It is becoming increasingly common to want to watch and/or listen to the output of one audio-visual device in a different room to the one in which the device is actually located. It might be, for example, that your Sky box and DVD player are located in the lounge but that sometimes you’d like to watch them from the kitchen or the bedroom. It may even be that you’d like to put all of your audio-visual equipment in a central cupboard and then access it from anywhere in the home. The good news is that a range of solutions are available to help you do just that!
Distributing audio around the home using speaker cable
If you simply want to direct the output of your hi-fi to a set of speakers in a second room then the answer may be no more complicated than running speaker wire from the terminals on the back of your amplifier to the set of speakers in question. More sophisticated solutions can be created by running the output of the amplifier to either a speaker switch and then on to speakers located throughout the house.
Distributing audio & video around the home using audio-visual interconnects
Probably the easiest way of distributing both audio and video around the home is simply to use longer versions of the cables that you are already using to connect your audio-visual equipment together. So, for example, you could run a long scart cable or RCA phono cable from the back of your Sky box or DVD player to another room and then plug it directly into the audio-visual input of the TV in that room. You can do the same thing with HDMI cables to distribute the output of a Sky HD box or BluRay player.
Distributing audio & video around the home using co-axial cable
Many homes already have a system in place for distributing a TV aerial signal around the home using a network of co-axial cables which are connected to a TV aerial distribution amplifier. If your home has such a system then it is often possible to use it to distribute the outputs of a range of audio-visual devices. (If your home doesn’t have such a system and you’d like more information about installing one then you might like to read our article on distributing a television aerial signal around the home.)
Distributing audio & video around the home using cat-5 cable
Cat-5 cable is generally associated with computer network wiring and as such is increasingly being installed in homes. It offers significant advantages over the use of audio-visual interconnects for audio & video distribution throughout the home, not least being the ability to send signals over longer distances than is possible with scart, RCA phono or HDMI interconnects.
Distributing audio & video around the home using wireless audio & video senders
Where it isn't possible to use a wired solution to distribute audio & visual signals around the home then wireless audio & video senders offer an alternative. These devices consist of a transmitter and receiver pair which communicate with each other by radio frequency (in much the same way as a wireless computer network).
Multiroom audio & video systems
No overview of systems for distributing audio and video around the home would be complete without mention of true multiroom audio and video systems. These systems offer sophisticated levels of control of source equipment and can often be integrated with other systems in the home such as lighting and security. They are generally installed when a new home is constructed or an existing existing home is undergoing substantial refurbishment.
Controlling your source equipment
Whatever system you choose for distributing audio & video around your home, spare a thought for how you are going to control your source equipment. Some distribution systems already include a return infrared path which allows you to control equipment using your existing remote control, but if they don't then you'll need to consider a remote control extender system.
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