Near Field Communication (NFC)
is expanding quickly, and moving well beyond the smartphone. More than 500
million non-phone, NFC-enabled devices are expected to ship in 2018 and many
of those devices will spend most of their lives somewhere near the living-room
couch.
When it comes time to relax, entertain and connect at home, NFC adds
simplicity, security and a whole lot more. Here are just five of the
many reasons why NFC enhances the living-room experience:
-
NFC simplifies your setup
Want to connect your new TV to your home Wi-Fi network, or
add a pair of high-end speakers to your entertainment system? A quick tap is
all you need to securely commission a smart device or create a secure
Bluetooth or Wi-Fi pairing. No more connecting cables, and there’s no
need to get on your knees and crawl behind a table to access the Wi-Fi
router and get a complicated Wi-Fi code.The media and entertainment
technology company Technicolor understood these issues and prototyped an
NFC-enabled set-top box to demonstrate the “Follow-me”
feature. It allows users to simply transfer a video from an NFC-enabled
smartphone to a set-top box in one tap to the box, and vice versa. By
mirroring screens between your tablet and the TV, sharing media was never
easier.
-
NFC makes it personal
How about viewing your own, customized video guide? Skip that endless list
of romantic comedies and jump straight to the action flicks. Or maybe
you’d like to have the TV display a particular channel, with the
sound off, whenever you turn it on, so you can check the game or view
headlines without disturbing everyone else in the room. With NFC,
personalized controls let you do things your way.
-
NFC keeps it secure
Concerned about protecting your identity while using online services? NFC
keeps everything private and secure, so you can do all kinds of things
– like commission smart devices, purchase new games, pay for video on
demand or top-up your transport card – without compromising personal
information or putting yourself at risk of identity theft.
-
NFC puts the adults back in control
Got kids? Want to make sure they stick to their agreed-upon
schedule for gaming or watching videos? Let them tap their NFC-enabled toy
to the TV to control access times and durations. No more negotiating.
-
NFC gets you help faster than ever
Having trouble with an install, want help registering a product or need to
report a technical problem? Help is just a tap away. You’re
automatically connected to the right contact person. And, because system
details like serial numbers and warranty codes are already programmed into
the system, you don’t have to wrestle with bulky machinery and big
screens to access details printed on the back.
What’s inside?
NXP has developed its latest NFC controller,
PN7120, to allow designers a plug’n play experience for all applications
running in Android, Windows, Linux or any other OS environment. The chip comes
with embedded NFC firmware providing all NFC protocols as pre-integrated
feature. Adding NFC to the mix makes it easier to pair, commission, and
maintain smart components and offers new levels of personalization and
control – all with the highest levels of security.
How do you see NFC changing the way you experience home entertainment?
Related links
NXP NFC solutions
PN7120 – Plug’n play full NFC controller
