The Blog of a Wondering Dragon

For as long as there have been wireless remote controls for TV's and other consumer electronics, they have been using Infrared (IR) to transmit their signal. There are many reasons why IR was chosen and is still in use today. And for the most part this has worked fine, as IR has very few cons. However, with the trend of today's world to make everything wireless, there is something else out that I think works much better and could replace IR in all consumer electronic remotes.

The PlayStation 3 (PS3) is Sony's latest game console. It is also Sony's latest attempt at making a home media device to compete with Microsoft's Media Center versions of Windows. (That includes the xBox 360 which also directly competes with the PS3 as a game console.) It is in this home media part of the PS3 that I think they really hit on something great that could make all remotes 10x better and more useful then they currently are.

To make watching movies/DVD's easier on the PS3, Sony sells a remote with buttons similar to the remotes of other DVD players. Without the remote, you are forced to use a game controller, which is not intuitive to say the least. They did this for the PlayStation 2 (PS2) as well. However, unlike the PS2's remote, which uses IR, the PS3's remote uses Bluetooth. For the most part, I am assuming the decision to do this is based on the fact that the PS3's game controllers also use Bluetooth, and adding an IR port would mean adding additional hardware. Whereas Bluetooth is already a wireless protocol that could/can support a remote anyways. This deviation in standards has created a much more useful remote then any IR remote for many reasons.

A standard IR remote for any device really only has one con for the average consumer. It is that IR requires a direct line of sight (that includes reflecting) to send a signal to the device's IR receiver. Basically this means that you can not have anything in the path between the remote and it's device. This would include such scenarios as holding the remote under a blanket, or have the device hidden behind a wall/inside a cabinet. However, Bluetooth does not have this restriction. It will go through blankets, cabinets and even a few walls to send it's signal. This means you can keep that remote under the blanket with you. It also means you can control devices from other rooms! Imagine being able turn off your kids TV from behind the door, or even change stereo music from another room! How cool and useful would that be?

In fact, using Bluetooth in place of IR also yields some more useful features that IR can't do. Consider this all too common problem, you lost your remote and have to buy a universal remote to replace it? If you have ever done that, then you know what a pain it is to search for the code to program the remote to work with your device. And sometimes even then, not all the buttons on the remote will work with your device. You could even loose some features of your device because the remote does not have buttons for them. However, if the remote and your device were using Bluetooth instead of IR, you have just one simple step of pairing the remote with your device and BOOM! It will work perfectly with your device, and all the supported buttons on the remote would work too! No more hassle of searching and entering codes. And no worrying about loosing the code booklet that came with the remote as you would be able to pair it over and over again with any other supported device.

Yet even another feature of Bluetooth is the ability to control just how many "remotes" would work for the device. Like for instance a TV! Currently you can buy mini remotes that will allow you to control many TV's at once. Such as turning off a row of TV's in a store, or changing the channel in a sports bar. With Bluetooth, you can set it so that only "one" remote would work with it, and thus no one else could take control of your TV or other device again! This might sound more useful to businesses where this happens, but the first time a friend comes over with one of those mini remotes, you'll wish you had this feature.

And this is just the tip of the iceberg! Since Bluetooth allows two-way communication, many more features are possible. Such as a touch pad screen with buttons that change dynamically based on the device your controlling, and the features you are currently using. Or even a display that tells you what TV channel you are own and what show is on that channel. For music it could display what level the volume is at and, in many cases, what song is currently playing. Also don't forgot that most Cell Phones now support Bluetooth as well! The possibilities are endless!

Given all the benefits, I am slightly amazed that no one else has done this yet. Granted, there are many reasons why manufactures can't just drop IR and use Bluetooth right away. But a combination of the two for a start could have some great possibilities to transform the remote control into something new.