ZigBee finalizes low-power, RF standard for input devices, could finally kill off IR for good

Over the years of idle channel surfing and menu browsing you’ve surely developed some finely-honed IR shootin’ skills, knowing which surfaces will and will not reflect the signals from your under-powered universal remote control as you try to bounce that beam around a pile of magazines and soda cans on the coffee table. Those skills are on a fast-track to obsolescence thanks to the new ZigBee Input Device standard, which finally could bring all TV remote controls to the world of RF wholesale. Well, it could, if it finds more success than the already existing ZigBee Remote Control spec has managed. The new Input Device standard builds on that, said to require less juice than IR so those tired and mismatched AAs could last even longer. It’ll also work with mice and keyboards and the like, but naturally we’re most optimistic for remotes, even though this comes a little too late to let us turn off our PS3s with our Harmonys . Continue reading ZigBee finalizes low-power, RF standard for input devices, could finally kill off IR for good ZigBee finalizes low-power, RF standard for input devices, could finally kill off IR for good originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 21 Dec 2010 15:24:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink

Posted by on December 21, 2010. Filed under News, Tech. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry