Controlling the volume on an IR receiver with Twist?

[trdn89]

Hi all,

I recently received the Twist that I backed. I basically backed this for one reason: I want a dial that I can use to adjust the volume (and possibly change the input) on my IR-only Outlaw receiver, so I got a Hub LR to pair it with. Unfortunately I can’t use the hub with a generic IR blaster so I’ve got the official one on order.

While I wait for the IR dongle to show up, can anyone confirm whether I can assign learned IR commands to the Twist? Right now when I try to change the Twist functionality in the app, the only option available is Sonos, although I don’t know if that’s due to me not being able to set up the IR blaster and teach the Outlaw’s codes to the hub.

[editdave]

@trdn89 it’s insane that they haven’t figured out how to make twist send an IR signal for controlling volume.

[trdn89]

@Emil

I have to say, I’m having a little difficulty squaring “this isn’t compatible” with the way this device was sold. The Twist was marketed as being “wildly configurable” and has multiple instances of “change volume” all over the Kickstarter page. The FAQ also mentions that “all Flic products are compatible with each other” and that the Flic Hub LR (a product I had to spend extra to purchase as an add-on following the update you guys sent on 2/20/23) would allow control of “your legacy infrared devices.” If I’d known this wasn’t going to be the case, I would have canceled my pledge, gotten my money back, and started looking for another solution.

[Emil]

@trdn89 Sending IR signals for volume is a bit incompatible with what we designed Flic Twist. You move the Twist to a specific position, so the LEDs light up the "percentage" of whatever parameter you are controlling (brightness/volume etc.).

All IR receivers I know instead works by receiving "volume up"/"volume down" commands and there is usually no command "set volume to x%". Since there is no feedback from the TV (or whatever you are controlling), we don't know the current volume of the TV and can't update the LEDs accordingly, or know if we have sent the correct amount of "volume up" commands.

That said, if your TV actually has IR commands such as "set volume to 50%", then this is actually supported with Flic Twist if you use "Advanced dimming". Simply assign an IR action to each step, with an IR command where you have recorded the corresponding signal. When the twist is moved to the corresponding step, the action will be triggered.

[trdn89]

Update for anyone else who may be wondering about this - I submitted a customer support request and got this reply:

“ Unfortunately thee Twist does not connect, control, or adjust the volume via the IR accessory. Thus, it will not be possible to rotate the dial and adjust the volume. At the moment, the Twist can only adjust the volume of Sonos speakers. “

Gotta say I’m feeling pretty ripped off here. This isn’t a certification issue - the Hub LR can send the signals, but the Twist apparently isn’t able to send commands to the Hub. Flic shipped hardware that can’t talk to other Flic hardware, with no apparent roadmap to adding this incredibly basic functionality.