RC-5

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The RC-5 protocol was developed by Philips in the early 1980s as a semi-proprietary consumer IR (infrared) remote control communication protocol for consumer electronics. It was subsequently adopted by most European manufacturers, as well as by many US manufacturers of specialty audio and video equipment. The other main protocol relevant to consumer electronics is the NEC protocol, which is largely used by Japanese manufacturers.

The RC-5 protocol, when properly implemented, has the advantage that any CD handset (for example) may be used to control any compatible brand of CD player. By comparison, the NEC protocol assigns each brand its own unique header(s) after which may follow any desired command set; this confers the advantage that there cannot be any interference between remote handsets for pieces of equipment made by different manufacturers.