RF4CE Remote Control Applications
ZigBee RF4CE promises to revolutionize the consumer electronics industry

By replacing IR with RF, this new technology will deliver products and systems with new features, empowering the new GREEN connected home that requires a lot less batteries and easier installation and maintenance.

ZigBee RF4CE provides exciting new features for consumer electronics

Most current home remote controls use decades-old IR (infrared) beam technologies, which in fact, have hardly changed over the last 30 years,

Aside from a short range and limited bandwidth, this requires the user to aim the IR remote control device at the unit that needs to be controlled. Because RF4CE devices do not have to be aimed, this means that the central control devices for home entertainment and automation can be hidden away in closets and cabinets.

Major consumer electronics manufacturers and cable systems operations have gathered behind the ZigBee RF4CE (Radio Frequency for Consumer Electronics) industry standard designed to control a wide range of products including home entertainment devices, garage door openers, keyless entry systems, and many more. This effort takes place under the umbrella of the ZigBee Alliance, an open, non-profit association whose members work together to develop standards for low-power wireless networking.

ZigBee RF4CE (Radio Frequency For Consumer Electronics) is defined by the ZigBee Alliance and is the standard for the communication protocol for radio frequency-based remote controls for home entertainment and consumer electronics. 

Switching from IR remote controls to devices based on ZigBee RF4CE offers a number of benefits for the user and opens up the possibility of many new applications for the technology.

To start, the RF devices do not need a clear line of sight to operate. This could be leveraged to, for example, move set top boxes behind the TV-screen or into a closet for a more aesthetically pleasing viewing room setting. And the cat could just sit in front of the television as well.

Another practical benefit is that the two-way communications capability of RF4CE can support new applications. Today’s one-way IR systems can’t even do simple things like a highly desired “Find My Remote” button on a TV that, once pressed, would cause the remote control device to make a sound so the viewer could easily locate it when it’s out of sight (probably under the couch, where the children dropped it): no more lost remote controls.

The interoperability offered by the ZigBee industry standard allows a remote control to work with more systems in a house and can be used as the basis for home automation. Leveraging this open RF standard, the remote could be used for climate control, to turn lights throughout the house on and off, and to open or close curtains. The remote control will become the dashboard for the home.

The GreenPeak reference design for RF4CE remote controls enables CE manufacturers to develop remotes that can run for over ten years on a single battery with a total BOM of under $2.

The GreenPeak RF4CE ultra low power transceiver chip on the remote control board communicates with a matching transceiver in the TV, set top box, home server or other home electronics entertainment or automation system.

The GP570 chip allows the development of low cost motion-enabled remote controls, addressing the growing demand for smarter and intuitive navigation of interactive entertainment services offered by operators.

Benefits of RF4CE remote controls - brochure

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