CES 2009: Goodbye infrared remote controls, hello RF handsets that let you keep your kit in the cupboard
Away from the hype and hubbub of the CES halls, we found a small Dutch company with a tiny chipset that's going to make a big difference to your home entertainment life - by transforming the size and capabilities of the humble remote control handset.
Silicon specialist Greenpeak has developed a set of reference designs for a new generation of radio-frequency (RF) remote controls and modules, which - unlike current line-of-sight infrared (IR) designs - will allow you to keep all your kit tucked away out of sight, leaving only your TV and speakers on display.
RF remotes will work faster than IR ones too, plus have a range of 30m - allowing you to control, for example, devices in other rooms to stream music (or just to turn up your main system when you're listening in the garden...)
Backed by the big names in CE
And this isn't some proprietary move: the designs are based on the new RF4CE (radio frequency for consumer electronics) standard to be released next month, and are 2.4GHz, IEEE 802.15.4 compliant.
RF4CE is already backed by Sony, Samsung, Philips and Panasonic, with more manufacturers expected to jump on board in the next year.
Greenpeak's VP of business development, Frans Frielink, predicts the first RF remotes featuring his company's chipsets will be available by the end of this year, with many CES 2010 product launches involving RF remotes.
Batteries ARE included - and will never need changing
The good news doesn't end there. As well as being a low-cost chipset (enabling widespread adoption by the big CE names for a wide range of kit), the Greenpeak design draws very little power.
In fact, the company claims the remotes will be able to run for up to 50 years - well beyond the likely lifetime of the accompanying product - on the single watch-type battery integrated into the design.
As well as the eco-friendly implications - Greenpeak estimates that standard remote controls currently eat their way through 6 billion batteries a year - this also spells the end for bulky remotes with battery doors that snap off when you drop the handset (we've all been there...).
We'll bring you more news on RF4CE developments as they arise, and will also be keeping a keen eye on Greenpeak's next power-saving plans, which involve energy-harvesting (from light, motion and plants!) that can ban batteries for good.
Comments
A battery-free RF Harmony would be the business....
Hmmm... standard remote control protocols - we've been here before, but of course companies like to encourage buyers of, say, their TVs to buy their disc players and amplifiers from the same brand.
I seem to remember a CES long ago and far away where Firewire was being heralded as being about to put an end to cable controversies, and mean everything would work with everything else from a single remote handset.
Oh, and then there's the HDMI-CEC standard, which is anything but. Standard, that is...
I have a feeling Logitech's Harmony division* will be in business for a good while to come.
*Other universal remote controls are available. Just not as good.
Yes, there have been proprietary RF remotes before, but the fact we're moving to a standard (and a battery-free one at that) is far more encouraging.
This all sounds very good but haven't Bose been selling their home cinema systems with RF remotes for years now?
Still, the new remotes do seem incredibly eco!
Sounds good, though you'll still need to access your equipment to change CD/DVD/BD or (god forbid you might actually want to) switch stuff on and off.