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RE: Amazon Echo/ Alexa - Cebolla - 29-01-2017 17:54

(29-01-2017 16:14)brantome Wrote:  surely the existence of the House Band skill, albeit being restricted to JMC, shows that Amazon is open to hosting skills such as that, further evidenced by the existence of 'third party' custom skills for smart home suppliers, which already rely on communicating using open web protocols to locally installed devices?
If JRiver are using an Amazon provided open Alexa SDK, then it should be possible for somebody to code a bridge between the Alexa voice control and a standard UPnP control point. I can think of one existing application that already provides similar help bridging normally incompatible streaming technonlogies (eg Google Cast & OpenHome) with standard UPnP/DLNA - the BubbleUPnP Server. Perhaps you could ask BubbleUPnP Server's developer, Bubbleguuum, if he could provide Alexa support for UPnP?

RE: Amazon Echo/ Alexa - brantome - 29-01-2017 18:28

Yeah, I might do that, thanks, although I'm happy with what House Band are doing with JMC. From what little I've gleaned about developing Alexa skills is that Amazon parses what's been said and compares that against template 'utterances' defined for that skill, with the matched utterance and variable bits then passed to the skill. It's it that point I guess the skill knows what to pass on - and in what format - to its server, whether that be JMC or a generic UPNP server...
(And the author isn't affiliated to JMC but I think is getting their full support in terms of advice etc)

RE: Amazon Echo/ Alexa - DavidHB - 29-01-2017 18:33

(29-01-2017 16:14)brantome Wrote:  From your opening paragraph, I now don't see why someone couldn't develop an Alexa secure generic UPNP skill.

Nor do I. It's just that having a device like Alexa access goods and services from third parties would seem to be a bit of a departure for Amazon. However, I suppose that is already possible on Kindle Fire tablets.

David

RE: Amazon Echo/ Alexa - Martin H - 29-01-2017 23:26

(29-01-2017 18:33)DavidHB Wrote:  
(29-01-2017 16:14)brantome Wrote:  From your opening paragraph, I now don't see why someone couldn't develop an Alexa secure generic UPNP skill.

Nor do I. It's just that having a device like Alexa access goods and services from third parties would seem to be a bit of a departure for Amazon. However, I suppose that is already possible on Kindle Fire tablets.

David

I am with Brantome on this and can't see that what he is suggesting crosses any of the barriers you suggest. Alexa's strategy appears (judging by CES) to encourage proliferation and connection into just about everything as they compete in the land grab with Google. But as ever it's difficult in a post to convey or fully understand each other Big Grin

For instance Alexa has announced connectivity into Crestron which in turn controls and connects to all sorts of Home automation across the house.

RE: Amazon Echo/ Alexa - brantome - 30-01-2017 00:17

Exactly. Needs to be discussed over a pint Smile

RE: Amazon Echo/ Alexa - Martin H - 30-01-2017 00:48

(30-01-2017 00:17)brantome Wrote:  Exactly. Needs to be discussed over a pint Smile

now you are talking Smile

RE: Amazon Echo/ Alexa - DavidHB - 30-01-2017 12:55

(30-01-2017 00:48)Martin H Wrote:  
(30-01-2017 00:17)brantome Wrote:  Exactly. Needs to be discussed over a pint Smile
now you are talking Smile

I live next door to a pub Smile. Unfortunately, it's on an island, and you will probably have to swim a long way to get to it Sad.

David

RE: Amazon Echo/ Alexa - Cebolla - 30-01-2017 14:35

(30-01-2017 00:48)Martin H Wrote:  
(30-01-2017 00:17)brantome Wrote:  Exactly. Needs to be discussed over a pint Smile

now you are talking Smile
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