ZigBee and RF4CE Set New Course for Consumer Electronic Remote Controls

Agreement results in one global open standard for RF remote control as a superior alternative to infrared control

San Ramon, Calif. — March 3, 2009 —  The ZigBee Alliance and the RF4CE Consortium, founded by Panasonic Corporation, Royal Philips Electronics, Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. and Sony Corporation, have reached an agreement to deliver a standardized specification for radio frequency-based (RF) remote controls. RF remotes are faster, more reliable and provide more freedom to operate devices from greater distances removing the line-of-sight barrier of today’s infrared (IR) remotes. With this agreement, effective today, the ZigBee Alliance will move into the broad consumer products arena as part of its long-term integration and growth plans.

The Alliance will incorporate version 1.0 of the RF4CE specification into its suite of global sensor and control network solutions. This ZigBee RF4CE specification will first be made available to ZigBee members this quarter. It creates an immediate, low-cost, easy-to-implement solution for control of products and a variety of public application profiles. The ZigBee RF4CE specification is designed for a wide range of products, including home entertainment devices, garage door openers, keyless entry systems and many more. In any application, it transforms the consumer experience, enabling advanced features such as non line-of-sight operation and bi-directional communications.

The first public profile specification enables innovative two-way interaction and control of home entertainment equipment. Products like HDTV, home theater equipment, set-top boxes and other audio equipment will benefit from the advanced functionality offered by ZigBee.

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• Read the full ZigBee Alliance press release 
• Visit the ZigBee Alliance website