Home Assistant + Jellyfin
Home Assistant now offers a straightforward integration for Jellyfin, letting you add the open-source media server into automations and dashboards with minimal setup. (howtogeek.com) Meanwhile, Google Assistant’s latest update with Gemini for Home makes smart-home voice interactions crisper and improves alarms and timers — useful if you rely on voice for daily routines. (newsbytesapp.com)
The Home Assistant Jellyfin integration is tested with Jellyfin server version 10.6.4 and later and exposes only music, movie and TV show libraries as a media source. (home-assistant.io) Every Jellyfin client session is automatically created as a media_player entity in Home Assistant, and the integration also creates a Remote entity for sending remote commands to supported clients. (home-assistant.io) The integration requires the full Jellyfin server URL plus a Jellyfin username and password during setup, and offers options such as selecting supported audio codecs (aac, mp3, vorbis, wma) from the integration options. (home-assistant.io) Home Assistant’s core inclusion means adding Jellyfin is done through Settings > Devices & services → Add Integration, and users report the integration adds sensors for active clients and media-player entities usable in automations. (howtogeek.com) Practical automations shown in guides include triggering lights to dim when a specific Jellyfin-created media_player (for example an LG OLED TV entity) changes state to “playing,” and using media_player.browse_media and remote.send_command actions for in-dashboard browsing and client navigation. (howtogeek.com (home-assistant.io)) Community projects and custom integrations such as JellyHA and multiple GitHub repositories offer Lovelace cards, richer library browsing with poster art and ratings, and additional sensors for those who want a more visual dashboard or features beyond the core integration. (community.home-assistant.io) (github.com) Google’s Gemini for Home update reduced voice latency by about 40% for common commands, trimmed verbosity for alarms/timers and productivity responses, and added five specific alarm/timer improvements including world-event-based alarms, reporting original timer settings, multiple-command handling, recurring alarms, and improved snooze behavior. (9to5google.com) Gemini for Home was launched on October 1, 2025, and Google says the new assistant replaces Assistant on smart displays and speakers while some advanced features like Gemini Live and AI-powered notifications will require a Google Home Premium subscription. (blog.google) The March 2026 Gemini for Home update also expanded Early Access availability and language support (including Canadian French), and added new Home app automation starters and actions such as oven-running conditions and wake-light effects for smart bulbs. (9to5google.com)
