# ifttt triggers



## moyekj

Just wondering if there is anyone here that knows details about how ifttt protocol works? Since TiVo has added ifttt triggers it may be interesting to try intercepting triggers, for example there's a SkipMode trigger which would be useful to intercept. I've browsed some of the obvious places:
Introduction to ifttt:
IFTTT
Protocol reference:
IFTTT

From Protocol reference looks like it's https interface with json data exchange. But authentication looks to be token based. Would be interesting perhaps to first discover what port(s) TiVo is using for this perhaps using a sniffer utility of some sort.
I only have non Hydra TiVos so don't even know if they are even ifttt enabled/capable or not. Certainly someone with Hydra would be.

A very basic query of an ifttt enabled TiVo that presumably should work would be:


Code:


{ip:port}/ifttt/v1/status


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## krkaufman

Note that there are at least two triggers so far ...

. AutoSkip and
. Content started playing

... the latter being active on either Hydra or Encore.

p.s. I'm wrong. They've added a couple more....


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## Lurker1

I am using both Content Begins Playing and Display Message on my Encore Roamio. Maybe you could use one or both of these to sniff for ports.


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## dhoward

I thought Tivo was going to implement Auto Skip in Encore. I have not seen any updates that has included this feature yet. Is there a time frame for adding the feature. I don't need Hydra and am sticking with Encore but it could be a decent feature if reliable.


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## reneg

dhoward said:


> I thought Tivo was going to implement Auto Skip in Encore. I have not seen any updates that has included this feature yet. Is there a time frame for adding the feature. I don't need Hydra and am sticking with Encore but it could be a decent feature if reliable.


From the IFTTT FAQ on FB: "AutoSkip Commercials: TiVo Experience 4 software has the ability to skip commercials automatically, no keypress required. This feature is expected to be available on older TiVo devices in the future." Experience 4 is Hydra.


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## Mikeguy

dhoward said:


> I thought Tivo was going to implement Auto Skip in Encore. I have not seen any updates that has included this feature yet. Is there a time frame for adding the feature. I don't need Hydra and am sticking with Encore but it could be a decent feature if reliable.





reneg said:


> From the IFTTT FAQ on FB: "AutoSkip Commercials: TiVo Experience 4 software has the ability to skip commercials automatically, no keypress required. *This feature is expected to be available on older TiVo devices in the future.*" Experience 4 is Hydra.


I think that @dhoward was referring to the bolded--it's been 3 or so months since that info. and, as far as I'm aware, no development there.


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## brimorga

I'm still on experience 3 and I'm perfectly happy, but I would love automated skip mode. Is it worth the upgrade to hydra just for automatic skip mode?


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## krkaufman

brimorga said:


> I'm still on experience 3 and I'm perfectly happy, but I would love automated skip mode. *Is it worth the upgrade to hydra just for automatic skip mode?*


In my opinion, no, both because of the arguably major change to the UI; because AutoSkip is supposed to come to Experience 3 (Encore, TE3, gen3), at some point; and because it sounds like AutoSkip still needs some work to be reliable.

You'd definitely want to make yourself more familiar with the basics of Hydra/TE4 before making the jump, and understand that reverting to TE3 requires a factory reset of the box, snuffing all recordings and settings.


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## Mikeguy

brimorga said:


> I'm still on experience 3 and I'm perfectly happy, but I would love automated skip mode. Is it worth the upgrade to hydra just for automatic skip mode?


If you haven't yet, you might want to try out manual skip using IFTTT, to see if you like how it functions.


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## krkaufman

Mikeguy said:


> If you haven't yet, you might want to try out *manual skip using IFTTT*, to see if you like how it functions.


You don't need IFTTT for "manual skip," right? It's just the 'D' or 'Channel Up' button. ??? (I assume I'm not grasping what you're suggesting.)


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## gonzotek

kmttg offers a form of automated skipmode. It has to pre-process the recordings that have skipmode tags to fully work. But once it has done the processing, it is very reliable and can be tuned to add or subtract a little bit of time at either end of the commercial breaks. I wouldn't refer to it as manual skip, but I know what mikeguy meant - it does require more effort to set up, but can be pretty simple to use in practice once it's running.


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## krkaufman

gonzotek said:


> I wouldn't refer to it as manual skip, but I know what mikeguy meant


Oh, maybe that was it... he meant to say "with KMTTG" rather than "with IFTTT."


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## krkaufman

gonzotek said:


> kmttg offers a form of automated skipmode.


Heh, I was wondering why it seemed like you were trying to educate me on KMTTG, since I'd posted a suggestion to look into it earlier. And then I spent a few minutes scanning the page up and down trying to find my previous comment ... and began to think I was gaslighting myself.

Same day, different thread, different site...


> OP: Is there a way to do the auto skip feature without having Hydra? Can you set up a small bot to probe looking for the skip message?
> Me: Yes, look into KMTTG.
> Me: See: New program for 1 step TTG downloads, decryption, encoding - kmttg


Phew; now back to regular crazy.


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## gonzotek

You know what, re-reading this too, I'm pretty sure I mis-read mikeguy's post, and he *was* talking about the ifttt skip action that can be triggered via whatever ifttt trigger...(e.g. an IFTTT Do Button from a phone, or an alexa or google home voice command). So...yeah...sorry about that.

"We're all mad here" - Lewis Carroll


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## Mikeguy

krkaufman said:


> You don't need IFTTT for "manual skip," right? It's just the 'D' or 'Channel Up' button. ??? (I assume I'm not grasping what you're suggesting.)


I was referring to using IFTTT and the skip voice command to skip the commercials--a good way to get a feel for the responsiveness--or not--of the system. I find it intriguing--am using it with Cortana on my PC/tablet--but the simple and easy use of the TiVo remote, always by my side when watching television, as king, avoiding delay and missed commands using IFTTT.

But IFTTT is a good way to locate the remote, without getting up. ​


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## krkaufman

Mikeguy said:


> I was referring to using IFTTT and the skip voice command to skip the commercials ...​


Ok, "voice control" rather than "manual," and not strictly an IFTTT function, since it requires some other voice control product.


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## Mikeguy

krkaufman said:


> Ok, "voice control" rather than "manual," and not strictly an IFTTT function, since it requires some other voice control product.


LOL, no, manual as in voice-controlled IFTTT skipping and as opposed to IFTTT autoskipping, and yes, an IFTTT function as it requires IFTTT. 

And getting back to the point, a way to check out IFTTT's functions to see if they might appeal, or not, before upgrading to Hydra with the goal of getting IFTTT autoskip.


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## Mikeguy

krkaufman said:


> IFTTT has no voice functionality on its own, and a suggestion that someone "try out manual skip using IFTTT" plainly fails to communicate both the voice factor as well as the other voice product dependencies.
> 
> It's clear... now.


Great. Since there are only 2 ways to skip thru IFTTT, and autoskip, one of them, isn't available on Gen3 TiVo boxes, I thought that manual skipping via voice command, the other form of skipping, would be understood, and so I didn't spell it out further. Glad that it's understood, now, and happy to help.

And once again, getting back to @brimorga's original post, it's a way to check out IFTTT's abilities before more drastically moving to Hydra for them. I've been finding that IFTTT is interesting but far from 100%--for example, I've had a skip command delayed for numerous minutes and then occurring in the middle of a show.


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## Dan203

I assume there are two parts to auto-skip. The part that sends the IFTTT trigger and tells the server that a skip point has been hit and the part that listens for a special "skip" IFTTT message and performs the skip. Are both bits of that missing from Gen3? Or just one? If Gen3 still sends the trigger but doesn't support the message then it should be simple to make a 3rd party app act as a proxy and listen for the trigger and just issue a D button press to the TiVo over the network. If Gen3 is missing the trigger then we're SOL until TiVo decides to add it.


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## krkaufman

I expect that the issue is that Gen3 is missing whatever database field is needed for generating the "skip segment detected" message that is sent up to the TiVo.IFTTT* servers, or storing the information on the destination of such messages.

*I can confirm that Gen3 boxes are able to respond to the associated action message sent from IFTTT*, which is just a "Send remote control key" action configured to send the 'D' button press (or 'Channel Up'). I just created an applet that triggers based on time of day, and then sends a 'D' button press; my Gen3 Mini, playing a SkipMode-enabled show, skipped to the next program segment very nearly at 3:45pm.

* I'm not clear, at present, on whether the messages are sent directly to IFTTT from each box, or if the messages are first sent to some TiVo server and then forwarded to IFTTT.


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## Dan203

Yeah I just ran a similar test. Gen3 is missing the skip mode trigger part. So no way around it. TiVo is likely holding this back as a way to entice people to upgrade. I doubt it's a huge technical challenge to add since they already have something that triggers that little "press D" message to display.


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## krkaufman

Dan203 said:


> If Gen3 still sends the trigger but doesn't support the message then it should be simple to make a 3rd party app act as a proxy and listen for the trigger and just issue a D button press to the TiVo over the network. If Gen3 is missing the trigger then we're SOL until TiVo decides to add it.


I believe we're currently SOL in regards to Gen3 boxes, but this would still be exceedingly worthwhile for someone to research, since this snooping of the "Skip segment detected" message by some LAN-based process, as suggested by @moyekj in the OP...


moyekj said:


> Since TiVo has added ifttt triggers it may be interesting to try intercepting triggers, for example there's a SkipMode trigger which would be useful to intercept.


... could allow for bypassing the IFTTT infrastructure to activate the skip on the box, eliminating the delays present with the all-IFTTT approach.

We'd still need an applet for each box to enable generation of the "Skip segment detected" messages, but the applet actions could be configured to take some other /dev/null-ish action, since the actual action would be taking place on the LAN outside of IFTTT.

edit: p.s. Heh, it'd be initially entertaining to configure the IFTTT applet action to be "Display Message," allowing the viewer to time the lag between the LAN-activated skip and when the IFTTT-generated skip command would have arrived.


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## krkaufman

Dan203 said:


> Yeah I just ran a similar test. Gen3 is missing the skip mode trigger part. ... TiVo is likely holding this back as a way to entice people to upgrade.


My vote would be TiVo is shell-shocked by the Hydra rollout and putting resources towards that effort, and are looking to avoid any other software updates that might increase the support workload until the Hydra workload abates.


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## moyekj

Going back to the original intent of the thread, it would be nice for someone that is versed on packet sniffing to setup some IFTTT action and then sniff the network while it happens to get an idea of how TiVo is communicating with IFTTT servers and if there is a chance of setting up a proxy or something that can intercept the messages. I suspect the communications are all SSL encrypted in which case we won't get much of anything out of it, but I don't know anything about IFTTT protocols to know for sure. Originally I was hoping that TiVo had built something based on Mind RPC for this, but I'm pretty sure now that's not the case.


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## kdmorse

moyekj said:


> Going back to the original intent of the thread, it would be nice for someone that is versed on packet sniffing to setup some IFTTT action and then sniff the network while it happens to get an idea of how TiVo is communicating with IFTTT servers and if there is a chance of setting up a proxy or something that can intercept the messages. I suspect the communications are all SSL encrypted in which case we won't get much of anything out of it, but I don't know anything about IFTTT protocols to know for sure. Originally I was hoping that TiVo had built something based on Mind RPC for this, but I'm pretty sure now that's not the case.


I have forgotten everything I've ever known about their Body/Mind/Face implementation (I never liked it, that didn't help), so I can't say if this is on the existing Mind connection or not.

But all my IFTTT interactions go directly between the unit, and 208.73.183.228 (mm-vip.tp1.tivo.com). They're just messages over an existing TCP connection to port 443, running what appears to be TLS 1.0. When the Played a Show event triggers, it just sends a message on the already existing TCP connection. When I trigger an event remotely (such as displaying text on the unit), it's just an incoming message on the same TCP connection. All interaction with IFTTT is probably on Tivo's end.


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## moyekj

OK thanks, so since it's TLS 1.0 nothing to be gleamed with packet sniffing as I feared.


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## krkaufman

moyekj said:


> OK thanks, so since it's TLS 1.0 nothing to be gleamed with packet sniffing as I feared.


Could TiVo just broadcast a message on the LAN, mirroring what was sent to IFTTT? I wouldn't think that would run afoul of the legal concerns.


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## HerronScott

Dan203 said:


> Yeah I just ran a similar test. Gen3 is missing the skip mode trigger part. So no way around it. TiVo is likely holding this back as a way to entice people to upgrade. I doubt it's a huge technical challenge to add since they already have something that triggers that little "press D" message to display.


Ted has indicated that they are going to roll this out to gen 3 eventually. 

Scott


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## Mikeguy

HerronScott said:


> Ted has indicated that they are going to roll this out to gen 3 eventually.


Yep, as he said 3 months ago.  But then, as has been postulated, they've been involved with the Hydra Spring update.


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## Dan203

They're apparently in the process of releasing a new Gen 3 version now that will work with Alexa. (there's a little "coming soon" app on the TiVo) Maybe this will include the IFTTT trigger too.

Although I played with it a bit on my Hydra unit and the lag is a bit annoying. I also had a couple times where I hit skip on the remote manually, out of habit, and then the IFTTT triggered and skipped again. So I'm not sure if I'd actually use it. I'm trigger happy with the remote and would likely do this a lot.


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## HerronScott

Dan203 said:


> They're apparently in the process of releasing a new Gen 3 version now that will work with Alexa. (there's a little "coming soon" app on the TiVo) Maybe this will include the IFTTT trigger too.


That's my guess when I saw Ted's post about RC42 also including the Alexa support.

Scott


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## nessie

gonzotek said:


> kmttg offers a form of automated skipmode. It has to pre-process the recordings that have skipmode tags to fully work. But once it has done the processing, it is very reliable and can be tuned to add or subtract a little bit of time at either end of the commercial breaks. I wouldn't refer to it as manual skip, but I know what mikeguy meant - it does require more effort to set up, but can be pretty simple to use in practice once it's running.


How do you access the add and subtract time thing in kmttg? I can't find it.


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## moyekj

nessie said:


> How do you access the add and subtract time thing in kmttg? I can't find it.


Config--AutoSkip


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## nessie

moyekj said:


> Config--AutoSkip


Where is Config-Autoskip?


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## moyekj

File--Configure...
"AutoSkip" tab
(Goes without saying you should be running recent/latest version of kmttg. Latest version is v2.4h)


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## nessie

moyekj said:


> File--Configure...
> "AutoSkip" tab
> (Goes without saying you should be running recent/latest version of kmttg. Latest version is v2.4h)


Thanks!
And just making sure, there is no way to have autoskip automatically work with just using the TiVo remote? Every time you want to run autoskip on a TV show, you have to go to a computer and play in autoskip mode from the kmttg GUI?


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## moyekj

nessie said:


> Thanks!
> And just making sure, there is no way to have autoskip automatically work with just using the TiVo remote? Every time you want to run autoskip on a TV show, you have to go to a computer and play in autoskip mode from the kmttg GUI?


No, not necessary. That's what AutoSkip service is for. See:

For AutoSkip without manually starting play from kmttg with "z" bindkey look at "AUTOSKIP SERVICE" section of Wiki page:
kmttg / Wiki / AutoSkip

To run AutoSkip from SkipMode:
kmttg / Wiki / AutoSkip_from_SkipMode

Specifically to setup a scheduled job to run AutoSkip from SkipMode on all your shows automatically at a time of your choice:
kmttg / Wiki / windows_task_scheduler


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## nessie

OK thanks. So I think what I'm looking for is to start autoskip service. The wiki says


You can start AutoSkip service using the following menu entry: *File -- AutoSkip Service*
*But I don't see "Autoskip Service" under the file menu. Where is it exactly?*


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## moyekj

Turn on "Enable AutoSkip functionality" under config--AutoSkip and then restart kmttg and you should see the File menu entries.


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## nessie

moyekj said:


> Turn on "Enable AutoSkip functionality" under config--AutoSkip and then restart kmttg and you should see the File menu entries.


Thanks moyekj. I appreciate that you always reply to my posts very quickly.


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## Dan203

I still wonder why TiVo is ok with adding this via IFTTT but not directly. The box obviously knows when it hits a skip point why not just do it on the box itself? This is all just legal showmanship at this point.


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## krkaufman

Dan203 said:


> This is all just legal showmanship at this point.


Any former ReplayTV customer would offer that it's more than show.


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## Dan203

krkaufman said:


> Any former ReplayTV customer would offer that it's more than show.


Doesn't Dish have autoskip of some kind?


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## longrider

Dish's autoskip does come on for some time after the broadcast. It originally was the next day but I think it got extended. This was due to the settlement of the lawsuits Dish faced from broadcasters after autohop was first introduced


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## longrider

It is actually more restricted than I thought:

*



How AutoHop Works

Click to expand...

*


> AutoHop works with PrimeTime Anytime, a related Hopper feature. With PrimeTime Anytime you can record up to three hours of primetime programming on each of the four major networks - ABC, CBS, NBC and FOX - and store it for up to eight days, to watch at your convenience. A 2-terabyte hard drive adds long-term storage capacity for storing up to 500 hours of HD programming or 2,000 hours of standard programming. You can access PrimeTime Anytime with your remote by clicking your remote's DVR button twice, or by pressing once and then pressing Select to scroll down.
> 
> Once you've recorded some content with PrimeTime Anytime, you can use AutoHop to skip commercials when viewing select recorded content. Due to contractual agreements with the major networks, you can skip commercials starting the day _after_ the live broadcast of recorded shows (some networks require you to wait longer), and only certain broadcasts are available for commercial-skipping on ABC, CBS, NBC and FOX.


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## Dan203

Did the Alexa update add the autoskip trigger to gen 3? Haven't had a chance to test it myself yet.


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## krkaufman

Dan203 said:


> Did the Alexa update add the autoskip trigger to gen 3? Haven't had a chance to test it myself yet.


Heh, even if I'm not using AutoSkip, I think I'll setup an applet to post a message to the screen to let me know if/when it starts working.


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## eelton

Resurrecting this old thread...

Am I correct that AutoSkip still doesn't work with TE3? I believe I have IFTTT set up correctly, since when I say "Alexa, trigger skip," my Echo says "OK, sending to IFTTT" and it works. But the history for AutoSkip says it has never run--i.e., TiVo has never sent the trigger.


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## HerronScott

eelton said:


> Am I correct that AutoSkip still doesn't work with TE3? I believe I have IFTTT set up correctly, since when I say "Alexa, trigger skip," my Echo says "OK, sending to IFTTT" and it works. But the history for AutoSkip says it has never run--i.e., TiVo has never sent the trigger.


I think we are still waiting some upgrade on TE3 to support this.

Scott


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## eelton

Thanks. I assumed that was the case, but wanted to make sure I wasn't missing something.


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## Dan203

It doesn't work that well anyway. The way it seems to work is the TiVo sends a signal to the TiVo servers when it hits a skip point. The TiVo servers send the command to ifttt. The ifttt servers send the skip command back to the TiVo servers. Which then passes it on to your TiVo.

From my experiece there are 3 issues...

1) The start of the skip point isn't always immediately after the show fades away, so there is a delay before the signal is sent.

2) All those steps take time so even when it does work it can take 10+ seconds to actually fire.

3) Sometimes the command from the TiVo servers to the TiVo gets lost. I've confirmed this by setting up an ifttt trigger that alerts my iPad app every time the event is fired. That part always seems to work. But the TiVo doesn’t always skip. I've seen similar behavior with an ifttt triger set to show caller ID on my TiVo when my Ooma phone rings. It seems to be about 50/50 it actually shows up. 

So don’t be too anxious to get auto skip. You'll likey be disappointed with how it works anyway.


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## Megamind

I actually find that Auto-Skip works quite well the majority of the time, with a very short gap (usually a couple of seconds at most), between the the chime and the actual skip. Yes, commands do sometimes get lost. However, this is often by design, as TiVo has said the system is programmed to ignore a skip when there is a unacceptably long delay in execution—which sometimes happens with anything IFTTT. This is intended to avoid the possibility of a double skip when the user intervenes because of a delay. When they first introduced auto-skip, they didn't have this and skips sometimes occurred minutes late, which was both annoying and confusing. 

Of course, if I'm actually sitting down and wholly engaged in a whatever I'm watching, I often anticipate the commercial breaks and hit SKIP before the chime ever sounds. For me, auto-skip is more useful for casual viewing when my attention is divided among multiple tasks.


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## beobuff

IFTTT Skip worked reliably for me for several months, but for the past week or so, I get only an occasional trigger and even that one doesn't produce a skip on my Tivo Roamio. Anyone else having this issue lately?


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## longrider

beobuff said:


> IFTTT Skip worked reliably for me for several months, but for the past week or so, I get only an occasional trigger and even that one doesn't produce a skip on my Tivo Roamio. Anyone else having this issue lately?


I have noticed a few more missed skips for the past few days but only maybe one or two per hour missed


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## samw5

Same here on my bolt... Funny part is that the skip can be triggered by my Google home and playback pause from my Ring Doorbell...

It almost appears that the IFTTT isn't picking up the start of the commercial command....
Not sure if related but I recall starting having issues around the time the new mobile app came out... Maybe some api changes? 

Sent from my SM-T710 using Tapatalk


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## krkaufman

longrider said:


> I have noticed a few more missed skips for the past few days but only maybe one or two per hour missed





samw5 said:


> Same here on my bolt... ... It almost appears that the IFTTT isn't picking up the start of the commercial command....


>See this post< for feedback from TiVo


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## beobuff

IFTTT Skip is once again operating reliably on my Roamio box. I would guess that Tivo pushed a software upgrade sometime last night. System Information shows software version 21.8.3.RC4-840-6-840.


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## Megamind

I've been on RC4 for over a week, and while things have definitely improved since the last update, I still see a significant number of missed triggers on regular basis. The on-screen notification is there, but IFTTT doesn't receive or process the skip. I've had only one show with no missed skips since receiving RC4, and overall I'd say the miss rate is about 20-25%.


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