Couch potatoes take note: Aiming your remote control and trying to bounce the signal off the wall is about to become a thing of the past.

Remote controls are set to get an upgrade as a consortium of consumer electronics companies have finalized a set of standards for using radio signals to control your TV, home stereo or other appliances. The new radio-frequency remotes use non-directional radio waves instead of the infrared signals emitted by a light-emitting diode in traditional remotes. RF remotes won't require devices to be in your line of sight. And they are expected to be widely available by early next year.

"RF-based remote control will bring a lot of new functionality to consumers," says Bas Driesen, chairperson of the consortium that made the standard, RF4CE, and technology manager at

Royal Philips Electronics. "It is faster and allows for two way communications with devices, which means your remote control can do a lot more than what it does today."

With the new remotes, you could be sitting in anywhere in the room to change channels and can turn on your home audio equipment from any room. You can even put your audio equipment inside a cabinet and still be able to control it even when the cabinet door is shut. And the technology could be used to open your garage door or unlock a keyless entry system.

So what's exactly wrong with the traditional infrared remotes including the new "universal" remotes today, aside from having too many buttons? Plenty, say RF-remote advocates. Infrared remotes are based on line of sight so point and shoot is a must. They do not offer two-way connectivity so devices cannot communicate with the remote. Infrared based remotes also offer slower response time, so you have to press the buttons more than a few times to change the channel. It's all too much work for people who just want to use a remote.

"Infrared based remotes can be a nuisance," says Bob Heile, chairman of the ZigBee Alliance. "You can use them only in the same room and you can't teach the remote any new tricks."

That's where they are hoping RF-based remotes could step in. The growth curve for these products is just beginning, says ABI Research, which forecasts a 55 percent growth rate through 2014 for RF remotes.

RF Remote Control

Faster: 20 times faster in terms of response time than infrared remotes. Omnidirectional: No more point and shoot. Use the remote from anywhere.

Two way communication: Get rid of device loneliness. Have your TV talk to the remote, instead of just the remote barking instructions at the TV.

Greater power efficiency: Longer battery life than infrared versions. Run a RF remote for several years on a set of new batteries instead of having to change them at least every year.

Interoperability: Between remote control and audio/video devices that infrared remotes do not provide.

The ZigBee-RF4CE specification is based on IEEE 802.15.4.

MAC/PHY radio technology in the 2.4GHz unlicensed frequency band. This allows for worldwide operation, low power consumption and near instantaneous response time, says Driesen. For instance, the response time for a can be up to 100 milliseconds compared to 5 milliseconds for a RF-based remote.

For switching from Lost to Hell's Kitchen that response time difference may not matter, but if you want to use your remote to browse the internet, much like a mouse, the difference can be palpable, says Driesen.

RF remotes also allow for two-way communication, thus changing how universal remotes work. Instead of doing the set-up for each device individually on the remote, RF remotes could auto detect all the devices in your house automatically.

"In case of RF remotes its not just the remote that talks to the device, the device can talk back," says Heile.

Nailing down the specification for RF remotes is important because it allows companies to make RF remote controls that are interoperable, says Royal Phillips' Driesen. So far only a few high end electronics makers such as Sony have introduced RF-based Sony offers RF remotes with some of its Bravia products.

"Interoperability makes it easier for consumers to buy remotes and it makes it easier to shift to RF-remotes from infrared based remotes,"

says Driesen.

The first version of the ZigBee RF4CE specification is expected to be made available to members by summer. RF-based remotes will become a standard fixture early next year, say Driesen and Heile.

Now if only they can figure out how to ensure the remote does not get lost every couple of minutes, it would be truly magical.**

Photo: (SkyFirePDL/Flickr)