Instead of trying to customize Plex for all the 500 different home automation systems coming out, I think the quick and easy would be to just integrate it with IFTTT, allowing us to create IFTTT apps to control our plex.
Simple stuff like play/cast X, play/cast X Season episode, play/cast X unwatched, pause, stop, next/skip and the like would probably do.
Absolutely. Alex, record Chicago Fire…
Yes please.
+1 Yes please. I an a whole heap of my mates are also very interested in getting plex to work with voice commands.
Considering Plex already supports webhooks, it wouldn’t be a far stretch to add this feature to IFTTT. (If This Then That) Most of us aren’t as ready as others to do the initial coding required to connect Plex to IFTTT through webhooks, but automation through IFTTT is easy. Please add this feature. It pulls the extra work out of integration and uses a tried and true platform. Furthermore, it adds extra odd features that only a few people want without any extra effort from the Plex team. What’s best is that adding Plex to IFTTT would only require an api integration of currently existing plex functions to IFTTT.
(In addition, for those who are able to create their own IFTTT app using their webhook integration, integration with other random web services becomes a powerful possibility, such as security systems, except that, once again, no additional work from the Plex team is required.)
Triggers, those currently featured in webhooks/notifications, with IFTTT would add extensive possibilities and features. Also, Actions, such as those offered on the Amazon Alexa platform, would create nearly endless possibilities.
Trigger example -
If Plex starts a show, a trigger is activated (just like a webhook), then the end user does the work to make that trigger do whatever they want, such as dimming lights or logging info on a spreadsheet. I.e. Plex starts movie, IFTTT talks to Phillips Hue server to dim the connected lights.
Action example -
Alexa connects to IFTTT already with the option to create custom commands to activate any number of connected IFTTT services. While the Plex Alexa Skill covers many of these possibilities, this would not only centralize control for end users, but it would give extensive customization without any additional work for the Plex team. I.e. IFTTT’s Alexa service recognized the Phrase “Get the movie started”, IFTTT triggers the Play function on Plex.
