Homey Community Forum

How to use google home with my receiver for spotify playback?

Questions & Help
#1

Ok, so I’m experimenting a bit with a google nest mini together with homey.
What I basicly want to achieve is to play music to my chromecast that sits in the back of my denon receiver. Now this receiver, an AVR 2313 is not equipped with any build in google home support but Homey has an app that operates all of the functions.

The homey app I use does turn the device on and selects the right input for chromecast.
Now the Denon does appear in google home thru homey but it’s limited to function on and off. There is no selection possible to say this is an audio component, speaker etc.

So I have a flow in homey that powers the Denon, selects input and sets the volume.

The perfect outcome would be if I say ok google play my blues playlist from spotify (which is played to chromecast by default) that it also triggers that flow. But how?

Help is appreciated.

#2

Did not test it (yet)
But the google chromecast homey app provides several cards.
You should be able to detect when your chromecast becomes active
image

#3

Well that doesn’t do the trick for me (yet). It seems the difference is that the casting needs to be done by homey to detect that state. Iow it’s not detecting the chromecast status but more specific the status of homey.

#4

Strange, just made a flow to test it, works fine.
I used this card
image
When I say “hey google play mas mas mas on spotify”
Google confirms and starts the song.
And homey sends me a push message (that was in my Then card)

Coniguration:
Google nest mini
Homey on firmware v4.2.0
Chromecast app on v5.1.0

#5

Hmmm no results…

I have set the following in my then section;

Turn on denon
Set volume
Select source
create a notification

The flow isn’t triggered. When I test the card manually it works though…

Home 4.2.0
Google nest mini
Chromecast app 5.1.1.

#6

My app is on v5.1.0
I have a chromecast audio
Maybe the behaviour is not working properly on all chromecasts?
Which one do you have?

#7

Also the chromecast audio…

#8

Indeed not reliable. Forgot to remove the test flow.
Suddenly got a notification again. So itt has missed many

#9

Yes indeed not very reliable. I can’t pin down what the exact condition is that homey sees the chromecast alternation.

Either way I found a solid workaround. I made a flow which turns on my Denon and selects the right input. I trigger the flow through a virtual switch, which google home can see. In google home I made a condition that when I say p.e. bluesmusic it flips the virtual switch which triggers the flow and then my nest mini plays a blues playlist on spotify. Works very well.