Xantech, a company that helped pioneer the concept of extended IR control for audio/video systems, is offering a new line of IR products designed to work on both plasma or LCD TVs and that are color coded by range and sensitivity.

Xantech's IR Receiver Group

The products are the Red/95, Green/85, and Blue/25 series.

“We now differentiate the kits by range and sensitivity instead of by type of television, and we simplified the selection process through our three-tier color-coded packaging system,” explained Xantech’s director of marketing Mark Cerasuolo.

The Red/95 series features the company’s highest level of interference-rejection circuitry, working with all types of TVs and lighting at ranges up to 120 feet.

The Green/85 series is designed to work with all TVs and lighting up to 80 feet.

The Blue/25 series is value priced, offering IR control for a traditional TV display under traditional lighting conditions.”

For the 95 and 85 series, Xantech delved into five technology elements:

• Error Correction circuitry to help reproduce the original IR signal.
• Automatic Gain Control (AGC) circuitry to allow a Xantech IR receiver to constantly study the ambient light level and automatically re-calibrate its own sensitivity to more accurately discriminate the correct signal and reject unwanted noise.
• Adaptive Filtering circuitry that enables the receiver to more electively “look” at an IR source while rejecting unwanted frequencies.
• Native Carrier Frequency Transmission circuitry (95, 85, and 25 series) to process the original “pure” carrier frequency, eliminating noise and interference, and transmitting the original IR signal in its correct form to the rest of the system.

In addition, the 95 series features an oversized IR element, to provide a wider operating window, better off-axis response and longer range for larger living environments or in conditions with unusual amounts of light interference.

The three new lines of IR kits are available with four receiver styles. The DL/Dinky Link surface-mount is now available with color-change sleeves for unobtrusive mounting on black, white or silver units. The HL/Hidden Link Designer-style receiver is a tabletop design for placement on entertainment equipment racks or components and is also available in black, white, or silver. The ML/Micro Link peephole or bullet design is intended for in-wall or in-ceiling installations, and in speakers with a suitable knockout feature, and ships with brass, white and black bezels for easy concealment. Lastly, the Decora-style receiver is intended for low-voltage mounting bracket or J-Box installations for in-wall retrofit or other applications.