Expose amplifier as dimmable light

[ChrisBrandhorst]

This one is a bit off, but I'm very happy with how this works at my home.

This PR ensures that an amplifier is exposed as a dimmable lights, so you can turn it on and off and are able to set the volume.

I can understand if this is a bit too much to be mainstream, but maybe we can discuss other ways of achieving this level of control.

[robertklep]

It seems to me that using the HomeKit Speaker service would make more sense although, sadly, that service doesn't include an on/off characteristic.

I'm in the middle of a rewrite of the entire Homey-to-HomeKit mapping process, which should be much more flexible in terms of characteristics that can be assigned to a device.

The only issue is that the standard iOS Home app simply doesn't show custom characteristics, you need a more advanced app like Eve for that.

I'm reluctant to expose an amplifier as a dimmable light though, that just doesn't feel right :) But I will take it under consideration during my rewrite, because in the end, we want to support as much as possible.

[ChrisBrandhorst]

I agree with your reluctancy. I've also come across the Speaker service, but there is some discussion whether it can actually work or not, since it is somehow connected to video doorbells and / or Airplay 2:

• HomeKit iOS 11 Speaker support? homebridge/homebridge#1326
• iOS 11.4 Speaker Service? ebaauw/homebridge-zp#36
• HomeKit Speaker support in iOS 11 ebaauw/homebridge-zp#21
• Homekit Speaker maximkulkin/esp-homekit#62
• https://github.com/Supereg/homebridge-http-speaker

I've tried to implement it, but get the "Accessory not supported" message. I'll see if I can dive into this somewhat further.

Another idea, continuing on your rewrite: can we somehow enable users to write "plugins" / "extensions" for this app? That way they can create there one freaky links without it disrupting the mainstream app.

[robertklep]

I think it's better to show users how they can leverage virtual devices to control devices that might not be directly mappable to HomeKit.

For instance, you can create a virtual light with a "dim" capability, which will get exposed to HomeKit, and add flows on Homey to control the amplifier when that virtual light is being changed.

[ChrisBrandhorst]

Yeah, that sounds cool.