Hardware considerations for RF4CE

The RF4CE protocol is an initiative by the world's largest television producers to create an RF-based remote control standard that can enable interoperability and novel features. The protocol is based on the MAC and PHY of the IEEE 802.15.4 wireless personal area network standard. A wide range of transceivers and system-on-chips (SoC) are available that support this standard and can be used in an RF4CE implementation. This article discusses the advantages of using RF for remote control, and the different IEEE 802.15.4 radio attributes that are important to consider when designing an RF4CE system.