editor's blog
Subscribe Now

Easier Zigbee Remote Controls

Zigbee recently announced the second version of their remote control standard, ZRC 2.0. The idea is that, in a Zigbee home, with consumer electronics and other devices that speak Zigbee, you can have a single remote to rule them all. It’s not line-of-site, in contrast to traditional infrared systems. And, while it may be paired with specific devices it controls, it can also talk to other devices on a Zigbee Home Automation (HA) network.

The main focus of this new revision appears to be ease of use – both for the manufacturer and end user. Binding can happen transparently, removing the consumer from the process. Likewise, manufacturers can use the out-of-band binding process to setup multiple devices that will work together prior to shipping. And the device codes from legacy devices can now be uploaded to a remote over-the-air (replacing what would have been a small code database in the remote).

They’ve also implemented a two-way polling mechanism for communicating with sleeping devices. One of the features this enables is “find my remote,” which lets you push a button on, say, your TV and something happens to show you where the remote is (beeping, vibrating, whatever the remote designer included as the response). It also supports the uploading of new firmware updates.

And they’ve beefed up security and improved the communication between Zigbee HA and ZRC.

Greenpeak has already announced a new radio chip, the GP565, supporting the updated standard. And Universal Electronics has announced an update to their QuickSet application, which can be embedded into audio/video equipment to provide an on-screen setup interface.

You can read more about the Zigbee update in their announcement.

Leave a Reply

featured blogs
Jul 17, 2025
Why do the links in Outlook emails always open in the Microsoft Edge web browser, even if you have another browser set as your default?...

Libby's Lab

Libby's Lab - Scopes out Littelfuse C&K Aerospace AeroSplice Connectors

Sponsored by Mouser Electronics and Littelfuse

Join Libby and Demo in this episode of “Libby’s Lab” as they explore the Littelfuse C&K Aerospace Aerosplice Connectors, available at Mouser.com! These connectors are ideal for high-reliability easy-to-use wire-to-wire connections in aerospace applications. Keep your circuits charged and your ideas sparking!

Click here for more information

featured paper

Maximize Power Efficiency in Embedded Applications with Agilex™ 5 E-Series FPGAs and SoCs Memory Solutions

Sponsored by Altera

Learn how Altera Agilex™ 5 FPGAs and SoCs deliver up to 1.9× lower system power than Zynq UltraScale+ without sacrificing performance. This white paper dives into real benchmark data, memory interface efficiency, and architectural advantages that make Agilex 5 the smart choice for embedded, vision, and AI edge applications. Optimize for power, performance, and design simplicity.

Click to read more

featured chalk talk

USB’s Renaissance: Overcoming Stagnation with 10 & 20 Gbps Innovation
Sponsored by Mouser Electronics and Infineon
In this episode of Chalk Talk, Jimmy Chou from Infineon and Amelia Dalton explore the challenges of USB design and how Infineon is furthering innovation with the EZ-USB FX10. They also investigate the high bandwidth data subsystem, the high bandwidth data interface and the robust security features included in this solution.
Jul 3, 2025
8,309 views