SONOS & ROKU

  • 3 January 2018
  • 3 replies
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I read today on CNet that ROKU is initiating a license program to work with streaming audio equipment, which I assume could include SONOS.

We have a SONOS multiroom system to which we just added a SONOS One, which provides Alexa voice control capability.

We love the SONOS One and the voice control over our entire SONOS system its Alexa connection permits, but we're finding that its practical utility is limited the absence of a visual reminder of precisely what is accessible through our SONOS system so we can know how to ask for it, as we can so easily do when using the SONOS phone app with its visual display.

I believe controlling SONOS by voice would be GREATLY improved if accompanied by a visible reference screen. So this ROKU announcement makes me wonder whether SONOS can take advantage of a relationship with ROKU to facilitate an onscreen display to assist SONOS users more easily 'voice control" their SONOS systems by displaying onscreen the user's own SONOS system's available options that can be spoken to verbally instruct SONOS to play from a variety of music sources, including those already accessible through SONOS (including a user's own music collection), as well as from whatever other services may be accessible via ROKU, Alexa (Amazon), etc.

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3 replies

Userlevel 7
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I don't know what is displayed on an Echo Show as I don't have one but I assume that this device would be easier to do this.
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Not really. As far as I can see from using it Amazon/Alexa/Echo doesn't receive the media information from Sonos i.e. it can't display details of source audio that you have hosted on a home NAS or that is initiated through Sonos. You need to get into the Sonos API for that and it doesn't seem to be a priority for Amazon (or Sonos).
Userlevel 7
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In my kitchen I have a show. I can ask it to show me trending songs or top songs. it will give me a scrolling list of songs that are popular etc. depending on what I ask. Then I just tell it to play one of them to my Sonos speaker.

Hopefully soon enough Sonos will have some type of linking where the sonos speaker can be the default for my show - then I can actually just tap the song I want on the show's screen.

So example: I want a Bruno mars song but don't know which one. Of course as infered above voice control is limited because it doesn't give you choices just listens to specific commands.

With the show I can ask it to "Alexa show me songs by Bruno Mars". The Show then brings up a scrolling list of bruno mars songs I can then select from. This to me takes voice control to next level.