from using this plugin with adding even more features and functionality to your TV.

Features

• HomeKit TV integration
• HomeKit automations
• Turn TV on/off
• Mute/Unmute
• Volume control (as light bulb, buttons or through iOS remote app)
• Change sound output
• Switch inputs
• Open apps
• Channel control
• Media control
• Show notifications
• Emulate remote control
• Run sequences of remote control button presses

Installation

If you are new to homebridge, please first read the homebridge documentation. If you are running on a Raspberry, you will find a tutorial in the homebridge wiki.

Install homebridge:

sudo npm install -g homebridge

Install homebridge-webos-tv:

sudo npm install -g homebridge-webos-tv

Configuration

Add the webostv platform in config.json in your home directory inside .homebridge.

Add your TV or multiply TVs in the devices or tvs array.

Example configuration:

{
  "platforms": [
    {
      "platform": "webostv",
      "devices": [
        {
          "name": "My webOS tv",
          "ip": "192.168.0.40",
          "mac": "ab:cd:ef:fe:dc:ba",
          "pollingInterval": 10,
          "inputs": [
            {
              "appId": "com.webos.app.livetv",
              "name": "Live TV"
            },
            {
              "appId": "com.webos.app.hdmi1",
              "name": "PS4"
            },
            {
              "appId": "youtube.leanback.v4",
              "name": "YouTube",
              "params": {
                "contentTarget": "https://www.youtube.com/tv?v=Bey4XXJAqS8"
              }
            }
          ],
          "showInputButtons": true,
          "volumeControl": "buttons",
          "channelControl": false,
          "mediaControl": false,
          "channelButtons": [
            3,
            5,
            7
          ],
          "notificationButtons": [
            "Motion detected - living room",
            "Motion detected - kitchen"
          ],
          "remoteControlButtons": [
            "HOME",
            "EXIT"
          ],
          "soundOutputButtons": [
            "tv_speaker",
            "external_optical",
            "headphone"
          ],
          "remoteSequenceButtons": [
            {
              "sequence": [
                "HOME",
                "RIGHT",
                "RIGHT",
                "RIGHT",
                "ENTER"
              ],
              "name": "screen_share_seq"
            },
            {
              "sequence": [
                "VOLUMEUP",
                "VOLUMEDOWN",
                "MUTE",
                "MUTE"
              ],
              "name": "volume_seq",
              "interval": 1000
            }
          ]
        }
      ]
    }
  ]
}

You also need to enable mobile TV on on your TV for the turn on feature to work correctly.

This is located on your TV under Settings > General > Mobile TV On

On newer TVs LG Connect Apps under the network settings needs to be enabled.

Adding the TV to the Home app

Since HomeKit expects only one TV per bridge they will be declared as external accessories and acts as a bridge.
This means that a TV will not appear in your Home app until you add it!

To add a TV to HomeKit follow this steps:

1. Open the Home app on your device.
2. Tap the Home tab, then tap .
3. Tap Add Accessory, and select I Don't Have a Code or Cannot Scan.
4. Select the tv accessory you want to pair.
5. Enter the Homebridge PIN, this can be found under the QR code in Homebridge UI or your Homebridge logs, alternatively you can select Use Camera and scan the QR code again.

For more info check the homebridge wiki Connecting Homebridge To HomeKit.

Configuration

Platform Configuration fields

• platform [required] Should always be "webostv".
• devices or tvs [required] A list of your TVs.

TV Configuration fields

• name [required] Name of your TV.
• ip [required] ip address of your TV.
• mac [required] Mac address of your TV.
• broadcastAdr [optional] If homebridge runs on a host with more than one network interface use this to specify the broadcast address.
• keyFile [optional] To prevent the TV from asking for permission when you reboot homebridge, specify a file path to store the permission token. If the file doesn't exist it'll be created. Don't specify a directory or you'll get an EISDIR error.
• prefsDir [optional] The directory where TV model info should be saved. Default: "~/.homebridge/.webosTv"
• pollingInterval [optional] The TV state background polling interval in seconds. Default: 5
• hideTvService [optional] Whether to hide the TV service. This is recommended if your TV supports native HomeKit integration, since the TV accessory already exists. Default: false
• inputs [optional] Inputs which should appear under the Inputs list on yor TV accessory. Default: "" (disabled)
  • Set an array of app IDs or objects as the value. An object needs to have the appId and name property
  • You can optionally specifiy the params property as key/value object to launch the applciation with the specified parameters
  • To get the app ID simply open an app on your TV and check the homebridge console. The app ID of the opened app will be printed.
  • Some of the default TV inputs which can be used:
    • com.webos.app.livetv
    • com.webos.app.hdmi1
    • com.webos.app.hdmi2
    • com.webos.app.hdmi3
    • com.webos.app.externalinput.component
    • com.webos.app.externalinput.av1
  • Inputs and apps can also be switched when the TV is off, in that case an attempt to power on the TV and switch to the chosen input will be made
• showInputButtons [optional] Whether to additionally show inputs as buttons. Useful for automations. Default: false
• volumeControl [optional] Whether the volume control service is enabled. Default: "both"
  • Available values:
    • "both" or true - slider and buttons
    • "none" or false - no volume control
    • "slider" - just slider
    • "buttons" - just buttons
  • The slider volume control is not supported for ARC sound outputs
• volumeLimit [optional] The max allowed volume which can be set using the volume service. Range 1-100. Default: 100
• channelControl [optional] Whether the channel control service is enabled. Default: true
• mediaControl [optional] Whether the media control service is enabled. Buttons: play, pause, stop, rewind, fast forward. Default: false
• channelButtons [optional] Whether the channel buttons service is enabled. This allows to create buttons for the channels of your choice. This way you can quickly switch between favorite channels. Default: "" (disabled)
  • Set an array of channel numbers as the value
  • You can also set an array of objects as the value. An object can have the following properties:
    • channelNumber - [required] the channel number,
    • channelId - [optional] the channel id,
    • channelName - [optional] the channel name,
  • Channels can also be opened when the TV is off, in that case an attempt to power on the TV and afterwards open the chosen channel will be made.
  • Some webos TVs require the channelId in order to be able to switch channels, in that case this property needs to be specified. To get the channelId simply change a channel on your TV and check the homebridge console. The channelId of the current channel will be printed.
• notificationButtons [optional] Whether the notification buttons service is enabled. This allows to create buttons which when pressed display the specified text on the TV screen. Useful for HomeKit automations or to display text on TV for viewers. Default: "" (disabled)
  • Set an array of notification texts as the value
  • You can also set an array of objects as the value. An object can have the following properties:
    • message - [required] the message to display in the notification,
    • name - [optional] the notification name,
• remoteControlButtons [optional] Whether the remote control buttons service is enabled. This allows to emulate remote control buttons. Default: "" (disabled)
  • Set an array of commands as the value. Possible values are:
    • 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 0, LIST, AD, DASH
    • MUTE, VOLUMEUP, VOLUMEDOWN, CHANNELUP, CHANNELDOWN, HOME, MENU
    • UP, DOWN, LEFT, RIGHT, CLICK, BACK, EXIT, PROGRAM, ENTER, INFO
    • RED, GREEN, YELLOW, BLUE, LIVE_ZOOM, CC, PLAY, PAUSE, REWIND, FASTFORWARD
  • Most probably there are also other values possible which I didn't find yet (like settings or voice command), you can try typing some other values and if you find some that work then please let me know
• remoteSequenceButtons [optional] Whether the remote sequence buttons service is enabled. This allows to run a sequence of remote control button presses. Default: "" (disabled)
  • Set an array of objects as the value. An object can have the following properties:
    • sequence - [required] an array of remote control keys. For possible values see remoteControlButtons above,
    • name - [optional] the sequence name,
    • interval - [optional] the interval between sequence actions. Can be a single value or an array of values. Default is 500ms
• soundOutputButtons [optional] Whether the sound output buttons service is enabled. This allows to switch between sound outputs on the TV. Default: "" (disabled)
  • Set an array of sound outputs as the value. Example values are:
    • tv_speaker - internal tv speaker,
    • external_optical - optical audio,
    • external_arc - hdmi arc,
    • lineout - line out,
    • headphone - headphones,
    • tv_external_speaker - tv speaker and optical,
    • tv_speaker_headphone - tv speaker and headphones
    • bt_soundbar - bluetooth soundbar and bluetooth devices
  • Depending on the TV and connected devices to the TV there might also be other values. In that case just switch sound outputs on the TV and check the homebridge log.
• infoButtonAction [optional] The action (button press emulation) for the info button press on the remote control in iOS control center. For possible values see the remoteControlButtons property above. Default: "INFO"

Troubleshooting

If you have any issues with the plugin or TV services then you can run homebridge in debug mode, which will provide some additional information. This might be useful for debugging issues.

Homebridge debug mode:

homebridge -D

Special thanks

lgtv2 - the Node.js remote control module for LG WebOS smart TVs.

HAP-NodeJS & homebridge - for making this possible.