Dillan Stock's "Everything Remote" Is an Espressif ESP32-Powered Controller for Home Assistant
When your TV remote breaks, what is there to do but build something better — and capable of controlling a lot more than just the TV?
Self-described "amateur engineer" Dillan Stock had a perfectly good TV with a remote control that wasn't so good, having failed — and rather than pick up a replacement, he decided to build his own "Everything Remote" around an Espressif ESP32 microcontroller.
"Lately my Samsung TV remote's been giving up the ghost," Stock explains. "The supercapacitors that once seemed super-clever now leave me with a dead remote every other day. I thought about replacing the caps, or maybe modding in a battery — but where's the fun in that? Instead, I decided to just build a new remote from scratch, because I have a problem."
Rather than just replicate the functionality of the TV's factory remote, though, Stock decided to go a step further: taking inspiration from Logitech's discontinued Harmony range of multifunction universal remote controls, he set about designing an "Everything Remote" that could control not only the TV but other devices around the home too — including integrating into a Home Assistant-powered home automation setup.
"Step one was to figure out what features I wanted," Stock explains. "So I grabbed a couple of remotes and figured out which features I liked best. Most modern interfaces require a directional pad of some kind to navigate the UI [User Interface], so that was not optional. I'd also need a back button, a home button, and a settings button. I like having a specific mute button, so we'll include that one as well. There's also the obvious one to your media controls: play, pause, volume and channel up and down."
Designing the resulting remote around a shape that would feel good in the hand but leave enough room for a decent-sized battery, Stock designed a custom PCB carrier for a low-cost Espressif ESP32 development board. The case and buttons themselves were custom-designed and 3D-printed, and the remote connects over Wi-Fi to Home Assistant to translate button pushes into actions — completely configurable, through editing the device's YAML file, for custom operations on short- and long-press to extend its capabilities without overwhelming the user with twice the number of physical buttons.
"There are limitations," Stock admits of the design. "It doesn't have an IR [infrared] emitter, so it won't work with your old infrared components. But the nice thing about this is it's nowhere near as limited as the Logitech Harmony was. You can control a lot more than just your home theatre; it's entirely up to you what you're willing to put the time into."
The project is detailed in the video embedded above and on Stock's YouTube channel, with more information — including links to purchase a PCB, 3D print files, and the YAML configuration file — available on Stock's blog.