Yep. It’s the same for Google’s physical mute buttons. There are now also some smart speakers that intentionally leave out microphones.
My general advice for learning new technologies is to start small. I’ve spoken with a lot of new OH users who are thinking way too far into the future, and get so caught up in the end goals that they struggle with the basics. I don’t know much about Squeezelite, but I think the first thing to do would be to see what it can natively do, and then connect the dots to what you really want it to do.
I started OH with just my lights/plugs, and then added my Cast devices and Harmony Hubs. But it took me awhile to grasp how I could make it all tie in together.
Yep, the RM4 can issue commands to IR-controlled devices, same as the Harmony Hub. You have to program the IR codes, which I haven’t done, but individual users can upload their code profiles to the Broadlink app.
The whole discussion is here, and I’ve linked to the last release.
If you can find one on clearance/used, then I highly recommend it. Logitech has said they’ll keep supporting it “indefinitely”, because they don’t want to upset their current users. That could mean it turns off tomorrow if there’s an exploit, but it could also be five years from now. I suspect that they’ll monitor the user numbers and then kill it when it’s clear that people have mostly gone elsewhere.
If you get an RM4 Mini/Pro, make sure to get the bundle with the temperature/humidity sensor built into the USB cable.