|
Last week I opened Home Assistant in the kitchen for a very serious reason.
|
|
One light had been on longer than it should.
|
|
That is the kind of emergency that requires staring at a dashboard while holding a wooden spoon.
|
|
A little later, I had turned that same screen into a voice satellite.
|
|
Now the tablet has a microphone, a speaker, a wake word, and the confidence of somebody who pays rent.
|
|
I only wanted a kitchen dashboard.
|
|
Home Assistant apparently wanted a new roommate.
|
|
The new video is about the community Voice Satellite integration. It lets a browser, laptop, phone, or wall tablet become the room endpoint for Home Assistant Assist.
|
|
The normal browser route is great when a useful screen is already in the room. You get the dashboard, the transcript, timers, and the reply in one place.
|
|
But there is an asterisk. Actually, several.
|
|
The browser needs HTTPS, microphone permission, and an awake screen. It is not a magic screen-off voice device. And it does not make an old tablet microphone sound like purpose-built hardware.
|
|
That is where Home Assistant Voice Preview Edition fits better: a dedicated room voice device, purpose-built audio hardware, and a physical microphone mute switch.
|
|
So this is not a Browser vs Voice PE cage match.
|
|
It is a room-by-room choice:
|
- existing useful screen? Try the browser satellite.
- dedicated always-ready voice endpoint? Voice PE makes more sense.
- mixed house? Use both where they fit.
|
|
I show the browser demo path from HACS install to the first command, plus the honest limits and the Voice PE comparison here:
|
|
If you want to help the channel, watch it until the end.
|
|
If browser voice satellites are not your thing, skip it completely. I will survive. The kitchen tablet may not.
|
|
P.S. The kitchen tablet is now demanding rent. Meet the new roommate
|
|
|
|