Infra Red (IrDA)

Q. What is IrDA?

A. The initials IrDA stand for Infrared Data Association.
IrDA is a non-profit trade association with a membership of over hundreds of companies in the computers and telecommunications industry, including components, hardware, software, & adapters manufacturers.

Q.  What is the IrDA standard?

A.  The IrDA standard is a set of specifications for providing a universal two-way wireless infrared data communications, based on a practical cost, short-range point-to-point user model.
The standard defines the physical characteristics of the interface, the communications protocols that provide for different needs, and the transmission speeds at which the infrared device communicates.

Q. What are the two basics of the IrDA standards?

A.  The two basics of the infrared communication standards are IrDA-Data and IrDA-Control.
IrDA-Data defines the standard for the wireless, two-way infrared data transmission between two devices and consists of a set of mandatory protocols: PHY (Physical), IrLAP (Link Access), and IrLMP (Link Management).
IrDA-Control is the infrared standard that allows wireless peripherals such as keyboards, mouse, game pads, joysticks, and other pointing devices to interact with many types of host devices. Host devices include PCs, home appliances, game consoles, and TV/Web set top boxes.
IrDA-Control is not the same as the standard TV Remote Control. IrDA-Control has its own set of mandatory protocols: PHY (Physical), MAC (Media Access Control), and LLC (Logical Link Control).

Q. Why implement the IrDA infrared communication standards?

A.. Implementing the IrDA infrared communication standards is to ensure the interoperability in between all types of wireless digital infrared communication devices.

Q. What is the difference between direct infrared, diffuse infrared, and radio frequency?

A. Direct infrared is a point-to-point, typically one-to-one communication. Which requires line of sight and is a secure form of data transmission and reception.
Hoya IrDA-standard wireless infrared solution is an example of direct infrared.
Diffuse infrared allows many-to-many connections, does not require direct line of sight and can be uni-directional or bi-directional. Since it is based on visible light, it is a secure form within a room. Financial trading floors are an example of diffuse infrared.
Radio frequency is not secure in that it can penetrate through walls and is subject to uncontrolled interference. It is typically higher in power consumption than directed infrared and requires FCC certification.

Q. What is an IrDA-standard wireless infrared data communication?

A. It is a wireless data connection using infrared light by a cost effective transceiver signaling technology for two-way digital data exchange. It provides reliable, high-speed digital communications between two devices for up to 4 Mbits/sec of data transmit rate.

Q. What are the benefits for IrDA-standard infrared connection technology?

Q. How secure is IrDA-standard wireless infrared connection?

A. Very secure.
Using IrDA-standard wireless infrared connection to access the LAN is as secure as using a cable at any other access point on the network. You need to be an authorized user on the subnet.

Q. How reliable is wireless infrared connection?

A. Wireless infrared connection is often more reliable than wired solutions. The infrared port will prove more reliable than wired connections because we will have eliminated wear-and-tear. No pins to bend, no plugs to jam.

Q. How sensitive is infrared to distance and reception angle?

A. The Infrared Physical Layer is defined to guarantee error-free communication from the minimum to maximum distance and a given reception or viewing angle in a typical environment where ambient light or other sources of interference may be present.

Q. What are the distance limitations for IrDA-standard wireless infrared connections?

A. Although the IrDA-standard only specifies a connection distance from zero to one meter, many IrDA-compliant products can connect at distances greater than one meter.
If the portable is farther away from the infrared access point, the connection will be slower. To be IrDA-compliant, a product must be capable of maintaining a constant connection distances.

Q. Where can I find IrDA-compliant infrared enabled products?

Q. What products will implement IrDA-compliant infrared solution in the future?

A. Infrared port will soon be seen in copiers, fax machines, overhead projectors, telephones, bank ATM's, credit card readers, game controls, and headsets, …etc.

Q. What applications are there for IrDA-standard infrared solution?

A.. Direct “beaming” of images or files between electronic devices is the most common application for IrDA-standard infrared solution.
Future applications are public / business / cellular telephones, consumer electronics, electronic commerce, distribution, warehousing, grocery stores, field service, utility services, medical, automotive, and many other vertical markets.

Q. Is IrDA-standard wireless infrared support available in the Windows operating system?

A. Yes, IrDA-standard infrared support is available in Windows 98, Windows 98 SE, Windows 2000, Windows XP & Windows Millennium operating system.

Q. Is IrDA-standard infrared solution supported by any of the RISC processors?

A. Yes, IrDA-standard infrared solution is supported on Apple Macintosh (PowerPC), NEC’s VR series, and is also supported on embedded processors, typically used in handheld PC’s.

Q. What happens if the IrDA-standard infrared data transmission is interrupted by obstruction or misdirection?

A. Should your infrared connection be interrupted for any reason, your data is protected.
In Microsoft Windows environment, both audio and visual signals inform you when the connection is broken. When the infrared connection is re-established, it will simply take up where you left off, without any loss or corruption of data. It's that easy.

Q. What does FIR and SIR stands for?

A. FIR stands for Fast Infrared transmit mode (IrDA 1.1 Standard), which is the capability to transmit data up to 4 Mbits/sec. SIR stands for Serial Infrared transmit mode (IrDA 1.0 Standard), which is the capability to transmit data at 115.2 Kbits/sec.

Q. Why is the 4 Mbps data transmission rate preferable to the 115.2 Kbps data transmission rate?

A. The 4 Mbps data transmission rate is quite suitable for wireless solution applications or other connectivity applications that are comparable to existing alternatives.

Q. A lot of electronic products support PC link via serial cables. Would I still need to use the infrared adapter on my desktop PC?

A. Wireless infrared data transmission between your PC and any IrDA-compliant ready products is instant. Simply point the infrared port to each other and start transmitting! There is no need to go through the time-consuming chore of locating your PC link cable, shut down your PC, connect cable to the back of your PC, turn on your PC, and wait till it finishes the boot-up cycle.... etc.
And most importantly, there is no sacrifice in performance -- The infrared adapter maximum data transmission speed is up to 4 Mbps, which is even much more faster than the maximum serial cable’s data transmission speed.
(Provide that both the PC & IrDA-compliant electronic devices s support the IrDA 1.1 (FIR) standard)

Q. I thought that USB also supports the "hot swap" feature which does not require power shut-down in connecting a device. How is wireless infrared transfer comparing to USB in popularity?

A. In order for the hot swap feature to work, your PC and the USB devices must be working under Windows environment, including the system board, plugged into the USB port must also support the hot swap function. Even if these conditions are met, you are still dealing with wires and the physical tasks of plug-in and plug out. The current deployment of IrDA-standard infrared port vs USB port to the mobile hand-held electronic devices is about 10-to-1. This is due to the fact that many hand-held electronic devices do not support USB. In fact, many upcoming hand-held products are going to abandon serial connector in favor of an exclusive IrDA-standard infrared interface.

Q. If my computer is in the energy saving standby mode where the screen is shut down, do I need to wake it up first before I can start receiving files through the infrared adapter?

A. No. The "Infrared Monitor" software under the Windows operating system continue to scan for IrDA signal even after the system shuts down the screen and hard drive.
When another device equipped with an IrDA-standard infrared port is in range, the operating system will wake up the system and get ready for data transmission automatically.

Q. Why doesn’t my desktop PC have an infrared port?

A. Prior to the wide availability of the USB port, there has not been a viable, low-cost method to integrate an IrDA-standard infrared port, especially the 4 Mbps data transmit rate. The only interface available was the standard PC serial port, which is limited to 115.2 Kbps data transfer rate.

Q. Do all notebook PCs has an infrared port?

A. Market data indicates that virtually all of the portable devices shipped by 1997 had built-in infrared port. Today all major notebook PCs ship with IrDA-standard infrared port, these notebook PCs include Gateway, HP, Dell, Compaq, IBM, NEC, Toshiba, Sony, Fujitsu, … etc.

Q. What do I need to be able to use wireless infrared solution on my notebook PC to my desktop PC?

A. Your PCs needs to have the appropriate software drivers on it such as Microsoft “Infrared Monitor” or “QuickBeam”. If your Desktop PC does not have an IrDA-standard infrared adapter or software, you will need to get a infrared adapter and software to enable your Desktop PC for wireless data transfers. Infrared adapters are available on the market today. Please refer to your local dealers for more product specifications.

Q. I have a Notebook PC that uses "Fast IrDA" mode (4 Mbps) and my desktop PC only supports "Serial IrDA" mode (115.2 Kbps) or vice versa. Can I still connect the 2 PCs using infrared adapter for wireless data transfers?