SLWF-08 HDMI-CEC controller / development board for ESPHome and Home Assistant

Description

The SMLIGHT SLWF-08 is a hardware controller / development board that allows you to control (listen to the states of and send commands to) HDMI-CEC compatible device. This control can be achieved through Home Assistant or other smart home systems using ESPHome firmware.

• ATTENTION 1: WE CANNOT GUARANTEE 100% COMPATIBILITY WITH YOUR HDMI DEVICE. YOUR DEVICE SHOULD BE COMPATIBLE WITH HDMI-CEC. ALTHOUGH MODERN MODELS SUPPORT THAT, WE CANNOT GUARANTEE AND USER NEEDS TO VERIFY SUPPORT ON HIS OWN;

• ATTENTION 2: THIS IS A DEVELOPMENT BOARD AND PRE-FLASHED WITH SAMPLE FIRMWARE. DEVICE NEED TO BE FLASHED BY YOUR WITH ESPHOME FIRMWARE. SO YOU NEED TO HAVE EXPERIENCE WITH ESPHOME FIRMWARE COMPILATIONAND FLASHING!!! (MANUALS AND LINKS ARE BELOW).

  PLEASE BE AWARE OF THESE TWO ATTENTIONS WHILE PLACING YOUR ORDER.

Before you get started, check if your media device supports the HDMI-CEC protocol.

What the SLWF-08 with ESPHome firmware can do:

• Send HDMI-CEC commands to compatible devices (e.g., turn on/off, adjust volume, mute/unmute, toggle state, select active input, etc.).

• Receive HDMI-CEC info from your HDMI-CEC devices.

• Perform a variety of other CEC commands.

Basic Configuration:

• For detailed information on ESPHome HDMI-CEC integration, please refer to: (1) https://github.com/Palakis/esphome-native-hdmi-cec or (2) https://github.com/johnboiles/esphome-hdmi-cec

• ESPHome HDMI-CEC Component Settings:

  – CEC pin: GPIO14

  – By default, firmware with basic settings is flashed based on this YAML: https://github.com/smlight-tech/slwf-08

To utilize most control commands, we recommend customizing the ESPHome YAML and rebuilding the firmware to fit your specific device needs.

Updating the Device:

1. OTA (Over-the-Air):

   Please use the standard ESPHome functionality.

2. Flashing over USB:

   • Press the FLH button to put the device in bootable mode.

   • Connect the USB cable to the Type-C port of the SLWF-08 and your PC.

   • Flash the device with any flashing tool, such as the ESPHome web flasher: https://web.esphome.io/

   • Note: You need to have the USB drivers installed for the CH9102 USB/UART controller. Download them here: https://learn.adafruit.com/how-to-install-drivers-for-wch-usb-to-serial-chips-ch9102f-ch9102/windows-driver-installation

Bonus Feature: WS2812B Control in ESPHome

In addition to the CEC pin, the device provides a level shifter and control pin for addressable LED strips (e.g., WS2812B). You can connect an LED strip to this pin and use it as ambient backlighting behind your screen/TV. To integrate WS2812B LED control, please use this component: https://esphome.io/components/light/neopixelbus

Example ESPHome configuration entry:

YAML

light:

– platform: neopixelbus

type: GRB

variant: WS2812X

pin: GPIO12

num_leds: 60

name: "TV backlight"

TASMOTA CEC COMPATIBILITY:

HDMI-CEC:

The SLWF-08 also supports the Tasmota HDMI-CEC component. You can find a description of Tasmota HDMI-CEC here: https://tasmota.github.io/docs/HDMI_CEC/.

Settings for Tasmota HDMI-CEC:

• GPIO14: HDMI CEC

• You do not need I2C SDA and SCL settings since those are used when connecting the controller between two devices (e.g., TV and media player). I2C facilitates communication in this scenario. When connected directly to HDMI, I2C is not used.

WS2812B Control in Tasmota

Users can also integrate WS2812B control using this component: https://tasmota.github.io/docs/WS2812B-and-WS2813/#tasmota-main. GPIO12 is exposed for WS2812B control with a level shifter, allowing you to use it as a WS2812B LED pin in Tasmota firmware.