Powering On/Off HTPC with Google Now

[oxicottin]

Hello, I am powering On/OFF my Win 7 HTPC using Google now, Smart Plug, Stringify along with my harmony hub and TV. How it works is my PCs BIOS under APM/Restore AC Power Loss is set to "Power Loss" and when I say OK google... it tells Stringify to turn on my smart plug which powers on my PC then from Stringify it powers on harmony hub and tells it to turn on my TV and set it to HDMI 1.

All is good.... now shutting down works as well but it worries me because if my PC decides it wants to hang and update longer than 1:30 thats when my smart plug is timed to shut off and it would be a hard shut down.

Here is how it shuts down. When I say OK Google.... it tells Stringify to create file on dropbox which my PC is looking for because I set it up in the scheduler HERE. Then while PC is shutting down the Harmony hub shuts down the TV and next is a timer that runs and waits 1:30 so it gives the PC enough time for the PC to shut down on its own before Stringify does its last step of turning off the smart hub and if it shut down before it was done then it would have hard shut down.

is there another way to do this?

UPDATE:

I might have fond a solution after reading THIS article on FLIRC USB (2nd Generation) Universal Remote Control Receiver for Media Centers and Set Top Boxes. I purchased the new version one and am going to try wake on lan.

 

[oxicottin]

Yes the Flirc V2 and Harmony Hub along with an app called Stringify to call the Harmony Hub works great! The Flirc is a USB IR and on its software you put on the PC that you set up the the harmony remote to Wake/sleep your PC use the Media Keys keyboard.... In my Google Now app I set up some short cuts to call the stringify flow like "Turn on TV" which the google assistant will do "Ask Sringify Turn On TV"... Anyway hope this helps someone...