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Methods and systems for relaying an optical signal from a remote control to a remote-controlled device such as a home entertainment device or a security device. Embodiments include at least one optical receiver and a plurality of optical transmitters. The optical transmitter positioned with an unobs

Methods and systems for relaying an optical signal from a remote control to a remote-controlled device such as a home entertainment device or a security device. Embodiments include at least one optical receiver and a plurality of optical transmitters. The optical transmitter positioned with an unobstructed line-of-sight to the home entertainment device is identified and the data encoded in the optical signal from the remote control is sent to that transmitter. A second optical signal that is substantially identical to the first is then generated at the optical transmitter and communicated to the home entertainment device.

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1. A remote control relay system for wirelessly, remote-controlled devices, the remote control relay system comprising a plurality of optical receivers, wherein a first optical receiver of the plurality of optical receivers receives a first optical signal from a remote control and derives encoded da

1. A remote control relay system for wirelessly, remote-controlled devices, the remote control relay system comprising a plurality of optical receivers, wherein a first optical receiver of the plurality of optical receivers receives a first optical signal from a remote control and derives encoded data from the first optical signal;a plurality of optical transmitters each positioned with an optical receiver of the plurality of optical receivers and each configured to generate optical signals; anda central controller coupled to the plurality of optical receivers and the plurality of optical transmitters through a non-optical communication network, wherein the controller is configured to receive encoded data from the first optical receiver,analyze the encoded data to identify a corresponding remote-controlled device,identify one optical transmitter from the plurality of optical transmitters that is positioned with an unobstructed line-of-sight to the corresponding remote-controlled device,route the encoded data to the one identified optical transmitter through the non-optical communication network; andgenerate a second optical signal only at the one identified optical transmitter, the second optical signal being substantially identical to the first optical signal. 2. The remote control relay system of claim 1 wherein the first optical signal and the second optical signal include pulsed infrared radiation. 3. The remote control relay system of claim 1 further comprising a plurality of security system control panels wherein each security system control panel includes one of the plurality of optical receivers and one of the plurality of optical transmitters. 4. The remote control relay system of claim 3 further comprising a central security system processor including the central controller and coupled to each of the plurality of security system control panels. 5. The remote control relay system of claim 1 wherein the first optical signal is received from one of a plurality of remote controls and one of the plurality of optical transmitters is positioned in unobstructed optical communication with a plurality of remote-controlled devices. 6. The remote control relay system of claim 1 further comprising a data storage medium containing a list of device identifiers and the corresponding optical transmitters. 7. The remote control relay system of claim 6 wherein the controller is further configured to derive the device identifier from the encoded data, andaccess the list in the data storage medium to identify the corresponding optical transmitter. 8. The remote control relay system of claim 6 wherein the controller is further configured to derive the device identifier from the encoded data,access the list in the data storage medium,identify the device identifier as previously unknown, andadd the device identifier and the corresponding optical transmitter to the list, wherein the corresponding optical transmitter is the optical transmitter positioned with the optical receiver that derived the encoded data. 9. The remote control relay system of claim 6 further comprising an initializing button positioned with one optical receiver and one optical transmitter, wherein the controller is further configured to: derive a new device identifier from the encoded data received while the initializing button is pressed, andadd the device identifier and the corresponding optical transmitter to the list, wherein the corresponding optical transmitter is the optical transmitter positioned with the pressed initializing button. 10. The remote control relay system of claim 1 wherein the second optical signal has a higher amplitude than the first optical signal. 11. A method of controlling a wirelessly, remote-controlled device, the method comprising: receiving a first optical signal generated by a remote control associated with the remote-controlled device at a first optical receiver of a plurality of optical receivers;deriving encoded data from the first optical signal;transmitting the encoded data through a non-optical communication network to a central controller connected to a plurality of optical transmitters, wherein each optical transmitter of the plurality of optical transmitters is positioned with an optical receiver of the plurality of optical receivers;identifying one optical transmitter from the plurality of optical transmitters, wherein the one optical transmitter is positioned with an unobstructed line-of-sight to a the home entertainment device;transmitting the encoded data through the non-optical communication network to the one identified optical transmitter; andemitting a second optical signal only from the identified optical transmitter, wherein the second optical signal is substantially identical to the first optical signal. 12. The method according to claim 11 further comprising: deriving a device identifier from the encoded data, andaccessing a list of device identifiers and corresponding optical transmitters from the plurality of optical transmitters, wherein the corresponding optical transmitter is the optical transmitter positioned with an unobstructed line-of-sight to the home entertainment device. 13. The method according to claim 12 further comprising: identifying the device identifier as previously unknown when the identifier is not included in the list, andadding the previously unknown device identifier and the corresponding optical transmitter to the list, wherein the corresponding optical transmitter is the optical transmitter positioned with an optical receiver that derived the encoded data. 14. The method according to claim 12 further comprising: deriving a new device identifier from the first optical signal received while an initializing button is pressed, andadding the device identifier and the corresponding optical transmitter to the list, wherein the corresponding optical transmitter is the optical transmitter positioned with the pressed initializing button. 15. The method according to claim 12 further comprising: receiving an optical device signal at an optical receiver, wherein the optical device signal is generated from the remote-controlled device,deriving the device identifier from the optical device signal,updating the list such that the optical transmitter corresponding to the device identifier is the optical transmitter positioned with the optical receiver. 16. A security system comprising: a plurality of security system control panels each including an infrared transmitter and an infrared receiver; anda central security system controller connected to each of the plurality of security system control panels in a non-optical communication network configured to receive the content of a first infrared signal captured by the infrared receiver of one of the plurality of security system control panels,identify one security system control panel from the plurality of security system control panels that is positioned with an unobstructed line-of-sight to a remote-controlled device based on data encoded in the first infrared signal;communicate the content of the first infrared signal to the identified one security system control panel through the non-optical communication network, andemit a second infrared signal from the infrared transmitter of the one identified security system control panel, wherein the second infrared signal is identical to the first infrared signal. 17. The security system of claim 16 further comprising a remote computer server including the security system controller. 18. The security system of claim 16 further comprising a main security system control panel including the security system controller, an infrared transmitter, and an infrared receiver. 19. The remote control relay system of claim 1, wherein the non-optical communication network includes a wired network. 20. The remote control relay system of claim 1, wherein the non-optical communication network includes a wireless communication network.