homebridge-philips-hue-sync-box

Homebridge plugin for the Philips Hue Sync Box.

The Sync Box can be exposed as a lightbulb. The following features are supported:

• On/Off
• Brightness

The Sync Box can be exposed as a switch. The following features are supported:

• On/Off

You can also enable additional TV accessories that support:

• Switching HDMI inputs
• Switching modes
• Switching intensity
• Switching entertainment areas

Each of the additional TV accessories supports the iOS remote widget:

• Up/down: change brightness
• Left/right: change intensity
• Select (center button): toggle modes
• Information button: toggle HDMI inputs
• Play/Pause: toggle on/off

Additionally, each TV accessory can have an integrated lightbulb with support for:

• On/Off
• Brightness

Important: TV accessories must be added to HomeKit manually, the logs show the pin for adding them (should be the same pin as for the plugin).

Installation

Install the plugin via npm:

npm install homebridge-philips-hue-sync-box -g

Prepare Sync Box

You have to create new credentials to communicate with the Philips Hue Sync Box:

• Make sure the Sync Box is on
• Make sure synchronization is stopped
• Make an HTTP POST request to https://<SYNC-BOX-IP>/api/v1/registrations
• The body of the request has to be JSON: { "appName": "homebridge", "appSecret": "MDAwMTExMDAwMTExMDAwMTExMDAwMTExMDAwMTExMDA=", "instanceName": "homebridge" }
• The first response to the request will be { "code": 16, "message": "Invalid State" }
• IMPORTANT: Now, click and hold the button of the Sync Box until the LED switches to green. Immediately release the button as soon as the LED is green! It will switch to white again.
• Immediately make the request again
• The response contains an accessToken string

Hints:

• One way to do this is to enter the following into the Terminal: curl -H "Content-Type: application/json" -X POST -d '{"appName": "homebridge", "appSecret":"MDAwMTExMDAwMTExMDAwMTExMDAwMTExMDAwMTExMDA=", "instanceName": "homebridge"}' https://<SYNC-BOX-IP>/api/v1/registrations, replacing <SYNC-BOX-IP> with the IP address of your Sync Box. If an issue occurs due to a certificate error, add the parameter -k to the cURL command.
• Another way may be to use tools like Postman. Set the request method to POST and enter https://<SYNC-BOX-IP>/api/v1/registrations as the request URL (replace <SYNC-BOX-IP> with the IP address of your Sync Box). Next, open the tab "Body", set the type to "raw" and select "JSON" as the content type in the dropdown. Then, enter { "appName": "homebridge", "appSecret": "MDAwMTExMDAwMTExMDAwMTExMDAwMTExMDAwMTExMDA=", "instanceName": "homebridge" } into the text box for the body. Click on the "Send" button at the top right to send the request. If an issue occurs due to a certificate error, you can disable certificate verification in Postman. Go to the global settings, open the tab "General" and disable the toggle switch for "SSL certificate verification".

Configuration

{
    "platforms": [
        {
            "platform": "PhilipsHueSyncBoxPlatform",
            "syncBoxIpAddress": "<SYNC-BOX-IP-ADDRESS>",
            "syncBoxApiAccessToken": "<ACCESS-TOKEN>",
            "defaultOnMode": "video",
            "defaultOffMode": "passthrough",
            "baseAccessory": "lightbulb",
            "tvAccessory": false,
            "tvAccessoryType": "tv",
            "tvAccessoryLightbulb": false,
            "modeTvAccessory": false,
            "modeTvAccessoryType": "tv",
            "modeTvAccessoryLightbulb": false,
            "intensityTvAccessory": false,
            "intensityTvAccessoryType": "tv",
            "intensityTvAccessoryLightbulb": false,
            "entertainmentTvAccessory": false,
            "entertainmentTvAccessoryType": "tv",
            "entertainmentTvAccessoryLightbulb": false,
            "isApiEnabled": false,
            "apiPort": 40220,
            "apiToken": "<YOUR-TOKEN>"
        }
    ]
}

syncBoxIpAddress: The IP address of your Philips Hue Sync Box.

syncBoxApiAccessToken: The access token that you get while registration.

defaultOnMode (optional): The mode that is used when switching the Sync Box on via HomeKit. Defaults to video. Possible values are video, music, game or lastSyncMode.

defaultOffMode (optional): The mode that is used when switching the Sync Box off via HomeKit. Defaults to passthrough. Possible values are powersave or passthrough.

baseAccessory (optional): Determines the type of the base accessory for the Sync Box. Defaults to lightbulb. Possible values are lightbulb, switch or none. If none is used, no base accessory is exposed.

tvAccessory (optional): Enables a TV Accessory for switching the inputs of the Sync Box. Defaults to false.

tvAccessoryType (optional): Type of icon that the Apple Home app should show. Possible values are tv, settopbox, tvstick or audioreceiver. Defaults to tv.

tvAccessoryLightbulb (optional): Enables an integrated lightbulb for the TV Accessory for switching the inputs. Defaults to false.

modeTvAccessory (optional): Enables a TV Accessory for switching the modes (video, music, game) of the Sync Box. Defaults to false.

modeTvAccessoryType (optional): Type of icon that the Apple Home app should show. Possible values are tv, settopbox, tvstick or audioreceiver. Defaults to tv.

modeTvAccessoryLightbulb (optional): Enables an integrated lightbulb for the TV Accessory for switching the modes. Defaults to false.

intensityTvAccessory (optional): Enables a TV Accessory for switching the intensity (subtle, moderate, high, intense) of the Sync Box. Defaults to false.

intensityTvAccessoryType (optional): Type of icon that the Apple Home app should show. Possible values are tv, settopbox, tvstick or audioreceiver. Defaults to tv.

intensityTvAccessoryLightbulb (optional): Enables an integrated lightbulb for the TV Accessory for switching the intensity. Defaults to false.

entertainmentTvAccessory (optional): Enables a TV Accessory for switching the entertainment area of the Sync Box. Defaults to false.

entertainmentTvAccessoryType (optional): Type of icon that the Apple Home app should show. Possible values are tv, settopbox, tvstick or audioreceiver. Defaults to tv.

entertainmentTvAccessoryLightbulb (optional): Enables an integrated lightbulb for the TV Accessory for switching the entertainment areas. Defaults to false.

isApiEnabled (optional): Enables an HTTP API for controlling the Sync Box. Defaults to false. See API for more information.

apiPort (optional): The port that the API (if enabled) runs on. Defaults to 40220, please change this setting of the port is already in use.

apiToken (optional): The token that has to be included in each request of the API. Is required if the API is enabled and has no default value.

API

This plugin also provides an HTTP API to control some features of the Sync Box. It has been created so that you can further automate the system with HomeKit shortcuts. Starting with iOS 13, you can use shortcuts for HomeKit automation. Those automations that are executed on the HomeKit coordinator (i.e. iPad, AppleTV or HomePod) also support HTTP requests, which means you can automate your Sync Box without annoying switches and buttons exposed in HomeKit.

If the API is enabled, it can be reached at the specified port on the host of this plugin.

http://<YOUR-HOST-IP-ADDRESS>:<apiPort>

The token has to be specified as value of the Authorization header on each request:

Authorization: <YOUR-TOKEN>

API - GET

Use the state endpoint to retrieve the state of the Sync Box. The HTTP method has to be GET:

http://<YOUR-HOST-IP-ADDRESS>:<apiPort>/state

The response is a JSON response, the following properties are included:

{
    groupId: '<group-number>',
    mode: 'passthrough|powersave|video|game|music',
    lastSyncMode: 'video|game|music',
    brightness: 0-100,
    hdmiSource: 'input1|input2|input3|input4',
    options: {
        video: {
            intensity: 'subtle|moderate|high|intense',
            backgroundLighting: true|false
        },
        game: {
            intensity: 'subtle|moderate|high|intense',
            backgroundLighting: true|false
        },
        music: {
            intensity: 'subtle|moderate|high|intense'
        }
    }
}

API - POST

Use the state endpoint to set state of the Sync Box. The HTTP method has to be POST:

http://<YOUR-HOST-IP-ADDRESS>:<apiPort>/state

The body of the request has to be JSON and can contain any/some/all of the following values:

{
    groupId: '<group-number>',
    mode: 'passthrough|powersave|video|game|music',
    brightness: 0-100,
    hdmiSource: 'input1|input2|input3|input4',
    options: {
        video: {
            intensity: 'subtle|moderate|high|intense',
            backgroundLighting: true|false
        },
        game: {
            intensity: 'subtle|moderate|high|intense',
            backgroundLighting: true|false
        },
        music: {
            intensity: 'subtle|moderate|high|intense'
        }
    }
}