RetroTINK-4K Serial Remote Integration for Home Assistant

A custom Home Assistant integration for controlling RetroTINK-4K devices (Pro and CE models) via serial over USB.

Features

• Full remote control of RetroTINK-4K Pro and CE devices
• Exposes devices as Home Assistant remote entities
• Multiple device support - add both Pro and CE (or multiple units)
• Device model selection (Pro or CE) with proper device identification
• UI-based configuration flow
• Standard remote command mapping (up, down, left, right, enter, menu, etc.)
• Direct RetroTINK-4K command support

Installation

HACS

1. Open HACS in Home Assistant
2. Go to Integrations
3. Click the three dots in the top right and select "Custom repositories"
4. Add this repository URL and select "Integration" as the category
5. Click "Install"
6. Restart Home Assistant

Manual Installation

1. Copy the entire custom_components/retrotink directory to your Home Assistant's config/custom_components/ directory
2. Restart Home Assistant
3. The integration should now be available

Configuration

Finding Your Serial Ports

First, identify which USB ports your RetroTINK devices are connected to:

ls -l /dev/ttyUSB*

You should see devices like /dev/ttyUSB0 and /dev/ttyUSB1.

Setting Up the Integration

1. Go to Settings → Devices & Services
2. Click + Add Integration
3. Search for "RetroTINK-4K Serial Remote Control"
4. Follow the configuration flow:
   • Enter a name for your device (e.g., "Living Room RetroTINK Pro")
   • Select the device model (RetroTINK-4K Pro or RetroTINK-4K CE)
   • Enter the serial port (e.g., /dev/ttyUSB0)
5. Repeat for your second device if you have both Pro and CE

Permissions

Ensure Home Assistant has permission to access the serial ports:

sudo usermod -a -G dialout homeassistant
sudo chmod 666 /dev/ttyUSB0
sudo chmod 666 /dev/ttyUSB1

For persistent permissions, create a udev rule:

sudo nano /etc/udev/rules.d/99-retrotink.rules

Add:

SUBSYSTEM=="tty", ATTRS{idVendor}=="YOUR_VENDOR_ID", ATTRS{idProduct}=="YOUR_PRODUCT_ID", MODE="0666"

Then reload:

sudo udevadm control --reload-rules
sudo udevadm trigger

Usage

Basic Commands

Once configured, you'll have remote entities for each device. You can control them via:

Home Assistant UI:

• Navigate to the device in Settings → Devices & Services
• Use the remote control interface

Services:

# Send a single command
service: remote.send_command
target:
  entity_id: remote.retrotink_4k_pro
data:
  command: menu

# Send multiple commands
service: remote.send_command
target:
  entity_id: remote.retrotink_4k_pro
data:
  command:
    - menu
    - down
    - down
    - enter

# Send with repeats
service: remote.send_command
target:
  entity_id: remote.retrotink_4k_pro
data:
  command: up
  num_repeats: 3
  delay_secs: 0.4

Supported Commands

The integration supports all RetroTINK-4K commands. See COMMAND_REFERENCE.md for the complete list.

For detailed command documentation, visit the official wiki:
RetroTINK-4K Remote Control Commands

Key Commands:

Navigation:
menu, up, down, left, right, ok, back

Profiles:
prof, prof1 - prof12

Resolution:
res4k, res1080p, res1440p, res480p

Main Functions:
input, output, scaler, sfx, adc, col, aud

Auto Functions:
gain, phase

Special:
pause, safe, genlock, buffer

Auxiliary:
aux1 - aux8

Power:
pwr on (turn on), pwr (turn off)

You can send raw RetroTINK commands directly - they'll automatically be prefixed with "remote".

Automations

You can create automations to control your RetroTINK devices:

automation:
  - alias: "Switch RetroTINK Profile on Input Change"
    trigger:
      platform: state
      entity_id: input_select.gaming_console
    action:
      - service: remote.send_command
        target:
          entity_id: remote.retrotink_4k_pro
        data:
          command: "prof"

Troubleshooting

Device Not Responding

1. Check serial port permissions
2. Verify the correct port is configured
3. Try disconnecting and reconnecting the USB cable
4. Check Home Assistant logs for error messages

Commands Not Working

1. Verify the RetroTINK device is powered on
2. Check that you're using valid command names
3. Increase the delay_secs if sending multiple commands rapidly
4. Enable debug logging (see below)

Debug Logging

Add to your configuration.yaml:

logger:
  default: info
  logs:
    custom_components.retrotink: debug

Technical Details

• Communication: Serial over USB at 115200 baud (8N1: 8 data bits, no parity, 1 stop bit)
• Serial Configuration: Automatically configured using stty -F <port> 115200 cs8 -cstopb -parenb
• Command Format: remote <command>\n (all commands get this prefix)
• Power Commands:
  • Power On: pwr on\n (ONLY command without "remote" prefix)
  • Power Off: remote pwr\n (gets "remote" prefix like other commands)
• Connection: Opens/closes serial connection for each command (prevents blocking)
• Entity Type: RemoteEntity (standard Home Assistant remote platform)
• Power State: Tracked locally based on power commands sent (device doesn't report state)
• Command List: All 70+ RetroTINK commands supported (see COMMAND_REFERENCE.md)

Credits

Created for use with RetroTINK-4K Pro and CE devices manufactured by RetroTINK LLC.

Special thanks to Mike Chi (@retrotink2) for creating the RetroTINK line of products and making the world of retro gaming better for everyone.

Links

• Purchase RetroTINK Products: https://www.retrotink.com
• Follow Mike Chi on X/Twitter: https://www.x.com/retrotink2
• Command Documentation: https://consolemods.org/wiki/AV:RetroTINK-4K#Remote_Control_Commands

License

MIT License - Feel free to modify and distribute as needed.

Support

For issues or feature requests, please open an issue on the GitHub repository.