Control Philips Living Colors using PC

Question

is there a way (hardware/software-combination) that I can use to control one or more "Philips Living Colors" lamps using a PC - e.g. a USB-stick that acts as the "remote". This way i could control the lamp through software (e.g. a web-app - over iPhone / remotely) or even create what Philips builds into some of their TVs and calls "ambilight" (graphics driver detecting the main color to control the lamp).

I guess this is more like a hardware than a software question - but I couldn't find anything about this online and I'm sure not to be the first to have come up with this idea right when I unpacked my LivingColors lamp yesterday ;)

Temperature

Regardless of whether this can be categorised as a software or hardware question, this isn't a programming question, so it doesn't belong on this site. – Sclar

I dunno...it's quite an interesting topic. – Culminant

I agree - this is an interesting topic. But please be more specific about the software part of the question: Does the lamp have a USB port? If so, then your question should be along the lines of, "is there an API for Philips Living Colors?" – Eindhoven

K - i know it isn't (yet) about programming ;) but i would like to create software for the lamp simulating an "ambilight" feature. About the lamp: it is what philips calls a "mood lamp" and can produce 16 million different colors. It comes with a remote (radio! not infrared) to control color, brightness and white-balance for up to 6 lamps simultaneously. In order to control the lamp(s) from a PC I assume one needs some piece of hardware (like a usb-stick "remote") sending the signals like the remote and 2ndly an API to code the ambilight feature on top of. Anybody know about the req. HW/API? – Temperature

You should also mention that this lamp is driven by 2.4 GHz, so it is very likely to be controlable by an router. I have one too and I'm very interested in your solution to fake ambilight for home cinema! – Jacobjacoba

Answer 1

There are two version of the LivingColors lamp, the Gen1 lamp can be controlled with a small kit, as far as i know the Gen2 can not be controlled with 3rd party products.

There is an Arduino shield that can control the Gen1 lamps, the article describing this is in Dutch. In short : the shield, and by extension the lamp, can be controlled by serial-over-USB. Google translate may help :

The hardware : http://www.knutsel.org/2010/04/11/assembling-the-cc2500-arduino-shield/

The link to the software is at the end of the post. (I can only post one link.)

There is a schema and software, enough information to build your own controller for Gen1 lamps.

Some remarks:

1. I am the a author of these posts.
2. The shields are sold as a kit in the Netherlands and Belgium (hence the dutch blog post).
3. The Gen2 uses IEEE802.15.4 (it says so in the manual) and is said to use encrypted Zigbee. Zigbee and encrypted Zigbee use IEEE802.15.4.
4. I should probably make a better translation of the posts.

[ 11 April 2010 edit : made translations of the blogposts in English and changed the links here ]

Curvy

Answer 2

LivingColors uses an implementation of 802.15.4, the ‘ZigBee’ mesh-network wireless protocol designed for consumer appliances.

The second-gen LivingColors lamps can be persuaded to talk to the Philips Hue wireless bridge and integrate with a Hue setup. Much anecdotal information about how this is done can be had here:

http://www.everyhue.com/?page_id=38#/discussion/7/hue-and-living-colors

... for your purposes, integrating with Hue is your best bet, as the bridge exposes (as of yet, unofficially) a comprehensive RESTful JSON API, which is easily scripted — one of the better resources on using this API can be found here:

http://rsmck.co.uk/hue

I personally have had a good deal of fun doing what you are trying to do, with the Hue bridge and LivingColors lamps. Good luck!

Iveson

Answer 3

I would too be interested by controlling my Living Colors from a computer, through a 2.4Ghz USB transmitter (mainly just for fun ;)

I have two Living Colors, a "Generation 1" and a "Generation 2", and the bad news is that the remote hardware and (maybe) the protocol have been totally modified by Philips in the process (probably to add the "fading effects" of the second generation). So it's even more complicated now, such a transmitter would have to deal with the 2 protocols.

Another link about what's inside the official controller (in addition to the Elektor article given above) :

• Gen 1 : http://www.knutsel.org/2009/01/01/livingcolors-1st-generation/
• Gen 2 : http://www.knutsel.org/2009/12/01/philips-redesigns-livingcolors-breaks-compatibility/
• Elektor (reverse engeneering of the procotol : http://www.ideetron.nl/Livcol/UK2008110661.pdf

Saltire

Answer 4

I checked the Philips website where you can download the user documentation. The following trouble-shooting tip provides a clue:

LivingColors doesn’t respond quickly to the remote control.
- The communication between the remote control and the
  LivingColors can be affected by heavy traffic on a wireless data
  network, for example a wireless router.You should move Living-
  Colors away from the wireless access point and switch your
  wireless router to channels 8-11 for minimum interference.

So the controller uses wireless communication. It is clearly quite a sophisticated communication link, one controller can control up to 6 lights.

Unless it is a full WiFi link getting a computer to control the light would necessitate some heavy hardware hacking. Should it be a WiFi link it would be possible to write a driver.

If anyone has one these could they do a WiFi scan to see if the light and controller show up?

Trochaic

It is important to note that even if it shares the same frequency range as wifi channels 8-11, that does not mean that the system is using wifi itself, it can use any other protocol in what is a 'free to use' frequency range. – Malvoisie

@Trochaic it's using 802.15.4, the “ZigBee” protocol — not WiFi. WiFi and ZigBee cöexist peacefully: everyhue.com/?page_id=90 – Iveson