The first remote control for a television was developed in 1950 by Zenith Radio Corporation. The remote, officially called ‘Lazy Bones’, was connected to the television set by a wire. Since then, the scope and functionality of these devices has continued to grow. Now, some remotes can even produce a strong enough signal to offer a wireless range of more than 50m.

In particular, infra-red (IR) remote controls have been around since the late 1970s and have simplified the control of many devices.

While widely deployed, ZigBee RF4CE marketing chairman and president of GreenPeak technologies Cees Links explains that IR remotes have a number of limitations and can prove difficult to use with large HDTVs because of high intensity light emitted from the screen. Other issues with these remotes include field-of-vision limits, line-of-sight restrictions and one-way communications.

With the growth and increasing sophistication of today’s consumer electronics, new trends in electronics storage, IR remotes are losing their effectiveness and limiting innovation.

“Replacing decades old IR technology with the ZigBee RF4CE radio frequency (RF) standard will improve product robustness and user experience,” he says.

“Devices using the Standard will free consumers from pointing a remote at an exact target, allowing them to more easily control entertainment equipment accurately and easily. Devices will confirm to the remote control that a command was executed, no longer making the consumer repeatedly hit buttons to execute a command.

“This two-way communication provides the consumer electronics industry with a new platform and standard designed to accommodate growth beyond traditional device control. Ultimately, these new capabilities will spur innovation and integration with other automation devices using ZigBee technology.”

So how do the two technologies differ? Put simply, IR uses one-way communication whereas RF operates on a two-way mantra.

IR remote controls can only send information while those equipped with RF technology can operate as both sender and receiver. While an IR user needs to point their remote control directly at their TV or DVD player, an RF-controlled remote need not be operated with the same degree of accuracy.

“The ZigBee RF4CE specification provides a multi-vendor interoperable home entertainment solution for consumer electronics featuring a simple, robust and low-cost communication network for two-way wireless connectivity.

“It was specifically designed for applications requiring simple device-to-device control communication that do not need the full-featured mesh networking capabilities offered by ZigBee. ZigBee RF4CE offers lower memory size requirements and as such enable lower cost implementations. The simple device-to-device topology provides easy development and testing, resulting in faster time to market.

“Offering a standards-based solution, meeting the aggressive cost targets for myriad RF consumer applications, will accelerate the transition of IR to RF and from proprietary RF to standardised RF, and has been an ongoing Alliance objective. Standardising RF control allows for multiple vendors products to remain interoperable which consumers expect and demand.”

ZigBee Remote Control

The ZigBee RF4CE specification offers an immediate, low-cost, easy-to-implement solution for the control of products and opportunities for a variety of standards, including ZigBee Remote Control, ZigBee Input Device and the pending ZigBee 3D Sync.

ZigBee Remote Control provides a global standard for advanced, greener and easy-to-use RF remotes that removes line-of-sight restrictions while also delivering two-way communication, longer range of use and extended battery life. It was designed for a variety of consumer electronic devices including HDTV, home theatre equipment, set-top boxes and other audio equipment.

Since ZigBee Remote Control replaces 30+ year old infrared technology, it frees consumers from pointing remotes at devices. It offers consumers more flexibility, allowing control of devices from nearby rooms and placement of those devices almost anywhere – including behind wood, interior walls or glass. A greener choice, ZigBee Remote Controls are more energy efficient and last longer than infrared.

ZigBee Input Devices

ZigBee Input Device is a global standard for greener, innovative and easy-to-use mice, keyboards, touch pads, wands and other input devices used with computers and consumer electronic devices. This standard allows consumers to use their devices from greater distances or even from another room because operation is not limited to line of sight. 

Devices using the standard will also enjoy green benefits. Its energy-efficient design helps devices run longer on batteries, when compared to infrared technology, and reduces the total number of batteries used – and disposed of – during the device’s lifetime.

The standard offers native support of popular multi-touch and gesture commands, allowing manufacturers to deliver the most feature-rich products for their consumers. It also features the ability to define special functions and enhanced performance beyond the standard behaviour of a mouse, keyboard or similar input device.

ZigBee Input Device operates with existing ZigBee Remote Control-equipped HDTVs, set-top boxes and other devices as well as with existing computers.

ZigBee 3D Sync

ZigBee 3D Sync will be a global standard for more convenient, flexible and enjoyable 3D HD viewing. This standard will dramatically improve the 3D experience by allowing greater freedom for personal movement without disrupting the 3D view when wearing 3D glasses.  Moving your head will no longer create a possible viewing disruption. Plus, it will minimise or eliminate interference from ambient lighting and make products more energy efficient and greener.

The standard is being designed to support communication from 3D HDTV, and other video sources, to 3D glasses to give consumers the ultimate 3D viewing experience.

With ZigBee 3D Sync, 3D glasses will easily connect to a variety of video sources, such as games consoles, Blu-ray players and 3D HDTVs, and be assured of correct shutter manipulation. The standard will support variable display frame rates to ensure that the standard can be used with both existing and future display technology. Plus, the standard will support multiple viewing modes and automatically adjust 3D glasses when content changes between 2D or 3D.