Broadcom has announced that it has partnered with Philips Home Control to develop a new generation of remote control devices that will help transform the television, set-top box (STB), and Blu-ray Disc player interface experience. Broadcom Bluetooth technology has been instrumental in introducing and driving the adoption of gestural remote controls for video game consoles and the increasing universe of wirelessly connected devices.
In collaboration with Philips Home Control, Broadcom is now applying Bluetooth and other technologies to enable innovative remotes that can control the home entertainment experience with the wave of a hand, swipe of a finger, or strokes of a miniature keyboard. Broadcom and Philips demonstrated wireless gestural remote control technologies at the IBC 2010 tradeshow in Amsterdam, Netherlands.
Different Types of Control
Gestural controls (which allow consumers to operate electronic devices by subtle movements of the device or a remote control) have quickly grown into a widely used method for interacting with electronic products, supplanting knobs, buttons and other interface mechanisms. Gestural controls that provide input and control for casual games played directly on the television or STB are also being introduced. Touchpad remote controls provide the mechanism to select among a greater variety of menu options, just as the user might use a laptop computer to navigate complicated interfaces.
As TVs and Blu-ray Disc players become more connected and STBs and digital televisions offer more “over-the-top” services, next-generation remote controls are required that can provide functionality similar to that provided by keyboards and mice for the PC or keypads for the smartphone. Gestural and touchpad remotes are designed to provide more intuitive navigation while the inclusion of QWERTY keyboards enable more convenient text entry for easier searches for content.
Broadcom Bluetooth technology supports standards-based approaches to remote control functionality for consumer electronics products, as well as additional innovations developed to minimize latency and ensure a highly responsive user experience, even with the most subtle of gestures and movements.
Once integrated into these various consumer devices, Bluetooth opens a whole world of new capabilities:
The near ubiquitous penetration of Bluetooth into cell phones, tablets and laptops enables a second screen for searching content, making Bluetooth an ideal technology for consumer electronics devices.
Using Bluetooth for A and V
Bluetooth-enabled 3D glasses eliminate interference from other light sources, do not lose sync when objects pass in front of the TV or the user looks away, and they have greater viewing angles and ranges, all at 40 percent lower power consumption than first generation infrared (IR) glasses. Bluetooth enables new ways to enjoy audio, allowing existing wireless headsets to provide a personal listening experience without disturbing others, or enabling audio to be streamed from smartphones or MP3 players for playback on the TV’s speakers or through the rest of the speaker system that the STB or Blu-ray player are connected to.
Bluetooth also enables voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) applications, such as Skype, and can be used to push pictures taken on a cell phone or camera for display on a TV.
