I don’t think there is a need for an introduction to Alexa in a modern household. Alexa has taken home entertainment to the next level, where everything hinges on your voice commands.
It is compatible with many devices, including wireless speakers and Yamaha receivers, to name a few. So, install the app on your phone and relax when Alexa will do most chores for you almost effortlessly.
Before we understand how to connect Alexa to Yamaha receiver, let us know a little about Yamaha receiver.
Further reading: What Is Alexa And What Does Alexa Do?
Know Your Yamaha Receiver
Yamaha presents an array of receivers, each with its own unique features. The audio-video receivers get input from various sources and amplify them to give the output an enhanced audio-video experience.
With a single receiver, the need for multiple devices to amplify signals can be eliminated. This has been the most significant advantage of receivers since the time they came to the market.
The receivers are known for their fantastic sound quality that gives nothing less than studio experience. People who opt for home entertainment as the new norm find these receivers very handy as they can handle several digital signals at once. Now the question is whether Alexa can be connected to this high-tech receiver. The answer is yes, and read on to find out how.
Connecting Alexa To Yamaha Receivers
It is now possible to integrate Alexa into the audio-video receivers as simple as Alexa commands. Try giving simple commands like switching on the Yamaha receiver, playing music, or increasing the volume. These will be taken care of by Alexa with ease irrespective of where the receiver sits. If you want more specific things to be done, then you have to connect to MusicCast.
MusicCast is a system built into Yamaha devices like AV receivers, wireless speakers, and soundbars. The benefit is that this is a multi-room system that can still be functional if the devices are in different rooms. Just connect the device to a Wi-Fi network, and you are good to pair it with Alexa.
You may also like: What Are The Best Alexa-compatible Devices?
The Skills You Will Require
Like all of us, Alexa comes with a plethora of skills that help improve its performance. You can compare these skills to apps that are installed on a mobile phone. Similar to installing or uninstalling apps on your phone, you can enable and disable these skills of Alexa. This requires a web browser or Alexa app. The more skills Alexa has, the more capabilities it possesses. Remember that this means this lady assistant can accomplish more works.
Each person who owns Alexa may call for a different skill set to cater to their unique personal requirements. You can keep on adding skills as much as you want. Since Alexa is cloud-based, there is no worrying about taking up space in your phone. The data is stored in the cloud, which gets invoked by your voice commands.
You may require two skills to work with MusicCast, and these can be downloaded from the Alexa Skills store. Or better, just say “Alexa, enable (the name of the skill)” and it is enabled. The two skills are named MusicCast Smart Home skill and the MusicCast skill.
MusicCast Smart Home skill is used with the regular Alexa commands that let you do tasks like switching on the Yamaha receiver, volume control etc. For more complex tasks, there is the MusicCast skill. With this skill, you can do specific tasks like accessing playlists, linking rooms, and so on. For example, to play a song in the bedroom, you can say, “Alexa, ask MusicCast to play (song name) in the Bedroom” or if you want to link rooms, say “Alexa, ask MusicCast to link the Bedroom to the Kitchen”.
Setup
To use Alexa with Yamaha receiver, you will need an Amazon Echo product, Yamaha receiver, Alexa app, and Yamaha MusicCast app. There is something called a Connect ID that is needed to use MusicCast skills with Alexa. Users have to make a new Connect ID account if they don’t already have one. Follow the steps to complete the setup.
- Open the MusicCast controller app and press the settings icon on the home page.
- Tap ‘Amazon Alexa setup’ and then ‘Start setup’. If you already have a Connect ID you can sign in by giving the necessary information. Else create a new Connect ID.
- Once you sign in, tap on the ‘Accept’ button.
- In the next window that opens, press ‘Start’ and then tap ‘Next’. You will be asked whether you want to open the Amazon Alexa app. Tap ‘Yes’ to open the app.
- On the upper left corner, there is a drop-down menu that has to be opened. Press ‘Skills’ and search for MusicCast. In the search results, you will see various skills listed. Select the skills you need to enable. Press ‘Enable’ and these skills, namely, MusicCast Smart Home skill and the MusicCast skill, will be enabled.
- Press ‘Continue’ and give the required information to sign in. Tap ‘Accept’ and you are done with the setup.
Before we end, a few more things need your attention. There are so many MusicCast Alexa commands available for you to explore. Get to know each of them so that you don’t miss out on what Alexa can do for you.
The MusicCast app comes with default names for rooms. Go through them and use the right name at the right time. Lastly, take time to set up MusicCast playlists and favorites so that a single command can let the favorite music flow.
Once the setup is done, then Alexa is all yours. Apart from its traditional tasks, it is now equipped with a number of additional functionalities that you can use to create a better home experience. Whether you like it or not, Alexa is at your service always. So better make full use of it.