Philips Emphasizes Remote Control Technologies At IBC

Philips Home Control is emphasizing its role as a leader in the remote control market with the successful design in and commercialisation of several pioneering technologies that were shown at IBC last year.
Thanks to Philips innovations, it is now simpler and easier than ever for consumers to control their home entertainment systems. Philips Home Control is showcasing uWand, a direct pointing motion sensing technology that delivers 3D capabilities with the same intuitiveness as a multi-touch screen.
It gives an immediate and accurate response without extra effort. Combined with the 3D gesture control, the simplicity of the device gives more possibilities and ease of use. A small camera embedded in the handheld gives uWand the intuitive direct pointing capability. You can directly interact with interactive services on the TV screen by pointing, clicking and using fluent gestures. Philips Home Control is the preferred supplier of the uWand technology.
Another good example of Philips innovation is the remarkable 4-in-1 remote control developed for the Lenovo All-in-One A600 PC. This remote control makes use of the Philips relative motion sensing platform that allows you to navigate and select your desired content by simply moving your wrist, or even play games through the movement of the remote. Sean Liu, Lenovo Senior Product Planning Manager, said: "Philips is the leading motion remote supplier in the world. We have a good cooperation in the product development and jointly delivered this innovative product to the market."
Cable and IPTV providers are also looking to offer a total experience to the consumer. Oregan Networks, a leading provider of embedded solutions for digital home entertainment devices, is already designing in a motion sensing remote.
Milya Timergaleyeva, Oregan's Vice President of Market Strategy, said: "Philips motion sensing technology is a significant step forward in remote control innovation.
"Originally limited to the gaming domain, but intrinsically versatile in its use and benefits, it allows for greater interactivity for just about every type of application on TV, ranging from niche gaming scenarios to point-and-click experience with browser-driven applications, such as electronic programming guides, home media browsing and widgets. It essentially represents the 'mouse' of the TV world.
"Oregan is delighted to be working with Philips on exciting new consumer entertainment products."
Philips continues to invest in consumer research to improve its motion sensing propositions.
Unlike other motion sensing technologies available today, Philips' platform is ready to work as a bi-directional voice handset enabling VOIP application as well, ideal for service providers looking at enabling a STB as the options to their telephony services.
There are also other ways to easily navigate through all different home entertainment content.
Philips believes this should be as easy as selecting channels on a television. That's why the company was able to sell its advanced thumbwheel technology which - unlike pressing a button - makes it simple for users to scroll through large amounts of audio/video content like long playlists, with variable speed.
Hard disk drives and TV's of Philips including this technology are already on the market and several set-top-box manufacturers are designing it in, offering unprecedented simplicity in digital content management.
Together with ease of use, users want the freedom to fully control their home entertainment equipment, even when hidden inside a cabinet.
To address this need, Philips developed several two-way radio frequency (2-way RF) platforms, and has successfully designed this into, for example, internet-radio, where the screen of the remote allows the display of album art and easy selection of tracks, making it much more comfortable and fun for the users to choose their music.
Philips Home Control will be at in Hall 1, Stand nr A81 at IBC.
(KMcA/BMcc)