UNIVERSITI OF MALAYA

REMOTE CONTROL

NAME : MUHAMMAD AIMAN BIN WAHID

MATRIX NO : KEE 100031

LECTURER : SUDHANSHU SHEKHAR JAMUAR

How Remote Controls Work

The world's first remote controls were radio-frequency devices that directed German naval
vessels to crash into Allied boats during WWI. In WWII, remote controls detonated bombs
for the first time. The end of the great wars left scientists with a brilliant technology
and nowhere to apply it. Sixty years later, some of us spend an hour looking for the remote
before we remember there are buttons on the TV.

Zenith Universal Remote Control ZEN-400 4

In this article, we'll examine the infrared technology used in most home theaters, look at the
difference between IR and RF remotes, find out the difference between a "universal" and a
"learning" remote and check out some of the other high-tech features you can find on
remotes today, like PC connectivity, RF extenders and macro commands.
Infrared Remote Controls: Inside

The dominant remote-control technology in home-theater applications is infrared (IR).

Infrared light is also known as plain-old "heat." The basic premise at work in an IR remote
control is the use of light to carry signals between a remote control and the device it's
directing. Infrared light is in the invisible portion of electromagnetic spectrum.

An IR remote control (thetransm itte r) sends out pulses of infrared light that represent
specific binary codes. These binary codes correspond to commands, such as Power On/Off
and Volume Up. The IR receiver in the TV, stereo or other device decodes the pulses of light
into the binary data (ones and zeroes) that the device'smic ro p roc e s so r can understand.
The microprocessor then carries out the corresponding command.

To get a better idea of how the process works, let's take a look inside a typical remote
control -- the universal remote that came with the author's digital cable box. The basic parts
involved in sending an IR signal include:

Buttons
Integrated circuit
Button contacts
Light-emitting diode (LED)
On the component side, the infrared receiver sits on the front of the device where it can
easily see the signal coming from the remote control.

You've probably noticed that some remotes only work when you're pointing them directly at
the receiver on the controlled device, while others work when you're pointing them in the
general vicinity of the receiver. This has to do with the strength of the transmitting LED. A
remote with more than one LED and/or a particularly powerful LED produces a stronger,
broader signal.

Now let's find out how these parts work together to allow pulses of light to change the
channel on a cable box.
Infrared Remote Controls: The Process

Pushing a button on a remote control sets in motion a series of events that causes the
controlled device to carry out a command. The process works something like this:

1. You push the "volume up" button on your remote control, causing it to touch the
contact beneath it and complete the "volume up" circuit on the circuit board. The
integrated circuit detects this.
2. The integrated circuit sends the binary "volume up" command to the LED at the
front of the remote.
3. The LED sends out a series of light pulses that corresponds to the binary "volume up"
command.

One example of remote-control codes is the Sony Control-S protocol, which is used for Sony
TVs and includes the following 7-bit binary commands:

Button Code
1 000 0000
2 000 0001
3 000 0010
4 000 0011
Channel up 001 0000
Channel down 001 0001
Power on 001 0101
Power off 010 1111
Volume up 001 0010
Volume down 001 0011

The remote signal includes more than the command for "volume up," though. It carries
several chunks of information to the receiving device, including:

 a "start" command
 the command code for "volume up"
  the device address (so the TV knows the data is intended for it)
 a "stop" command (triggered when you release the "volume up" button)

So when you press the "volume up" button on a Sony TV remote, it sends out a series of
pulses that looks something like this:

Sony TV remotes use a space-coding method in which the length of the spaces between
pulses of light represent a one or a zero.

When the infrared receiver on the TV picks up the signal from the remote and verifies from
the address code that it's supposed to carry out this command, it converts the light pulses
back into the electrical signal for 001 0010. It then passes this signal to the microprocessor,
which goes about increasing the volume. The "stop" command tells the microprocessor it
can stop increasing the volume.

Infrared remote controls work well enough to have stuck around for 25 years, but they do
have some limitations related to the nature of infrared light. First, infrared remotes have a
range of only about 30 feet (10 meters), and they require line-of-sight. This means the
infrared signal won't transmit through walls or around corners -- you need a straight line to
the device you're trying to control. Also, infrared light is so ubiquitous that interference can
be a problem with IR remotes. Just a few everyday infrared-light sources include sunlight,
fluorescent bulbs and the human body. To avoid interference caused by other sources of
infrared light, the infrared receiver on a TV only responds to a particular wavelength of
infrared light, usually 980 nanometers. There are filters on the receiver that block out light
at other wavelengths. Still, sunlight can confuse the receiver because it contains infrared
light at the 980-nm wavelength. To address this issue, the light from an IR remote control is
typically modulated to a frequency not present in sunlight, and the receiver only responds
to 980-nm light modulated to that frequency. The system doesn't work perfectly, but it does
cut down a great deal on interference.

While infrared remotes are the dominant technology in home-theater applications, there
are other niche-specific remotes that work on radio waves instead of light waves. If you
have a garage-door opener, for instance, you have an RF remote.

Radio Remote Controls

Radio-frequency (RF) remote controls are very common.

Garage-door openers, car-alarm fobs and radio-controlled

Photo courtesy
Bose RC-18S RF-only remote
toys have always used radio remotes, and the technology is starting to show up in other
applications, too. They're still pretty rare in home-theater devices (with the exception of RF
extenders, which we'll discuss on the next page), but you will find RF remotes controlling
certain satellite-TV receivers and high-end stereo systems. You'll also find Bluetooth-based
remotes that control laptops and smartphones.

Instead of sending out light signals, an RF remote transmits radio waves that correspond to
the binary command for the button you're pushing. A radio receiver on the controlled
device receives the signal and decodes it. The problem with RF remotes is the sheer number
of radio signals flying through the air at any given time. Cell phones, walkie-talkies, WiFi
setups and cordless phones are all transmitting radio signals at varying frequencies. RF
remotes address the interference issue by transmitting at specific radio frequencies and by
embedding digital address codes in the radio signal. This lets the radio receiver on the
intended device know when to respond to the signal and when to ignore it. To learn more
about the technology of radio-frequency remotes, check out How Remote Entry Works.

The greatest advantage to radio-frequency remotes is their range: They can transmit up to
100 feet from the receiver (the range for Bluetooth is shorter), and radio signals can go
through walls. This benefit is why you'll now find IR/RF remotes for home-theater
components. These remotes use RF-to-IR converters to extend the range of an infrared
remote.

In the next section, we'll talk about RF extenders and other

special remote-control features

Remote-control Features

Today's home-theater remotes do a lot more than turn a

component on and off and control the volume. Here are just
a handful of the features you can find on some of the
higher-tech remote controls out there. Photo courtesy
Samsung 12-device universal
learning remote with LCD
screen
Universal capabilities
Different electronics brands use different command codes. Some IR remotes are
preprogrammed with more than one manufacturer's command codes so they can operate
multiple devices (sometimes up to 15) of different brands. If your home-theater setup
incorporates components from, say, three different manufacturers, you can either use three
different remotes to operate your system or use one universal remote. To add functions to a
universal remote, you need to know the command codes for the component you want to
control. You can look these up online or find them in the manual that came with your
remote.

Learning
A learning remote can receive and store codes transmitted by another remote control; it can
then transmit those codes to control the device that understands them. For instance, let's
say you have a receiver with its own preprogrammed remote, and you buy a new TV that
comes with a universal learning remote. The learning remote can pick up the signals your
receiver remote sends out and remember them so it can control your receiver, too. You
don't need to input the command codes yourself -- a learning remote picks up and stores
the signals another remote sends out. All learning remotes are considered universal
remotes because they can control more than one device.

Macro commands
A macro is a series of commands that you program to occur sequentially at the push of a
single button. These macros can be anything you want, such as an "activity command." You
can set up a macro that lets you push one button to activate, in order, everything that needs
to happen for you to watch a movie or listen to a CD. (Some remotes come with "activity
commands" preprogrammed, and others let you download macros from the Internet.)

PC connectivity
There are remotes that connect to your PC via the USB port so you can install programming
software and download command codes and personalized graphic icons (for remotes with
LCD screens).

LCD screen
A remote-control LCD screen may simply display data, or it may be a touchscreen that
receives user input.

User interfaces
Most remotes still utilize the simple button-pushing method, but some have more high-tech
manners of inputing commands. You'll find remotes that you operate via an LCD
touchscreen, a joystick (for directional commands) and even voice commands.

RF extenders
Some IR remotes can send out both IR and RF signals. The RF signals aren't meant to control
RF devices (in fact, they can't control them). They're meant to extend the operating range of
the IR remote control from about 30 feet to about 100 feet (give or take) and allow the
signal to penetrate walls and glass cabinet enclosures. The remote automatically transmits
both IR and RF signals for every command. When you hook up an RF-to-IR converter
(sometimes included with IR/RF remotes, sometimes sold as add-ons) on the receiving end,
it receives and converts the signal back into the infrared pulses the device can understand.
Now you've got an IR remote that can increase the volume on your home-theater stereo
from your bedroom upstairs.

Remote controls are steadily increasing the number of devices and functions they can
manage. Some universal remotes intended for home-theater components can learn
commands for wirelessly controlled lights, so they will not only start a movie at the push of
a button, but they'll also dim the lights for you. Full home-automation systems let you use
one remote control to manage lighting, alarm systems and entertainment components by
way of a receiver wired directly into your home's electrical wiring. Chances are it won't be
long before you have a single remote control to manage every electronic device in your life.
Sources

1 . "Glossary of Remote Control Terms." Remote Central.

http://www.remotecentral.com/features/glossary1.htm
2 . "How It Works: Remote Controls." Radio Design Group.
http://www.radiodesign.com/remwrks.htm
3 . "Infra Red Remote Controls - How They Work." UW Electrical Engineering.
http://www.ee.washington.edu/conselec/A95/projects/pierreg/works/works
.htm
4 . "Inside a TV Remote Control." HowStuffWorks.
http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/inside-rc.htm
5 . "Invention of the Remote Control." The Great Idea Finder.