Jan 9 2015
SMK Electronics, a division of SMK Corporation, one of the world’s leading manufacturers of OEM remote controls and consumer electronics accessories, today announced development of two new off-the-shelf advanced consumer remote controls offering pointing and voice command interface options powered by Bluetooth® Smart power effective RF technology.
Created to meet consumer demand for intuitive control of next-generation smart TV and set-top box applications, SMK’s two new remote controls, which offer advanced interface options and a short time to market, will be unveiled this week at International CES 2015 (booth #20400, South Hall, Las Vegas Convention Center).
“We are excited to extend our portfolio of advanced remote control solutions with two new Bluetooth® smart-enabled models that offer keyboard, voice command and 6-axis motion-sensing interfaces,” said Paul Evans, president, SMK Electronics Corporation. “As rich content, rich media, Internet and gaming content continue to gain traction in Pay Television and Connected TV markets, the remote control, the user’s interface to this content, has become an essential element of subscriber satisfaction and retention.”
“Utilizing Bluetooth® Smart low energy RF technology from Dialog Semiconductor, in tandem with optional MotionEngine™ software from Hillcrest Labs, our new remote controls provide high-performance, low-cost solutions for OEMs looking to deploy next-generation Smart TVs, set-top boxes, media players, PCs and other consumer entertainment devices,” added Patrick Delanoeije, Vice President of SMK Europe. “The emerging Pay TV market, in combination with remote control capabilities and interoperability demanded by the consumer, has created the need for a robust, low-power, standards-based RF technology. Bluetooth® Smart is ideally positioned to fulfill this need.”
New from SMK for CES 2015
SMK’s new remote control models, offering voice-command, cursor-pointing and motion-sensing interface options, utilize Dialog Semiconductor’s DA14580 Bluetooth® Smart System-on-Chip (SoC): one of the world’s smallest and most integrated Bluetooth® Smart solutions. Combining low power consumption with minimal dependence on external components, the DA14580 significantly reduces production costs while enhancing subscriber usability, allowing SMK to deliver the most consumer-friendly, cost-effective remote controls available.
“Dialog strives to bring state-of-the-art connectivity solutions such as the highly efficient, low-power DA14580 SmartBond to a wider market, providing OEMs with the benefit of minimized development cost and drastically reduced time-to-market,” said Sean McGrath, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Connectivity, Automotive & Industrial Business Group at Dialog. “With the continuing success of the SmartBond DA14580, we have shown that we are ideally positioned to take advantage of the tremendous growth of Bluetooth Smart applications for the HID market, which helps validate the company’s diversification strategy.”
Additionally at CES15, SMK will introduce a 6-axis in-air pointing remote model, with cursor control and motion-sensing powered by Hillcrest Labs’ Freespace® MotionEngine™ Smart TV software. “We’re again proud to partner with SMK, a trusted industry supplier of durable high quality remote controls, to create a cost-effective and high-performance solution to meet this market need,” said Chad Lucien, senior vice president of sales and marketing, Hillcrest Labs. “Driven by increased industry focus on user experience, and fueled by the market penetration of Android™ and Windows® 8 operating systems, pointing- and motion-enabled remote controls are essential elements of today’s Smart TV, set-top box, media player and PC product offerings.”
Source: http://www.smkusa.com/