Hi,
by any chance, is anybody controlling their fairly recent LG tv via IP commands with a Pronto?
By "fairly recent" I mean that it's not possible anymore to talk to this thing without the crypto-layer that was introduced a while back (to my knowledge - I just got my first LG tv a few weeks back).

I have a document describing the protocol. Unfortunately it requires to do the calculations for SHA256, PBKDF2 ("Password-based key derivation function 2") and AES128 on the pronto.
There seem to be JavaScript implementations for all of those, but I fear that the overhead is just too much for the Pronto to be feasible.

Sebastian

You guessed it. Too much overhead. Once HTTPs took over, I had to find other options as implementating HTTPS and SSL on the Pronto was performance-prohibitive.

My recommendation is to implement this in Node.js (or Python if you must) where all the libraries you would likely need are available. Host this as a service on a Raspberry Pi.

As part of your software, implement a front end (either HTTP, WebSockets, or raw socket) that accepts commands from the Pronto and sends them to the LG.

I am currently running multiple things this way. In fact, my OpenWeatherMap (HTTP REST -> HTTPS REST) proxy runs beautifully as does my Denon/Marantz(TCP->TCP) and Bryston DAC (TCP->HTTP) proxies.

I could have done the Denon/Marantz on the Pronto but I wanted to be able to use 'Macro' commands such as _MVSS which, behind the scenes issues:

MV?
MU?
MS?
SI?

to my Marantz Preamp. The pronto sends 1 request and then simply processes 4 events.

Fortunately the LG still does IR, although the IP command set seems more extensive.
But I can live with IR and there's a Python library available on GitHub that implements the IP protocol (called "bscpylgtv") and which I use for the couple of commands not available through IR.
I'm currently invoking this through simple CGI scripts - but I'll check out the Node.js approach as you suggested.
Seems less overhead and I always wanted to to do something with that.

Doing this on the Pronto would have been interesting, but ok, I guess those days are over when it comes to crypto stuff.

Sebastian

I got a LG OLED C1 TV a few years ago, and decided to try controlling it via RS-232 commands. I have my Pronto TS-9400 set to communicate via wi-fi to a cheap router which feeds ethernet to a RFX-9600 which feeds RS-232 to the TV. Works just fine. If you want more details, let me know.

Thanks - unfortunately I don't have an RFX-9600 (or plan to get one).
IR is working fine so far, so I'll stick to that.
I was just curious if the cryptographic functions required for IP communication would be available on the Pronto and if the performance would be acceptable.

Sebastian

If you had a raspberry pi with a UART and RS232 port hat, I bet we could find some software that would allow you to send commands via RS232 directly from the Pronto. ;-)

Hey Sebastian,

Controlling recent LG TVs with Pronto via IP commands can be tricky due to the added encryption. It's true that the SHA256, PBKDF2, and AES128 calculations might be too demanding for the Pronto's processing power.

Here are some alternatives to consider:

Use a different control method: Explore options like HDMI-CEC control (if your TV supports it) or a different universal remote with built-in encryption support.
Implement the calculations on a separate device: You could offload the encryption calculations to a Raspberry Pi or similar device running Node.js with JavaScript libraries for the needed functions. This device would then communicate with the Pronto and your TV.
Wait for a Pronto firmware update: While unlikely, there's a chance future Pronto firmware updates might address this issue. Keep an eye out for software updates.
Unfortunately, directly implementing the encryption on the Pronto itself seems impractical due to its processing limitations.

Remember, even with alternative solutions, controlling recent LG TVs via IP might still require some technical expertise. Best of luck!

Really? I would not hold my breath.

The Pronto Pro line has been discontinued for almost 14 years.

That sounded like a GenAI bot's answer ;)
Anyway, I'll stick to IR and won't put any more effort into it.
Sure, I could throw a RasPi into the mix to emulate the RFX9600 but that would only make the solution more complex.
I'm using IR for the "usual" controls (obviously, by design, the TV is not hidden away in a cupboard, so IR is fine) and for the bunch of commands that aren't available through IR, I trigger a script on my home lab server which is running 24/7 anyway.
The last few weeks this has been working fine - as the TV is basically only a monitor and I don't need any of the smart features, I don't need to touch the TV controls a lot.

Sebastian

Since I cut the cable and put an ATV4K in place of all the stuff, I find myself in the same situation. The only thing I require is my RFX9600 emulator which accepts 1-way relay actions and serves as a power-sense for the TV.

Basically, all my input ports on my emulator reflect the state of the corresponding relay On/Off. I also use a software serial port in loopback mode to allow me to do progress bars and send messages to a listening page during system startup.

I could have done the same thing with relays/inputs on my real RFX9600 but I determined there's no use in activating a hardware relay for this purpose as it only wears the contacts and the coils.