New user needs help setting up VoxCommando for the first time

[Toughspot]

Good morning all,

I've installed Kodi and iTunes but can't get voxcommand to carry out my simple requests, such as:

1. browse movies
2. play <Artist>
3. Go home

Any help would be appreciated.  Log file attached.

[jitterjames]

Based on your log you are using VoxCommando with a more or less blank configuration.

VoxCommando does not "auto-magically" work with any and all programs and services without configuration.  You need to create or import commands and configure some things in order for it to work.

I strongly recommend that you familiarize yourself with the program a little bit and this page in the wiki is a good place to start:
http://voxcommando.com/mediawiki/index.php?title=How_to_use_VoxCommando

When you first installed VoxCommando you were asked to select a configuration.  At this point you could have chosen from about 15 different English configurations which included some for Kodi and iTunes.

Here is the main page covering installation in general: http://voxcommando.com/mediawiki/index.php?title=Installation

From that page you'll be able to find specific pages like these:

Kodi: http://voxcommando.com/mediawiki/index.php?title=Installation_Kodi
iTunes: http://voxcommando.com/mediawiki/index.php?title=Installation_iTunes

You best bet is to start over with a clean install and select a Kodi configuration (follow ALL the instructions linked to above), then enable the TCP plugin and import the XML commands for the Echo.

You can combine multiple configurations or create your own commands of course but since you are a new user and since Kodi allows you to play music, I suggest you forget about iTunes until you are a bit more familiar with VoxCommando.  In any case, here is a guide to combining multiple configurations:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q24I9kn4Mgc

[Toughspot]

Thank you much.... I see you could tell I am a newbie to VC

[Toughspot]

Does the XML command for the Echo need to be attached to every command in each group?

[nime5ter]

No. You just need to place that command in an always enabled command group, such as the core VoxCommands command group.

And the TCP plugin's simple web server needs to be enabled for this command to work.

Here's what is happening:

When you use the Amazon Echo as a microphone, you are using a workaround rather than the standard method of issuing voice commands in VC.

Typically, in VoxCommando we use Microsoft's speech recognition engine to interpret audio directly from a microphone input.

When you use the Echo, you are instead using Amazon's speech recognition, and then you're sending your voice command as a text string to VoxCommando via an http get request.

Two Echo to VC solutions have been shared on the forum. If you're still using the first one, then the http request you're sending to Vox is generating an event called "EchoToVC", which includes two payload values. The first payload is the command, as text.

The command XML in question is triggered by that EchoToVC event.

When this command is triggered, it uses a built-in VC action that emulates the act of giving a voice command.

That action is VC.TellVox.

If you double-click on that command in the command tree you can see that line.

In other words, every time you tell Alexa to send a command to VoxCommando, Amazon is sending a text string, and then VoxCommando tries to match that string against a voice command in your command tree.

The problem with this method is that if Amazon's interpreted text is spelled differently than what VoxCommando is expecting, the command will not execute in VC.

This is not an issue when we use a normal microphone input with VC.

[Toughspot]

Aaaahhhhhh

Thank much

By the way, I'm asking because only one or two of the commands are being carried out such as

Alexa tell Jarvis to open Kodi

[nime5ter]

We'd have to see your log again to understand why the majority of commands are not being executed, but the main possibilities are:

1) You have not yet properly configured Kodi and VoxCommando per the installation instructions, or

2) Alexa is spelling the commands differently from how the commands are actually written.

Honestly, it would be much better to first set up, test, and learn to use VoxCommando with a proper microphone input.

After that point one can add Alexa to the equation. Trying to do everything at once--as a new user especially--is introducing a lot of variables simultaneously.

[Toughspot]

Okay...  I'll give that a shot.

One last question if a perform a search in Amazon using the following command:

"https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords={1}"

What command can I use to ask VC to go to next page when there are multiple pages of the results

I found out that none of my XJson commands are working.  Not even in VOX using the "save and execute commands"  Where can I look to rectify this problem please?

[nime5ter]

Okay...  I'll give that a shot.

One last question if a perform a search in Amazon using the following command:

"https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords={1}"

What command can I use to ask VC to go to next page when there are multiple pages of the results

It depends what you mean. What you've shared is not a command, it's just a URL. How are you issuing the command?

I found out that none of my XJson commands are working.  Not even in VOX using the "save and execute commands"  Where can I look to rectify this problem please?

This suggests that part of the general problem you're having is that not all the steps have been followed in configuring Kodi to communicate with VC, and configuring VoxCommando to work with Kodi, as per the instructions at the link James provided above: http://voxcommando.com/mediawiki/index.php?title=Installation_Kodi

Problem solving in VC almost always involves enabling the history window in VoxCommando to see what VC is doing when you try to execute commands. Orange lines in the history window are errors. Rolling over those lines usually provides more information about the error.

Even with "save and execute", if a command takes some kind of payload value, you'll need to provide the appropriate payload for the command to work. All xJson commands require that the xJson plugin is enabled and configured correctly.

... There are many possible culprits.

[Toughspot]

Thanks bud....

Most appreciated

[Toughspot]

If you guys help me solve this problem I promise never to bother you again.

For some reason whenever VC and Kodi are on the same port (8080) VC locks up and says this program must be closed.... WTH??

Furthermore, no matter what I do I can't get JSON TEST CONNECTION to pass....  I'm sure everything is correct

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[jitterjames]

You are using port 8080 for Kodi's web server?

Please send us an image of your settings for each of the following plugins in VoxCommando:

- xJson

- TCP

You say that VC freezes and throws an error but when exactly does that happen?  Is it when you click a particular button etc.?  Please try to walk us through the sequence of events of what you are doing and what happens as a result.

[Toughspot]

As long as Kodi and VC has the same ports (8080) or any other port for that matter, when I click "saving setting" in TCP everything freezes then the error comes up and VC closes.

I tried fresh install of both VC and Kodi but issue still persists.  I even restored my PC to an earlier time and I still have the problem.

[jitterjames]

It is difficult to read those images because they are very small.

You did not post an image of the TCP plugin but it sounds like you are trying to use the same port in the TCP plugin as the port that you are using in Kodi which you cannot do.  Only one program on a machine can receive connections on a particular port at the same time.  If Kodi already has the port open then VoxCommando will not be able to open it.

You need to set the port in the xJson plugin to match the port in Kodi.  This is because xJson is sending commands to Kodi on that port.  But the port you use in TCP must be different from the one used by Kodi and must not  be a port that is in use by any other program on your system.

The port you use in the Alexa skill must match the port that you use in the TCP plugin.

FYI I am going to sleep now so if you still need help I will respond in the morning.

[Toughspot]

Thanks bud. I'll see how it goes.