By: Frank Engelman | Posted: May 27, 2022 | Updated: April 18, 2023
When you buy something we recommend, we may get an affiliate commission — but it never affects your price or what we pick. Learn more
The Problem to be Solved
Making Zoom Even Easier
Now that “Zooming” is a verb, knowing how to make video calls via Zoom is becoming an important life skill. The truth is Zoom is extremely easy to use, which is why it became so popular during COVID. But some people still have difficulties with some aspects.
Solution Details
Don’t you wish you could adjust their camera so they don’t move out of the field of view during Zoom calls? Well, you can.
The Problem
Grandpa is very happy that he no longer must he hold an iPad during a video call or sit at the kitchen table looking at a small 10” Echo Show screen. He really enjoys the big screen experience on his Amazon Fire TV with the camera the kids installed for him.
However, while the kids appear large on his Fire TV screen, he looks very small on their screens because his camera is 8 feet away from where he is sitting on the couch.
Caption- grandpa looks too small
The Solution
I got him a remotely controllable camera that can pan and tilt.
Although he has a remote control for his Pan-Tilt-Zoom (PTZ) camera, the controls are too complex for him
Caption- PTZ remote
Here is a Video Showing Remote Camera Control
Getting it Working
When the kids next visit grandpa, they train a YoLink Smart IR Remote (an IR Blaster) from the camera remote using their YoLink account and mount the Smart IR remote pointing at the camera on the TV.
This connects to the Internet over a YoLink Hub
Caption- Smart IR Remote (IR Blaster) pointed at the PTZ camera
The kids then map the Smart IR remote buttons to IFTTT buttons and add those buttons through a widget on their smartphone.
Since they can control the camera , they can always see grandpa up close even if he doesn’t always sit in the exact same location
Caption- Seeing grandpa up close
Setup Instructions
Training the YoLink Smart IR Remote
Caption- YoLink mobile app
- Install the YoLink mobile a kid’s smartphone
- Search IOS apple store/Google Play Store or use the link in the kit list
- Set up the YoLink Hub per the vendor’s instructions
- Add the YoLink Smart IR Remote per the vendor’s instructions
- Add the PTZ camera controls using the YoLink app
- Tap on the Smart IR Remote icon
- Tap “+”
- Tap “TV Set”
- Tap the “checkmark”
- Rename it to “Camera”
- Tap “Confirm”
Caption- Camera remote
Note: Don’t worry about the names of these controls as we will rename them later when adding the buttons in the IFTTT app
IR Remote IFTTT button
- OK -> zoom home
- Volume + -> zoom in
- Volume – -> zoom out
- Up/down/left/right -> zoom Up/down/left/right
- Channel ^ -> zoom 1 (preset 1)
- Channel v -> zoom 2 (preset 2)
- Tap each of these buttons to build a remote
Caption- learn
- Tap button
- Tap “Learn”
Caption- Training PTZ remote
- Point the PTZ remote at the Smart IR Remote and push the corresponding button
- When you have trained all the buttons, Tap the “checkmark”
Now it’s time to make these buttons available on the Internet through the IFTTT app
- Install the IFTTT app on the kid’s smartphone (search the IOS App Store or Google Play Store (or use the links in the kit list below)
Caption- IFTTT mobile app
- Open the IFTTT app
o Tap “Open”
o Tap “Continue”
Caption- IFTTT login
- Log into the IFTTT app
o Tap “Continue with Email”
o Login with the kids email
o You can use a different password than your email password
o Tap “Create”
Caption- IF action
- Tap “Add”
Caption- button widget
- Search for ‘button”
- Tap “Button widget”
- Tap “Button Press”
Caption- THEN action
- Tap “Add”
Caption- YoLink action
- Search for “yolink”
- Tap “YoLink”
Caption- IR remote
- Tap “Control IR Remote”
- Tap “Connect”
Caption- confirmed
- Tap “Confirmed”
- Tap “Login YoSmart”
- Login with the YoLink account and password you previously created
Caption- Continue
- Tap “Smart IR Remote”
- Tap the “Please select”
Caption- select action
This where you will choose one button at a time to assign
(Repeat the steps to add each button)
- Choose one and Tap “Continue”
- Tap “Continue” again
Caption- rename button
Note: This is where you get to rename the button to what it will appear in your smartphone widget
For example, “Camera -> NavigationOK” becomes “zoom home”
- Tap “Finish”
Caption- add button
NOTE: If you are on an Android phone you can add the Android widgets to your phone here, one at a time
Caption- add widget
o Tap “Add”
Caption- Android widget layout
- Complete by adding each of the icons to the home screen
o Rearrange the icons in a logical order
IOS users should follow the instructions below after training all the IFTTT buttons
- Add the IFTTT widget
o Setup for IOS
§ Click Home button or swipe up to get iPhone Home screen
§ Swipe to the leftmost screen
Caption- IOS edit
§ Tap “Edit”
Caption- IOS customize
§ Tap “Customize”
· You may have to scroll up to see this button”
Caption- IOS IFTTT
§ Tap the “+” icon to the left of the word “IFTTT”
§ Tap “Done”
You can now tap any of these buttons to remotely control your loved one’s camera
These are the same buttons you setup when configuring the IFTTT account at your loved one’s home.
Caption- IOS widget layout
Use the buttons “(“ and “)” to view all the choices
You can now tap any of these buttons to remotely control your loved one’s camera
These are the same buttons you setup when configuring the IFTTT account at your loved one’s home.
Tips & Tricks
- If you add, delete, or edit any buttons assigned to your loved one’s camera, you will need to log out and back in on the IFTTT app on your phone to get the update buttons.
o Logout by tapping your name in the upper right of the IFTTT app
Kit List*
*Disclosure: The research and opinions in this article are those of the author, and may or may not reflect the official views of Tech-enhanced Life.
If you use the links on this website when you buy products we write about, we may earn commissions from qualifying purchases as an Amazon Associate or other affiliate program participant. This does not affect the price you pay. We use the (modest) income to help fund our research.
In some cases, when we evaluate products and services, we ask the vendor to loan us the products we review (so we don’t need to buy them). Beyond the above, Tech-enhanced Life has no financial interest in any products or services discussed here, and this article is not sponsored by the vendor or any third party. See How we Fund our Work.
Author
