An Alexa routine can give you the movie theater experience at home
Miss going out to the movies?
I definitely miss going to the movies — the sense of anticipation when the previews finally end, the lights go down and the movie starts up.
Which is why I’m pretty excited about my latest Alexa routine, which makes a regular movie night at home feel (almost!) like a real movie night out.
When I say “Alexa, movie night,” she announces “Movie night is starting in 2 minutes!” across my Echos and then a couple minutes later, she dims the lights and turns on my TV and sound-bar.
It’s so simple, but it really does add a little pizzazz to movie night 🙂
Want a movie night routine but don’t have smart lights yet?
Add a couple of easy-to-set-up bluetooth smart lights to your smart home set-up!
It’s super easy to create my movie night routine!
- Open your Alexa app
- Tap “More” on the bottom navigation bar
- Tap “Routines”
- Tap the + icon in the upper right corner to open a “New Routine” tab
- Tap “When This Happens” to set up the trigger. (Mine is saying “movie night!”)
- Tap “Add Action,” then tap “Smart Home,” then tap “Lights”
- Select the lights you want to dim, and change the brightness (I like to leave them on just a little bit, so I can still see the snacks!)
- Tap “Add Action,” then tap “Smart Home,” then tap “All Devices”
- Tap on your entertainment system components (TV, Soundbar) and toggle them on
Want the routine to announce movie night to your family, too?
Just tap “Add Action” > “Messaging” > “Send Announcements.” You can also add a “Wait” action to give your family a few minutes to gather before the lights dim.
Pro Tip
While lots of TVs are compatible with Alexa, adding a Fire TV Cube to your setup makes it extra easy to turn on the TV, set the volume, change channels or inputs, or even pick a certain show — all by just asking Alexa.