Hi everyone, I’ve been experimenting with setting up some smart home automation and I’m really enjoying the possibilities it offers! I recently managed to get my lights to dim automatically when I start watching Netflix or YouTube on my Nvidia Shield TV. It’s such a nice touch—it creates the perfect movie-watching atmosphere without me having to lift a finger!
However, I’m trying to take it a step further. I’d love to have this automation work exclusively for Netflix, YouTube, and maybe even Plex. The basics are working, but I’m hitting a wall when it comes to detecting which app is currently running. I’ve tried a few things, like checking the state of the media player entity, but it doesn’t seem to differentiate between apps. I’ve seen some clever solutions online, like using custom scripts or integrations, but I’d prefer to stick with the default tools if possible.
I came across a really cool approach someone else used, where they monitored the app activity directly. It looked promising, but I’m not entirely sure how to implement it without diving too deep into custom coding. I’m curious if anyone else has tackled this problem and if there’s a more straightforward way to achieve it using Home Assistant’s built-in features.
If anyone has tips or advice, I’d be super grateful! I’m really excited about the potential here and would love to share my progress once I figure it out. Let’s make our homes smarter together! 