What Is Whole Home Audio / Video ? Continued

The most important element of a successful whole house Audio / Video system is reliable control of the centralized equipment from each remote listening location. Without this control it would be necessary go to the equipment each time you wanted to adjust the volume, change source, or control the source. The systems described below, give you the ability to use hand held remote controls in each listening location. These remote control systems allow you to control your equipment from any room, as if you were standing in front of the Audio / Video equipment. There are many ways to accomplish this; several are decribed below.

Wireless RF / Single Zone Systems

The lowest cost solution is to use wireless RF (Radio Frequency) control system. With these devices you use your remote control and a RF repeater to transmit IR signals through walls or floors to your equipment. These devices are typically only used for single zone systems.

Video Signal Transmission with Coax

In this solution the same coaxial video cable that is feeding a picture to your TV is used to control remote equipment. The IR signal from your remote control is combined with the video signal on the coax cable and is transmitted back along the coax cable to the source equipment you wish to control. This solution provides better signal reliability than the RF method discussed previously.

Hardwired Signal Transmission

Hardwired IR signal transmission provides the greatest system design flexibility and the greatest signal transmission reliability, but may not be possible in retrofit installations. A dedicated cable from the remote location to the equipment is required to achieve this solution.

 

---