Using the television to wash your clothes?

Geneva (Switzerland) 13 Septetember (PROTEXT/ots) - The washing machine andthe refrigerator are going to start “talking” to the television thanks to anew standard about to be published by the Geneva-based IEC. This newability to network traditional household appliances with personal computersand audio-visual equipment will offer such possibilities as your televisionscreen displaying the fact that the washing machine has finished washingyour clothes or turning on an air conditioner from your personal computer.

The new standard links the two different communications networksestablished for the household appliances and audio visual equipment. Thesewere set up separately largely because of the different product lifecyclesfor the fast-moving audiovisual equipment and computers compared withslower-changing household appliances which tend to stay in use over periodsof several years.

This specification, Home Network Communication Protocol over IP forMultimedia 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 underthe same Home Network Middleware;

- Household appliances can communicate with audiovisual equipment, PCs andPC-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 householdappliances data; and

- Household appliances can freely select a suitable lower-layer medium fromvarious lower-layer media below TCP/IP.

The new standard is due to be published in October 2007 and sSome productsapplying its specifications are now on the market in Japan.

The new specification is from the IEC Technical Committee 100, Audio, videoand multimedia systems and equipment. Media wishing to address the projectleader 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

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