Build Your Own Alexa-Controlled TV Remote to Enjoy Voice Commands

With Black Friday in full swing today, Cyber Monday a few days away, and the gift-giving holiday season just around the corner, there is a good chance that you’re going to end up with an Alexa-enabled device like the Amazon Echo. Ignoring privacy concerns, these personal home assistant devices offer a lot of convenience by allowing you to control a variety of IoT (Internet of Things) devices via voice commands. Plenty of IoT and smart products on the market can be controlled by Alexa right out of the box. But, if you have a TV without that capability, this Instructables tutorial from Felix (AKA idIoT3D) will show you how you can build an Alexa-controlled TV remote that you can operate with voice commands.

It would be very difficult — maybe even impossible — to hack a TV with some sort of wireless microcontroller capable of controlling the TV’s functions. Fortunately, that isn’t necessary. Even today, most TVs have infrared remote controls for powering on and off, adjusting volume, switching input sources, and so on. By mimicking the IR signals sent by the remote control, just like you would do with a universal remote, you can control your TV programmatically using just about any device you want. In this case, you will use a WiFi development board connected to the Amazon Alexa service to output the appropriate IR signals when you give your Amazon Echo, or any other Alexa device, the corresponding voice command.

The board used in this tutorial is an ESP-01S ESP8266 module. An IR LED, which transmits the remote codes to your TV, is connected to that board. You will have to use the specific codes required for your TV, which you might have to reverse-engineer if they aren’t published online. The ESP8266 runs Tasmota firmware and communicates with the Alexa service through software called ioBroker that runs on a separate computer. You’ll need a Raspberry Pi or a similar single-board computer for that if you don’t have an always-on computer already setup in your home. After configuration, you can simply say something like “Alexa, turn TV volume up.” The Alexa command will be sent to ioBroker, which will then tell the ESP8266 to send the corresponding IR signal to your TV. The hardware for this project can be housed in a 3D-printed enclosure that you can place on your entertainment center facing your TV’s IR receiver.