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Ir vs. RF Remote Controls
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Today's remotes use 2 technologies to transmit commands to the device being controlled, either Infrared (Ir), Radio Frequency (RF), or both. Infrared remotes use a series of Infrared light pulses to transmit the commands, kind of like blinking a flash light on and off, human eyes just can't see it. There is an Infrared sensor on the equipment that "sees" the pulses of light and interprets the proper sequence as a command. Since light is being used to transmit the signals there must be a relatively un-obstructed path from the remote to the sensor for the commands to be received. RF remotes use a low power radio transmitter, radio waves can travel through walls so line-of-sight is not required for these remotes to work. Equipment that operates with an RF remote will always have an antenna on it. Most remotes are Infrared and therefore require line-of-sight to the equipment. For a more in-depth look see Wikipedia HERE |