--- layout: page title: "Universal" description: "Instructions on how to create a universal media player in Home Assistant." date: 2016-01-12 22:00 sidebar: true comments: false sharing: true footer: true logo: home-assistant.png ha_category: Media Player featured: false --- Universal Media Players combine multiple existing entities in Home Assistant into one media player entity. This is used for creating a single entity that controls an entire media center. Multiple media player entities can be controlled from an universal media player. Additionally, the universal media player allows volume and power commands to be re-routed to other entities in Home Assistant. This allows the power and volume to control external devices like a television or audio receiver. A Universal Media Player is created in `configuration.yaml` as follows. ```yaml # Example configuration.yaml entry media_player: - platform: universal name: MEDIA_PLAYER_NAME children: - media_player.CHILD_1_ID - media_player.CHILD_2_ID commands: turn_on: service: SERVICE data: SERVICE_DATA turn_off: service: SERVICE data: SERVICE_DATA volume_up: service: SERVICE data: SERVICE_DATA volume_down: service: SERVICE data: SERVICE_DATA volume_mute: service: SERVICE data: SERVICE_DATA attributes: is_volume_muted: ENTITY_ID|ATTRIBUTE state: ENTITY_ID|ATTRIBUTE ``` {% configuration %} name: description: The name to assign the player. required: true type: string children: description: Ordered list of child media players this entity will control. required: true type: list state_template: description: "A [template](/topics/templating/) can be specified to render the state of the media player. This way, the state could depend on entities different from media players, like switches or input booleans." required: false type: template commands: description: "Commands to be overwritten. Possible entries are `turn_on`, `turn_off`, `select_source`, `volume_set`, `volume_up`, `volume_down` and `volume_mute`." required: false type: string attributes: description: "Attributes that can be overwritten. Possible entries are `is_volume_muted`, `state`, `source`, `source_list` and `volume_level`. The values should be an entity ID and state attribute separated by a pipe character (|). If the entity ID's state should be used, then only the entity id should be provided." required: false type: string {% endconfiguration %} The Universal Media Player will primarily imitate one of its `children`. The Universal Media Player will control the first child on the list that is active (not idle/off). The Universal Media Player will also inherit its state from the first active child if a `state_template` is not provided. Entities in the `children:` list must be media players, but the state template can contain any entity. It is recommended that the command `turn_on`, the command `turn_off`, and the attribute `state` all be provided together. The `state` attribute indicates if the media player is on or off. If `state` indicates the media player is off, this status will take precedence over the states of the children. If all the children are idle/off and `state` is on, the Universal Media Player's state will be on. It is also recommended that the command `volume_up`, the command `volume_down`, the command `volume_mute`, and the attribute `is_volume_muted` all be provided together. The attribute `is_volume_muted` should return either True or the on state when the volume is muted. The `volume_mute` service should toggle the mute setting. When providing `select_source` as a command, it is recommended to also provide the attributes `source`, and `source_list`. The `source` attribute is the currently select source, while the `source_list` attribute is a list of all available sources. ## {% linkable_title Usage examples %} #### {% linkable_title Chromecast & Kodi control with switches %} In this example, a switch is available to control the power of the television. Switches are also available to turn the volume up, turn the volume down, and mute the audio. These could be command line switches or any other entity in Home Assistant. The `turn_on` and `turn_off` commands will be redirected to the television, and the volume commands will be redirected to an audio receiver. The `select_source` command will be passed directly to an A/V receiver. The children are a Chromecast and a Kodi player. If the Chromecast is playing, the Universal Media Player will reflect its status. If the Chromecast is idle and Kodi is playing, the universal media player will change to reflect its status. {% raw %} ```yaml media_player: platform: universal name: Test Universal children: - media_player.living_room_cast - media_player.living_room_kodi commands: turn_on: service: switch.turn_on data: entity_id: switch.living_room_tv turn_off: service: switch.turn_off data: entity_id: switch.living_room_tv volume_up: service: switch.turn_on data: entity_id: switch.living_room_volume_up volume_down: service: switch.turn_on data: entity_id: switch.living_room_volume_down volume_mute: service: switch.turn_on data: entity_id: switch.living_room_mute select_source: service: media_player.select_source data_template: entity_id: media_player.receiver source: '{{ source }}' volume_set: service: media_player.volume_set data_template: entity_id: media_player.receiver volume_level: '{{ volume_level }}' attributes: state: switch.living_room_tv is_volume_muted: switch.living_room_mute volume_level: media_player.receiver|volume_level source: media_player.receiver|source source_list: media_player.receiver|source_list ``` {% endraw %} #### {% linkable_title Kodi CEC-TV control %} In this example, a [Kodi Media Player](/components/media_player.kodi/) runs in a CEC capable device (OSMC/OpenElec running in a Raspberry Pi 24/7, for example), and, with the JSON-CEC Kodi addon installed, it can turn on and off the attached TV. We store the state of the attached TV in a hidden [input boolean](/components/input_boolean/), so we can differentiate the TV being on or off, while Kodi is always 'idle', and use the universal media player to render its state with a template. We can hide the Kodi Media Player too, and only show the universal one, which now can differentiate between the 'idle' and the 'off' state (being the second when it is idle and the TV is off). Because the input boolean used to store the TV state is only changing when using the Home Assistant `turn_on` and `turn_off` actions, and Kodi could be controlled by so many ways, we also define some automations to update this Input Boolean when needed. In an Apple HomeKit scene, we can now expose this universal media player as an on/off switch in Homebridge, and, that way, use Siri to turn on and off the TV. The complete configuration is: {% raw %} ```yaml homeassistant: customize: input_boolean.kodi_tv_state: hidden: true homebridge_hidden: true media_player.kodi: hidden: true homebridge_hidden: true media_player.kodi_tv: friendly_name: Kodi homebridge_name: Kodi homebridge_media_player_switch: on_off input_boolean: kodi_tv_state: media_player: - platform: universal name: Kodi TV state_template: > {% if is_state('media_player.kodi', 'idle') and is_state('input_boolean.kodi_tv_state', 'off') %} off {% else %} {{ states('media_player.kodi') }} {% endif %} children: - media_player.kodi commands: turn_on: service: media_player.turn_on data: entity_id: media_player.kodi turn_off: service: media_player.turn_off data: entity_id: media_player.kodi attributes: is_volume_muted: media_player.kodi|is_volume_muted volume_level: media_player.kodi|volume_level - platform: kodi name: Kodi host: 192.168.1.10 turn_on_action: - service: input_boolean.turn_on data: entity_id: input_boolean.kodi_tv_state - service: media_player.kodi_call_method data: entity_id: media_player.kodi method: Addons.ExecuteAddon addonid: script.json-cec params: command: activate turn_off_action: - service: input_boolean.turn_off data: entity_id: input_boolean.kodi_tv_state - service: media_player.media_stop data: entity_id: media_player.kodi - service: media_player.kodi_call_method data: entity_id: media_player.kodi method: Addons.ExecuteAddon addonid: script.json-cec params: command: standby automation: - alias: Turn on the TV when Kodi is activated trigger: platform: state entity_id: media_player.kodi_tv from: 'off' to: 'playing' action: - service: media_player.turn_on entity_id: media_player.kodi_tv - alias: Turn off the TV when Kodi is in idle > 15 min trigger: platform: state entity_id: media_player.kodi_tv to: 'idle' for: minutes: 15 action: - service: media_player.turn_off entity_id: media_player.kodi_tv ``` {% endraw %}