Remote Control

A remote control is a component of an electronics device, most commonly a television set, DVD player and home theater systems originally used for operating the television device wirelessly from a short line-of-sight distance. Remote control has continually evolved and advanced over recent years to include Bluetooth connectivity, motion sensor enabled capabilities and voice control.

The main technology used in home remote controls is infrared (IR). The signal between a remote control handset and the device it is controlling are infrared pulses, which are invisible to the human eye. The transmitter in the remote control handset sends out a pulse of infrared light when a button is pressed on the handset. A transmitter is often a light emitting diode (LED) which is built into the pointing end of the remote control handset. The infrared light pulse represents a binary code that corresponds to a certain command, such as (power on). The receiver passes the code to a microprocessor, which decodes it and carries out the command.

Commonly, remote controls are Consumer IR devices used to issue commands from a distance to televisions or other consumer electronics such as stereo systems, DVD players and dimmers. Remote controls for these devices are usually small wireless handheld objects with an array of buttons for adjusting various settings such as television channel, track number, and volume. In fact, for the majority of modern devices with this kind of control, the remote contains all the function controls while the controlled device itself only has a handful of essential primary controls. Most of these remotes communicate to their respective devices via infrared signals and a few via radio signals. Earlier remote controls in the 1970s used ultrasonic tones. Television IR signals can be mimicked by a universal remote, which is able to emulate the functionality of most major brand television remote controls.