What the... RF

So we've finally, as an industry, acknowledged that IR control is annoying at best, unreliable and frustrating at worst. Enter RF and voila! Problem solved!

But not totally. RF is the best wireless option but which one is the best of the best? At URC we spent many years perfecting our narrow band approach and delivered two frequencies to solve interference problems. Our approach, when coupled with one of our base stations, provides dealers with an unlimited ability to control just about any CE device. Yet there are now a number of "standards" that our industry has adopted, and we are constantly harassed by many factions to consider "changing over" to one of them. And we do research all of them!

As with all standards, an argument can be made for and against each of them. We are always looking at them. I will now take you on a quick, 30,000 foot tour of each of these RF standards and give my highly biased, wildly non-technical opinion on where they stand:

RF the good: no pointing.
RF the bad: interference. Incompatibility. Range.

Mesh Technology: Zwave and Zigbee (see below) so far. The good: Connect many devices to create a network of "cells" to pass communication from one device to the next. "self healing" so if one "cell" is dead it will find another. String enough devices together to send signals long distances. 2-way communication.
The bad: Short range. Our remote controls would be hated if the best one could get under ideal conditions was 25 - 50 feet. Need many devices to match our current 418/433 range. Small data packets limit the amount of data on the return path - so small text and confirmations work well but album art, images and complex RSS and web feeds are not possible.

ZWave the good: a growing number of products in many categories. A standard that insures interoperability. Inexpensive chipsets to keep product prices relatively low. Great for DIY and cost-sensitive products.
ZWave the bad: Limited range. Limited data stream.

Zigbee the good: enhanced distance and packet size over the ZWave product.
Zigbee the bad: Interoperability is not assured - as a matter of fact the brands currently using Zigbee are absolutely proprietary. Limited range; limited data stream.

WiFi is hot! We have incorporated it into our latest remote, the MX-6000 due to the huge data transfers that can occur, providing a very robust user experience.
WiFi the good: It offers great range and a very robust 2-way data capability.
WiFi the bad: Chips are expensive. Flaxy connections and long connect times make it very frustrating to control TV's and AV systems.

Of course we have incorporated the WiFi in our MX-6000 exclusively for control of IP and 2-way devices. We are still including 418/433 and IR control for VA products.

Coming to a Sony as soon as January is the new RF standard in development by a consortium of high-influence CE manufacturers, including Sony and Panasonic to name but a couple. Dubbed RF4CE, these firms are committing to replacing IR devices with an industry "standard" RF protocol. We'll see how this progresses.

What else is coming? How about RF power! That's right, wireless power! Intel has announced their new wireless power system that will charge a laptop or even run a 60 watt bulb. Imagine when we could have a wireless remote control with no batteries!? Hold your breath 'till 2050 'cause that's when we're likely to finally "cut the cords"...

Yes there's more to all of this, and yet more standards. As you can see we have our work cut out for us, constantly evaluating the best way for us to offer you RELIABLE, PREDICABLE, REPEATABLE control. So for now, we'll stay with what works.

Stay Tuned.