The term Multiroom Audio Video means the availability of audio and video sources throughout the home – audio and video systems for the entire home. When you take sources that you normally have in your salon, such as DVD players, CD players, and radio tuners, and put them in one central location, those sources can spread throughout the house.
There are many different manufacturers that have ways of delivering commercial audio-video systems, they also allow you to control the source as if you were in the same room.
Some systems distribute audio over Cat5e cables, others wirelessly, and some run speaker cables from the center to each room. Our preferred method is to run speaker wire for the simple reason that it is more economical to install a good multi-channel amplifier in a central location than to install a good amplifier in just any room and you have less room equipment.
Once you've got audio in the room, you need to control it – again, different manufacturers have different methods of doing this – cheaper systems give you a pre-engraved keypad to scroll channels up and down and change the volume. Unlike more expensive systems, you can select a channel and see two-way feedback – you can view things like CD covers and choose your music intuitively, and you have access to a variety of Sky remotes.
Installing a music server makes a lot of sense if you're installing an entire home system, don't want to visit remote lockers when changing music, and they also have the benefit of streaming multiple CDs – different people can hear different things in different rooms.