China’s Electronics Video Industry Association last week signed off on a standard for a universal remote control – a gadget Beijing thinks locals need because they’re struggling with multiple remotes, but which is also a little more significant in other ways.
The standard requires remote controls to allow voice control, and to use one of three means of wireless comms: Bluetooth, infrared, and Star Flash – more on that later. It has been hailed as a boon for consumers who apparently struggle to find the right remote control to use as they navigate between televisions and set-top boxes.
This standard reportedly detects which device a user wants to control, makes the connection, and eases the chore of directing a stream from a set-top box to a display.
Device-makers have been told that televisions and set-top boxes must support the standard, and they’ve quickly complied: local media report that Chinese consumer electronics outfit Konka has already delivered the first Smart TV capable of handling the universal remote.
Building a standard ecosystem for universal remotes has obvious benefits for consumers, who should be able to use one unit across multiple devices and won’t be tied to proprietary tech. But this move has other benefits for Beijing, thanks to its requirement to use China’s home-grown Bluetooth alternative, Star Flash.
Star Flash is one of the projects run by the SparkLink Alliance – a group that lists hundreds of Chinese developers and manufacturers as members. Huawei contributes tech to the group.
Chinese IoT hardware vendor Qogrisys has described it as an upgrade to both Bluetooth and Wi-Fi that incorporates ideas used in 5G networks, is capable of handling multiple simultaneous device connections, sips power sparingly so battery-powered devices go longer between recharges, and can stream lossless stereo audio.
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Chinese consumer electronic and automotive brands are already keen to use Star Flash, and the Alliance is promoting its use in industrial settings too.
China will promote use of universal remotes in 2025 – meaning the protocol may soon appear in millions of domestic devices, giving manufacturers scale to justify further investment.
Another activity that could advance the same outcome took place in September, when the Alliance promoted Star Flash to Japanese companies. The Alliance has also promoted the protocol at a meeting of the BRICS bloc – the informal alliance of nations that first comprised Brazil, Russia, India, and China, but is expanding.
Chinese consumers who no longer have to juggle multiple remotes may therefore be doing much more than cleaning up their lounge rooms – they may also be advancing a standard that presents a serious challenge to those developed outside China. And as we recently reported, China has been known to use its technology developments to assist its surveillance efforts at home and abroad. ®
