If you want to put your audio visual equipment (such as a Sky box or DVD player) in a different room and then use your remote control(s) without having to walk between rooms you'll need a remote control extender (also commonly known as an infrared extender).
Using what already exists
If you've got your audio visual equipment in a different room then some system exists for getting the output of that equipment to the room you're actually in, and sometimes that system already incorporates a way of controlling the equipment to which it is connected. For example, if you're using a wireless audio/video sender to distribute the output of your audio visual equipment then the chances are it already has a return infrared path which allows you to control the equipment it is connected to. Similarly, wired systems such as the Marmitek MegaView70 (which distributes audio & video over co-axial cable) and the Marmitek MegaView51 (which distributes audio & video over cat-5 cable) incorporate everything you need to allow an infrared remote control signal to be sent back along the existing cable.
Using co-axial wiring
In the UK it has become common for a basic network of co-axial wiring to be installed in the home. This cabling was originally intended to deliver a signal from the main television aerial to televisions dotted around the home, but it has increasingly been pressed into service to distribute the outputs of a range of audio-visual devices (with the Sky box being one of the most popular). Given that the cable exists it is relatively simple to use it to send a remote control signal back to the audio visual equipment it is connected to.
The Marmitek Video Control 3 consist of a small 'box' attached to a short cable with an infrared (IR) receiver on the end and a similar 'box' attached to a cable with three light emitting diodes (LEDs) on the end. The first box connects between a television and its co-axial cable, and the IR receiver is placed in line of sight of someone watching the television. The second box is connected between one of the pieces of audio-visual equipment you want to control and its co-axial cable, and the LEDs are attached (using the self-adhesive tape on the back) to the front of each of the devices you want to control. Controlling your equipment is then just a matter of pointing your remote control at the IR recever, which relays the signal to the equipment you want to control via the LEDs attached to it. You can buy extra VideoControl 3 infrared receivers to allow your equipment to be controlled from anywhere in the house that has a co-axial cable running to it.
Using cat-5 wiring
It is becoming increasingly common for homes to have cat-5 wiring installed for a variery of purposes, including computer networking, home control and audio visual distribution, and the same type of wiring can also be used to relay infrared remote control signals around the home.
The Marmitek IR Control Pro 8 consists of a small box of electronics which is located close to the equipment you want to control, and which is then connected to small IR receivers which can be located anywhere in the home by extending the supplied cable with cat-5 cable or similar. IR extender cables with LEDs on the end relay the signal received by any IR receiver to the equipment you are trying to control in just the same way as the Marmitek Video Control 3. A panel mount IR receiver is available as an optional extra which can be drilled into a wall making the whole installation virtually invisible. The IR Control Pro 8 can control four devices from one location straight out of the box, and up to two further IR extender cables and two further IR receivers can be connected giving it a total capacity of eight devices from three locations.
Wireless solutions
Where using existing cabling or installing new cabling isn't possible or desirable, wireless infrared extender setups such as the Marmitek Powermid XL or the Marmitek Powermid XS offer a simple solution. Indeed they are so simple to setup and use that they are the first choice for many users wanting to control equipment in a different room, but you do need to be aware that if your neighbours have the same type of wireless remote control extender and the same type of audio-visual equipment (such as a Sky box) then there is a danger that you will be controlling each other's equipment!
Both the Powermid XL and the Powermid XS consist of an IR receiver and IR transmitter pair which can 'talk' to each other using radio frequency (RF). The IR receiver sits (somewhere convenient) in line of sight of your remote control and the IR transmitter sits either in line of sight of the equipment you want to control or is connected to that equipment using an IR extender cable such as the Marmitek IR Eye (in just the same way as with the IR Control Pro 8). Controlling your equipment is now simply a matter of pointing your remote control at the IR recever, which relays the signal wirelessly to the IR transmitter, which in turn relays it to the equipment you want to control. As all compatible IR receivers will 'talk' to all compatible IR transmitters it is perfectly possible to build a cheap, simple and effective multiroom control system using these devices - but just remember that multiroom could become multihome!
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