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Zensys Launches the First RF Single Chip Portfolio for IR Replacement in AV Control (7/2/2008)

Major Milestone in Consumer Electronics Industry; Marks the Start of the Biggest Shift in AV Control in 25 Years

Zensys, developer of the award-winning Z-Wave wireless home control standard, today announced the launch of Z-WaveAV, the first RF single chip portfolio for IR replacement in AV control.

"Conventional IR technology is a quarter of a century old and does not meet the demands of today's advanced consumer electronics market," noted Tony Shakib, CEO of Zensys. "The fact that consumers want to conceal AV components in cabinets, get status and meta data displayed on the remote control, and control devices throughout the entire house clearly reveals the limitations of IR. Z-WaveAV brings CE manufacturers a growth path and superior alternative from IR technology to create ultra low cost RF remotes and RF support in AV devices to replace and augment IR for AV control."

Complexity, cost, and interoperability have been the main inhibitors for the move from IR to RF in AV control that can now be overcome with Z-WaveAV.

* Zero Effort Setup(tm) makes Z-WaveAV as easy to setup & use like bundled IR remote controls today, which is key for consumer mass market adoption.

* Z-WaveAV provides the lowest cost RF system-on-chip (SoC) for high volume AV remotes & AV devices and minimizes the cost difference to today's line-of-sight limited, one-way IR solutions.

* Z-WaveAV provides full interoperability between multiple types of AV devices and between multiple manufacturers -- while still leaving OEMs flexibility to innovate and differentiate.

Z-WaveAV provides full support of single and multi-device control and also enables direct device-to-device communication in AV applications for advanced features. It defines literally hundreds of device commands, but doesn't stop with standardization at this level. Z-WaveAV also incorporates proven specifications for status display and meta data displays from Z-Wave that are implemented in more remote controls today than any other RF technology.

Designed for IR replacement in all levels of AV products, Z-WaveAV offers CE manufacturers a rich set of features that eliminate the need for additional chips in designs:

Z-WaveAV single chips are fast & easy to integrate into advanced AV products

* Rich set of peripherals specialized for AV control enables true single chip remotes * Easy AV device integration thanks to full speed USB 2.0 and multiple serial ports * Configurable Z-WaveAV reference applications for rapid product integration eliminate need for costly firmware development projects for most devices * Large 64 KByte (ZW0401) / 8 KByte (ZW0402av / ZW0403av) OTP reduces or even eliminates effort & risk to minimize code size to fit into chip * Z-WaveAV protocol stack plus API preloaded in ROM (ZW0402av /ZW0403av) * Z-Wave heritage of Z-WaveAV minimizes the long-term risks for OEMs

On-chip IR code generator enables control of OEM's legacy products

* Provide full backward compatibility to OEM's legacy products at minimal cost * On-chip IR code HW accelerator plus reference code simplifies design * Also ideally suited for universal IR and RF remote controls

Superior solution for robustness against RF interference

* Only chip with support of 2.4 GHz and sub-1-GHz bands * Ability to avoid crowded 2.4 GHz band and eliminate interference risk * Over 100x better WLAN interferer blocking than competing RF chip sets * Multi-channel support with concurrent listening eliminates packet loss

Excellent in-door range even in challenging environments

* Typically 20-30m indoor in non-line-of-sight setup * Over 10m non line-of-sight range even with strong WLAN interferers active

Efficient protocol design

* 100 and 200 kbit/s operation with minimal overhead * Full compatibility to Z-Wave mesh networking in home control

Lowest power consumption

* Multi-year battery life on only 2 AAA batteries * Allows for example TV's to draw literally zero power when in standby mode, while reducing the cost for power supplies at the same time

"We remain bullish on the growth of the wireless home control market and view the added support for AV control as an excellent way to build consumer awareness for the capabilities of Z-Wave-enabled systems and solidify its strong position in the industry," stated Bill Ablondi, Director, Home Systems at Parks Associates.

Thanks to its heritage to Z-Wave -- the most widely adopted home control technology with over 200 available products today -- and its mesh network technology, Z-WaveAV doesn't stop in a single room, but is uniquely positioned to provide AV control across the entire home. Furthermore, it is the only RF technology offered for AV control that can interoperate to an eco system of hundreds of interoperable home control devices available today. Z-Wave provides a seamless path towards Unified Home Control(tm) and opens highly profitable opportunities for accessory sales, plus up-and-cross-selling to OEMs and the channel alike.

Z-WaveAV single chips and modules are available in three main variants: The ZM4101 incorporates the ZW0401 single chip plus all required RF coupling and passive components, making it with its 8x8mm size and a QFN56 form factor the smallest RF SoC module in the industry. The ZW0402av single chip is ideally suited for ultra low cost RF remotes, yet still provides IR support of OEM's legacy AV devices. The ZW0403av is the industry's smallest RF system-on-chip (2.5x2.5mm), designed for use as RF interface in AV devices or as an RF modem in high-end remotes with large graphical displays.

www.z-wave.com