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Amazon Echo/Alexa Thread

B

brightsons

Member
Marty Chinn said:
If you don't mind the hit in audio quality that comes with using Bluetooth, you can get a Bluetooth adapter to plug into one of your audio inputs on you receiver, and only connect to it when you want to play music otherwise it'll be using the internal speaker. That's probably the cleanest and easiest way to utilize both.
Click to expand...

Hmm, I have a bluetooth adapter in my car and don't really notice a huge dip in audio quality. Thanks for the help, I'll probably end up going this route since its pretty easy and would be much cleaner.
 
A

aorange999

Member
Stormwatch said:
I just bought a Dot and set it up in my living room. So far it is a nice way to turn on my Hue lights and ask silly questions I have without grabbing my phone. I think I'll eventually get a Harmony Hub to activate my entertainment center.
Click to expand...

For me the utility of Alexa leaped into a new realm when I hooked up the harmony hub and the lighting scene stuff using Lutron Caseta. I have a few basic scenes like "Turn on Everything" which turns on all lights and the TV set to NY1 news channel, great for winter months in the morning and getting home from work. Another one is "dinner with a movie" which turns all off and dims the lamp next to the couch and turns on the Fire TV. Its one of the first of voice assistant tech things that truly feels like living in the future and useful and not gimmicky (and wifey approved!)
I'm thinking about getting the Echo Show which will also double as a lowkey nanny cam but I have recently purchased a Wand and another regular Echo so getting the pass for that might be more difficult.
 
A

AngmarsKing701

Member
msdstc said:
As I said before I work on this! The feature set is improving rapidly and will be continously expanding as well.
Click to expand...

I need a separate list function. I shop in multiple places: grocery store, Target, BJ's for bulk goods, etc.

I want to be able to say "Alexa, add cookies to my grocery list, Funko Pops to my Target list and toilet paper to my BJ's list" and have her handle that.

Instead I wind up having one huge list of things (all, by the way, I have to add individually because she's an idiot if you try to give her more than one thing at a time) in one "Shopping List."

Oh, that and she's dumb af. Every time we ask her something she says "I don't understand that" so I say "ok Google" and get the info from my phone with the same exact question.

Edit - seriously considering switching to Google Home if Alexa doesn't smarten up.
 
S

Somnid

Member
Notification functionality went live. Currently the only thing you can get notifications for is if your Amazon package is out for delivery but there are a few skills that had access to the beta that should be coming along.
 
K

Kyne

Member
So if I have Alexa in the living room, and an Echo Dot in my room, will my Echo Dot be able to command some smart plugs in my room? I'm not sure how it works in terms of Alexa > Dot > Plugs or if the Dot does its thing with the smart plugs independently.
 
M

Marty Chinn

Member
Kyne said:
So if I have Alexa in the living room, and an Echo Dot in my room, will my Echo Dot be able to command some smart plugs in my room? I'm not sure how it works in terms of Alexa > Dot > Plugs or if the Dot does its thing with the smart plugs independently.
Click to expand...

For controlling smart home devices, you can control it from any Alexa/Echo device. As long as one of them can hear you, it'll work.
 
H

HaakonHaakonsen

Neo Member
Kyne said:
So if I have Alexa in the living room, and an Echo Dot in my room, will my Echo Dot be able to command some smart plugs in my room? I'm not sure how it works in terms of Alexa > Dot > Plugs or if the Dot does its thing with the smart plugs independently.
Click to expand...

What do you mean Alexa in the living room?

Alexa is the voice assistant in all of the Echo products. Do you have an Echo in the living room too?

Either way, every Echo in your house will be able to control every compatible smart plug, regardless of the room that each is in.
 
H

HawksWinStanley

Member
Is the speaker on the new Echo Dot serviceable? I'm not expecting the quality of the regular Echo (which I think is pretty good as someone who isn't much of an audiophile) but does it sound like complete shit?

I wasn't that impressed with the speaker quality of the 1st gen but I heard the 2nd gen is much better.
 
M

Marty Chinn

Member
HawksWinStanley said:
Is the speaker on the new Echo Dot serviceable? I'm not expecting the quality of the regular Echo (which I think is pretty good as someone who isn't much of an audiophile) but does it sound like complete shit?

I wasn't that impressed with the speaker quality of the 1st gen but I heard the 2nd gen is much better.
Click to expand...

Eh? Sounds the same to me. I think the speaker is totally serviceable for podcasts in both the 1st gen and 2nd gen though.
 
prag16

prag16

Banned
Anybody been using the new 'intercom' functionality between Echoes/Dots within the same household? Does it work well? And they can all be using the same amazon account (differentiating it from the 'calling' feature to call people with different amazon account)?
 
The Faceless Master

The Faceless Master

Member
HawksWinStanley said:
Is the speaker on the new Echo Dot serviceable? I'm not expecting the quality of the regular Echo (which I think is pretty good as someone who isn't much of an audiophile) but does it sound like complete shit?

I wasn't that impressed with the speaker quality of the 1st gen but I heard the 2nd gen is much better.
Click to expand...

you don't want to play music on it.
 
DOWN

DOWN

Banned
I am desperately trying to reconcile how cool I think Echo products are and Amazon's leadership with how invested I am in the Apple Ecosystem and anticipation of HomePod. I have Apple Music and love it on my iPhone and iPad.

I someday want some speakers in my home theater and maybe one in the bedroom and to be able to walk into my house and say "play this song"

Should I try the Dot out? Or does it not really work with a heavy Apple Music user?
 
S

Somnid

Member
DOWN said:
I am desperately trying to reconcile how cool I think Echo products are and Amazon's leadership with how invested I am in the Apple Ecosystem and anticipation of HomePod. I have Apple Music and love it on my iPhone and iPad.

I someday want some speakers in my home theater and maybe one in the bedroom and to be able to walk into my house and say "play this song"

Should I try the Dot out? Or does it not really work with a heavy Apple Music user?
Click to expand...

I guess the nice thing about music subs is you can always switch without losing anything if you wanted to flirt. But as is you'd be playing Apple Music over bluetooth which isn't really utilizing it.
 
H

HaakonHaakonsen

Neo Member
prag16 said:
Anybody been using the new 'intercom' functionality between Echoes/Dots within the same household? Does it work well? And they can all be using the same amazon account (differentiating it from the 'calling' feature to call people with different amazon account)?
Click to expand...

It's fantastic, and I'm surprised more people aren't talking about it.

When I'm gaming in the basement, instead of getting out my phone or yelling through the house to my wife, I can just say "Alexa, drop in on living room echo" and be talking to my wife in a few seconds.

Another scenario, if I'm taking care of my twin babies with my hands full and my wife is out, I can say "Alexa, call [wife's name]", and even though her contact name is tied to all of the Echo's in the house, it's also tied to her Alexa app on her phone, so it will ring on her phone too. The reverse works as well, if I'm out, and I know my wife has her hands full, I can go to the Alexa app and call her, and she can answer the Echo in whatever room she is in. Or I can drop-in and talk to her without her needing to answer.

The calling and drop-in feature is super useful. Once Echo gets multi-room audio playback, it will be hands-down the greatest smart device out there.
 
R

RoninChaos

Member
HaakonHaakonsen said:
It's fantastic, and I'm surprised more people aren't talking about it.

When I'm gaming in the basement, instead of getting out my phone or yelling through the house to my wife, I can just say "Alexa, drop in on living room echo" and be talking to my wife in a few seconds.

Another scenario, if I'm taking care of my twin babies with my hands full and my wife is out, I can say "Alexa, call [wife's name]", and even though her contact name is tied to all of the Echo's in the house, it's also tied to her Alexa app on her phone, so it will ring on her phone too. The reverse works as well, if I'm out, and I know my wife has her hands full, I can go to the Alexa app and call her, and she can answer the Echo in whatever room she is in. Or I can drop-in and talk to her without her needing to answer.

The calling and drop-in feature is super useful. Once Echo gets multi-room audio playback, it will be hands-down the greatest smart device out there.
Click to expand...

Wait WHAT? It can do that? How do I get that to work?
 
H

HaakonHaakonsen

Neo Member
RoninChaos said:
Wait WHAT? It can do that? How do I get that to work?
Click to expand...

When they updated the Alexa app, there's now a messaging icon on the bottom toolbar. You should be able to set everything up from there.

I also forgot you can send text messages and voice messages as well. Super useful when I'm at work and my wife has a question but has her hands full.

For Drop In, you have to go to the settings for each Echo and enable Drop In, then in the messaging section you will see a Drop In prompt to use via your phone or just use your voice from another Echo.

If you have multiple people in your house, I recommend giving them each an Amazon account tied to your household. That way calling and messaging will be unique per person.
 
E

Etzer

Member
That "drop in" thing actually sounds pretty nice. I'm kinda regretting not picking up an extra Dot yesterday.
 
H

HaakonHaakonsen

Neo Member
pantsattack said:
What's the drop in thing?
Click to expand...

They debuted it with the Echo Show, and quietly pushed the functionality out for all Echos. Once it's enabled for the Echo, you can basically use it as an intercom function. You say, "Alexa, drop in on [name of the Echo]", and it will instantly connect so you can talk to whoever is nearby. You really only want to enable this feature for household members, otherwise anyone in your Alexa contacts can drop in at anytime without your permission.

Amazon's pitch was to check in on elderly family members, but it's really just a glorified intercom.
 
P

pantsattack

Member
HaakonHaakonsen said:
They debuted it with the Echo Show, and quietly pushed the functionality out for all Echos. Once it's enabled for the Echo, you can basically use it as an intercom function. You say, "Alexa, drop in on [name of the Echo]", and it will instantly connect so you can talk to whoever is nearby. You really only want to enable this feature for household members, otherwise anyone in your Alexa contacts can drop in at anytime without your permission.

Amazon's pitch was to check in on elderly family members, but it's really just a glorified intercom.
Click to expand...
Interesting. I hadn't heard of that ability.
 
S

Somnid

Member
Engadget is reporting on the possibily of a next generation Echo this Fall. Supposedly smaller, better audio and even better mics.

https://www.engadget.com/2017/07/12/amazon-echo-homepod/

The Verge says that Amazon is contemplating allowing developer access to direct audio. Part of it is that Amazon feels it could be disadvantaged because Google Home apparently does allow this. It's not clear what that would looks like either, whether an extra permission or something else.

https://www.theverge.com/2017/7/12/...echo-speaker-audio-recordings-developers-data
 
P

PhoncipleBone

Banned
T

The Abominable Snowman

Member
Got one of the cases on Prime Day that turns my Echo Dot into essentially a Echo Tap. Adds portable battery and bigger speakers, and looks way, way nicer.

I'll have to get a FireTV to take advantage of the ability to control but man, if it did Chromecast it would be amazing, as I have 2 TVs now that have Chromecast integrated.

Edit: I have an Amazon FireTV somewhere packed away actually. Ill search when I get home but Chromecast is preferred by far
 
G

GTI Guy

Member
The Abominable Snowman said:
Got one of the cases on Prime Day that turns my Echo Dot into essentially a Echo Tap. Adds portable battery and bigger speakers, and looks way, way nicer.

I'll have to get a FireTV to take advantage of the ability to control but man, if it did Chromecast it would be amazing, as I have 2 TVs now that have Chromecast integrated.
Click to expand...

Care to share a link to this said case?
 
M

mrklaw

MrArseFace
Somnid said:
Amazon just released "entertainment abilities", basically Harmony and other home theater integrations and smart TVs won't need skill words for most common tasks anymore (input switching, channel switching, volume control, power on, and playback control).

https://developer.amazon.com/blogs/...ice-controls-for-tvs-av-receivers-and-ir-hubs

Updated Harmony skill should be available now.
Click to expand...

2017 Sony TVs? Why not 2016 - they're all android TV based. Hopefully they'll come soon
 
F

fenners

Member
Somnid said:
Amazon just released "entertainment abilities", basically Harmony and other home theater integrations and smart TVs won't need skill words for most common tasks anymore (input switching, channel switching, volume control, power on, and playback control).

https://developer.amazon.com/blogs/...ice-controls-for-tvs-av-receivers-and-ir-hubs

Updated Harmony skill should be available now.
Click to expand...

Ok, that's cool. Harmony Hub time I suspect.

Saw this on the page too -

Build a Skill, Get an Echo Dot and New Alexa Swag
Developers have built more than 15,000 skills with the Alexa Skills Kit. Explore the stories behind some of these innovations, then start building your own skill. If you’re serious about getting into building voice UIs, we’d like to help you explore. If you publish a skill in July and apply for our promotion, we’ll send you an Echo Dot and some new Alexa swag so you can experiment and daydream.
Click to expand...
 
G

-griffy-

Banned
S

Somnid

Member
pantsattack said:
That caught my eye as well. Has anyone here built a skill? It is actually coding or something different?
Click to expand...

I've dabbled with it but haven't published anything. There's 2 main ways to make a skill, you either setup your own server that the Alexa voice service communicates with or you use AWS Lambda which handles most of the security setup for you (Amazon gives free credits to skills so unless it's super popular you don't have to pay for it). From there it's basically building a REST service, and modeling the UI interaction via a JSON intent schema. You can use any language to do this if you roll your own or any language lambda supports otherwise.

The actual prizes have been there for a while as encouragement. I think they do a new T-shirt design every month or so.
 
T

The Abominable Snowman

Member
GTI Guy said:
Care to share a link to this said case?
Click to expand...

Vaux case was on sale for $29.99 on Prime Day

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B071XSGFLJ/?tag=neogaf0e-20

I know reviews have said it wasn't sounding as good as the regular tall Echo, but it sure as hell sounds about as good as or better than my Bose Soundlink, which was close to 3x the price for the whole setup including the Dot itself. May be due to Bluetooth but this thing is awful with the Dot.
 
M

Marty Chinn

Member
Somnid said:
Amazon just released "entertainment abilities", basically Harmony and other home theater integrations and smart TVs won't need skill words for most common tasks anymore (input switching, channel switching, volume control, power on, and playback control).

https://developer.amazon.com/blogs/...ice-controls-for-tvs-av-receivers-and-ir-hubs

Updated Harmony skill should be available now.
Click to expand...

Hmm, reading through this, this seems potentially problematic for my family. I get what they're trying to do, but it worries me that if you turn on an activity, everything will now default to Harmony controls. Also, what happens if you have multiple Echos and now you say volume up on one of them? Will they all control the Harmony? I think this is going to be more confusing because of state assumption and the user isn't going to know what state it's in all the time or understand that it's not in the correct state.
 
M

midramble

Pizza, Bourbon, and Thanos
Looks like I'll finally be pulling the trigger on harmony then.

Been having a lot of fun with the IFTTT connections.

Any other skills/scripting setups like this that are more robust, or should I just move on to writing my own skills?

The Abominable Snowman said:
Vaux case was on sale for $29.99 on Prime Day

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B071XSGFLJ/?tag=neogaf0e-20

I know reviews have said it wasn't sounding as good as the regular tall Echo, but it sure as hell sounds about as good as or better than my Bose Soundlink, which was close to 3x the price for the whole setup including the Dot itself. May be due to Bluetooth but this thing is awful with the Dot.
Click to expand...

This almost makes me regret buying a tap. So far the only way I can still justify my purchase is the charging port and smaller size of the tap...
 
M

MeshuggahMan

Member
HaakonHaakonsen said:
When they updated the Alexa app, there's now a messaging icon on the bottom toolbar. You should be able to set everything up from there.

I also forgot you can send text messages and voice messages as well. Super useful when I'm at work and my wife has a question but has her hands full.

For Drop In, you have to go to the settings for each Echo and enable Drop In, then in the messaging section you will see a Drop In prompt to use via your phone or just use your voice from another Echo.

If you have multiple people in your house, I recommend giving them each an Amazon account tied to your household. That way calling and messaging will be unique per person.
Click to expand...

Hm.. So as far as I can tell to text/call someone they have to have the Alexa app installed as well? Bummer.. It would be a great feature to have it use my phone to do those things instead.
 
A

Aaron

Member
MeshuggahMan said:
Hm.. So as far as I can tell to text/call someone they have to have the Alexa app installed as well? Bummer.. It would be a great feature to have it use my phone to do those things instead.
Click to expand...
You can text through regular SMS using an AT&T skill. I don't know about calling.
 
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