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Using the Television to Wash Your Clothes?
GENEVA, Switzerland, September 13 /PRNewswire/ -- The washing machine and the refrigerator are going to start "talking" to
the television thanks to a new standard about to be published by the
Geneva-based IEC. This new ability to network traditional household
appliances with personal computers and audio-visual equipment will offer such
possibilities as your television screen displaying the fact that the washing
machine has finished washing your clothes or turning on an air conditioner
from your personal computer.
The new standard links the two different communications networks
established for the household appliances and audio visual equipment. These
were set up separately largely because of the different product lifecycles
for the fast-moving audiovisual equipment and computers compared with
slower-changing household appliances which tend to stay in use over periods
of several years.
This specification, Home Network Communication Protocol over IP for
Multimedia Household Appliances (IEC 62457), has several key advantages:
- It can be used with existing home networking standards;
- Both Home Network nodes with TCP/IP Layer and without can coexist
under the same Home Network Middleware;
- Household appliances can communicate with audiovisual equipment,
PCs and PC-related equipment, and vice-versa, without requiring any
gateway;
- Household appliances can handle text and audiovisual data;
- Audiovisual equipment, PCs and PC-related equipment can handle
household appliances data; and
- Household appliances can freely select a suitable lower-layer
medium from various lower-layer media below TCP/IP.
The new standard is due to be published in October 2007 and some
products applying its specifications are now on the market in Japan.
The new specification is from the IEC Technical Committee 100, Audio,
video and multimedia systems and equipment. Media wishing to address the
project leader for this new specification are kindly requested to contact:
Contact for technical questions
Mr. Norimasa Minami
IEC TC 100 Assistant Secretary
Email: minami.norimasa@jp.panasonic.com
Tel: +81-6-69-00-96-34
General media contact
Mr. Dennis Brougham
Communications Manager
IEC Central Office
Geneva
Switzerland
Tel: +41-22-919-02-60
Email: db@iec.ch
