RC-5


The RC-5 protocol was developed by Philips in the early 1980s as a semi-proprietary consumer IR remote control communication protocol for consumer electronics. It was subsequently adopted by most European manufacturers, as well as by many US manufacturers of specialty audio and video equipment. The other main protocol relevant to consumer electronics is the NEC protocol, which is largely used by Japanese manufacturers.
The RC-5 protocol, when properly implemented, has the advantage that any CD handset may be used to control any compatible brand of CD player. By comparison, the NEC protocol assigns each brand its own unique header after which may follow any desired command set; this confers the advantage that there cannot be any interference between remote handsets for pieces of equipment made by different manufacturers.

Protocol details

The basics of the protocol are well known. The handset contains a keypad and a transmitter integrated circuit driving an IR LED. The command data is a Manchester coded bitstream modulating a 36 kHz carrier. The IR signal from the transmitter is detected by a specialized IC with an integral photo-diode, and is amplified, filtered, and demodulated so that the receiving device can act upon the received command. RC-5 only provides a one-way link, with information traveling from the handset to the receiving unit.
The command comprises 14 bits:
The 36 kHz carrier frequency was chosen to render the system immune to interference from TV scan lines. Since the repetition of the 36 kHz carrier is 27.778 μs and the duty factor is 25%, the carrier pulse duration is 6.944 μs. Each bit of the RC-5 code word contains 32 carrier pulses, and an equal duration of silence, so the bit time is 64×27.778 μs = 1.778 ms, and the 14 symbols of a complete RC-5 code word take 24.889 ms to transmit. The code word is repeated every 113.778 ms as long as a key remains pressed.

System and command codes

While the RC-5 protocol is well known and understood, what is not so well documented are the system number allocations and the actual RC-5 commands used for each system. The information provided below is the most complete and accurate information available at this time. It is from a printed document from Philips dated December 1992 that is unfortunately not available in electronic format, nor is an updated version available. This information is provided so that companies that wish to use the RC-5 protocol can use it properly, and avoid conflicts with other equipment that may or may not be using the correct system numbers and commands.

Accuracy of information

The information in the tables on this page is known to be accurate. Yet it is also clear that there are many gaps in these tables. For example, there is no category listing for DVD players in the system table. It would obviously be useful therefore to expand these tables with known accurate information. At this time, there are only a few possible ways to do so.
The first would be to capture the IR bitstream from the handset of newer Philips products, such as DVD players and analyze them to see what system number is used. The other would be to use the popular Philips Pronto series of programmable remote controls. These can be programmed to operate Philips components using the RC-5 protocol. Again, the bitstream output of the handset would need to be captured and analyzed. The only other way is to obtain the appropriate documents directly from Philips.

System number allocations

System numberDescriptionCommand tables
0TV 1 2, 3, 4a
1TV 2 2, 3, 4a
2Txt 2, 3, 5
3Extension to TV 1 and TV 22, 4b
4LV 2, 3, 6
5VCR 1 2, 3, 7a
6VCR 2 2, 3, 7a
7Reserved
8Sat 1 2, 3, 8
9Extension to VCR 1 and VCR 22, 7b
10Sat 2 2, 3, 8
11Reserved
12CD-Video 2, 3, 9
13Reserved
14CD-Photo 2, 3, 10
15Reserved
16Preamp 1 2, 11
17Tuner 2, 12
18Rec 1 2, 13
19Preamp 2 2, 11
20CD 2, 14
21Combi 2, 15
22Sat 2, 16
23Rec 2 2, 11
24Reserved
25Reserved
26CD-R 2, 17
27Reserved
28Reserved
29Lighting
30Reserved
31Reserved

System number recommendations

As can be seen, this information is out of date. There are no longer any systems using CD-Video or CD-Photo, for example. In addition, many of the "Reserved" system numbers have no doubt been allocated by Philips during the intervening 16 years. In order to maintain compatibility, it would be helpful to obtain this information. Unfortunately, this has proven to be difficult.
When designing a product using the RC-5 protocol, the designer must follow the published information as closely as possible. For example, one surround-sound processor from a US specialty manufacturer used the system number 16, designated for "Preamp 1". This caused many problems with home theater installations that also included a separate two-channel preamplifier, which if of US or European origin, would also use the RC-5 protocol with system number 16. If the designers of the surround-sound processor had the correct information available to them, it would have been obvious that a better choice would have been to use system number 19, designated for "Preamp 2", as this would have avoided needless conflict between products.

Command tables

Over time, the information will also be added for the command tables so that all of the available information regarding the RC-5 protocol is gathered in one place. The information in the command tables shown in standard font was obtained from the Philips publication referenced at the bottom of this page. Information in italics is information that is known to be accurate, as it was derived by one of the methods described above.
CommandFunctionCommandFunction
0 to 9Digit entries 0 to 978Decrease linear control setting
16Increase sound volume80Move cursor or actuator upwards
17Decrease sound volume81Move cursor or actuator downwards
18Increase screen/display brightness82Switch screen/display menu on
19Decrease screen/display brightness83Switch screen/display menu off
22Increase bass response84Display A/V system status
23Decrease bass response85Move cursor or actuator to the left
24Increase treble response86Move cursor or actuator to the right
25Decrease treble response87Acknowledge; execute function selected by cursor
26Shift sound balance to the right118Select functions defined as sub-mode
27Shift sound balance to the left119Select functions defined as options sub-mode; e.g., calendar, alarm, time
63Select system mode of RC transmitter123Connect two items via Euroconnector
71Dim local display124Disconnect two items connected via Euroconnector
77Increase linear control setting

CommandFunctionCommandFunction
20Increase color saturation95Select PIP source
21Decrease color saturation96Mosaic/multi-PIP
88PIP on/off97Digital noise reduction of picture
89PIP shift98Store main picture
90PIP/main picture swap99PIP strobe; displays a photo-finish
91Strobe main picture on/off100Recall main stored picture
92Multi-strobe101PIP freeze
93Main picture frame frozen102Step up PIP options and display source
943/9 multi-scan: 103Step down PIP options and display source

Commands for video extension systems 3 and 9 which use the common video command numbers are given in Tables 4b and 7b.
CommandFunctionCommandFunction
101/2/3 digit entry59View data; advance
11Channel/program/freq; 11 60TXT/TV toggle; 12
12Standby61System standby
13Master mute/de-mute62Picture crispener
14Personal preference settings64
15Display user info on screen65
28Increase picture contrast66
29Decrease picture contrast67
30Search up68
31Decrease tint/hue69
32Channel/program up70Audio response for speech/music
33Channel/program down72
34Last viewed program/channel73
35Select stereo sound channel/language74
36Spatial stereo75
37Stereo/mono76
38Sleep timer79Select sound functions in sequence
39Increase tint/hue104Alter PIP size step-by-step
40Switch RF inputs105Select vision functions in sequence
41Store; Vote 106Actuate colored or other special keys
42Display time107Actuate function highlighted red
43Scan forward; increment 108Actuate function highlighted green
44Decrement 109Actuate function highlighted yellow
45110Actuate function highlighted cyan
46Secondary control/menu 111Index page/white function
47Show clock112Next option
48Pause113Previous option
49Erase/correct entry114
50Rewind115
51Go to116
52Wind117
53Play120
54Stop121
55Record122Store open/close
56External 1125
57External 2126
58127Parental access via PIN code

CommandFunctionCommandFunction
104 default video settings 67Program 10
114 default audio settings 68Program 11
1269Program 12
1370
14724 default video settings
15734 default audio settings
2074
2175
28Pay TV channel +76
29Pay TV channel −79
30Radio channel +88Pay TV channel +
31Radio channel −89Pay TV channel −
32Tilt cabinet forward 10 degrees max90Radio channel +
33Tilt cabinet backward 10 degrees max91Radio channel −
3492
3593
3694
3795
3896
3997
4098
4199
42100
43101
44102
45103
46104Tilt cabinet forward 10 degrees max
47105Tilt cabinet backward 10 degrees max
48106
49107
50108
51109
52110
53111
54112
55113
56External 3114
57External 4115
58116
59117
60120External 3
61121External 4
62Change 4:3 picture format to 16:9122Channel setting menu
64125
65126Change 4:3 picture format to 16:9
66127

CommandFunctionCommandFunction
10Next page59
11Previous page60
12Standby61
1362News flash
1464
1565
28Enter page number in memory66
29Sequential display of pages w/stored numbers67
30Sequential display/deletion of pages w/stored numbers68
3169
32Exchange 70
33Main index72
34Row zero 73
3574
3675
3776
38Print displayed page79
39Mix Antiope/TV pictures104
40105
41Page hold106
42Display time/timed page107
43Large top/bottom/normal108
44Reveal/conceal109
45TV/TXT110
46TV + TXT/subtitle111
47112
48113
49Erase/correct entry114
50115
51116
52117
53120
54121
55122
56125
57126
58127

CommandFunctionCommandFunction
10Display picture number/time59Freeze segment indicated by picture numbers
11Display chapter number60TXT/TV toggle; RF switch
12Standby61
13Mute/de-mute62CX 1, 2, 3; toggle for CX noise reduction
1464
15Display user info. on screen65
28Total shuffle play once/repeat once66
29TSP/repeat continuously67
30Select next option68
31Fast run reverse69
32Entry 70
33Auto-stop at pre-programmed point72
34Slow run reverse73
35Select stereo sound channel 1/language 174
36Select stereo sound channel 2/language 275
37Still increment reverse76
38Increase speed79
39Decrease speed104
40Slow run forward105
41Still increment forward106
42Fast run forward107
43Automatic search for user choice108
44Search in reverse109
45Open/close lid110
46Search forward111
47Play reverse/play opposite sound track112
48Pause113
49Erase/correct entry114
50115
51116
52117
53Play120
54Stop121
55122
56125
57126
58Clear memory all127

CommandFunctionCommandFunction
10GEQ L 67
11GEQ R 68
12Standby69
13Master mute/de-mute70
14Personal preference settings72
15Display user info on local display73
2074
2175
28GEQ L+R 76
29Speaker select79Scroll linear sound functions
30Scratch filter on/off88Random noise generator on/off
31Rumble filter on/off89Timer on/off
32Step function +90News timer on/off
33Step function −91
34Signal path scroll92
35Speaker A on/off93
3694
37Scroll surround sound options95
38Sleep timer96
39Speaker B on/off97
40Speaker C on/off98
41Timer program mode99
42Time set mode100
43Timer +101
44Timer −102Center channel volume +
45Open timer memory103Center channel volume −
46Open acoustic control setting memory104Delay front to surround increment
47Select acoustic settings in memory105Delay front to surround decrement
48106Linear phase
49Erase/correct entry107
50108
51109
52110
53111
54112
55113
56114
57115
58Clear memory all116
59117
60Dynamic range expand120
61121
62Dynamic range compress122Tape monitor
64Surround sound on/off125
65Balance front126
66Balance rear127

CommandFunctionCommandFunction
10Scroll local display cursor67
11Scroll local display function68
12Standby69
13Mute/de-mute70
1472
15Display user info on local display73
2074
2175
28Total shuffle play/repeat once76
29Repeat continuously79
30Select increment88
31Select decrement89
32Next90
33Previous91Digital signal processing on/off
34Index next92Music mode
35Index previous93Select room acoustics
36Play/program94Jazz/s-hall effect
37Speed nominal95Pop/s-hall effect
38Increase speed96Classic/church music for music/room mode
39Decrease speed97Easy/club music for music/room mode
4098Disco/stadium music for music/room mode
41Store execute99
42100
43Scan disc forward101
44102
45Open/close tray103
46104
47Fast/select disc from cartridge105
48Pause106
49Erase/correct entry107Second favorite track selection
50Rewind/reverse108Favorite track selection
51Scroll local display cursor109Title into memory
52Wind/fast-forward110
53Play111
54Stop112
55113
56114
57115
58Clear memory all116
59Repeat program marked A/B117
60Dynamic range expand120Fade in/out audio
61121
62Dynamic range compress122
64125
65126
66127