What is Audio and Video Distribution for Your Home?

This room showcases the convenience (and coolness factor) of having a dedicated media room in your home, and how audio and video distribution does the heavy lifting of tying all of the AV technology together across a home or business building.

Many include a media room in their home plans because they are a prime party spot when entertaining. You can quickly pull up favorite music, TV network, streaming services or sports, and even check security cameras on-screen through one, mobile app! Plus, we design media rooms to be multipurpose so that any visitor can enjoy it based on their preferences.

To understand how this room operates, we have to first start with explaining the purpose of audio and video distribution in a space.

What is Audio and Video (AV) distribution?

AV distribution ties together all the different “zones” of your house or business — whether that be the kitchen, bathroom, outdoor patio, media room, and the list goes on. We AV integrators call these different areas of your home “zones." We connect all of their individual AV needs together, so they work seamlessly from one place using control automation.

Control automation serves as the “brains” that calls up all the audio and video functions in every room across a building or home space. Essentially control automation is a whole home/building management system. In our office building, we used Savant control automation to manage all the technology needs, including audio and video distribution, security, shades, lighting, environment scenes, emergency systems, HVAC, and more. When you implement control automation into a home, all the AV and networking equipment sources are kept in one “centralized rack” instead of in each room. The rack and control automation design not only eliminates clutter and the cost of buying multiple sets of equipment for each room, but it makes managing the entire space way more efficient.

10-room house, all you need is the home’s control app to tell the tech what you want to happen inside each room. The control system then pings the equipment inside the rack (most likely located inside a closet or attic space), and it quickly starts performing the action inside the room you are in (i.e., listening to Spotify, tuning the TV to HGTV, or using voice control to communicate between rooms). This is especially helpful when mom is making breakfast in the kitchen but needs to tell kids getting ready for school upstairs that food is prepared — resulting in less shouting matches and more family connection with help from automation control and AV distribution running through the entire home! Another helpful example of AV distribution is if you are enjoying a movie in the upstairs family room and the doorbell rings. You can use a home’s control app to pull up the front door security camera to see who is at the door (the pizza delivery man or an annoying neighbor).

To give you a sense of the of the technology that runs audio and video distribution inside our media room, below is a list of all the equipment sources. You will notice that only a few of these items are actually visible inside the room. The other equipment sources are housed in the central rack — out of sight but within reach using a iPhone app.

Do you still have questions about the benefits of audio and video distribution in your space? Shoot us a message on our Contact page and we are happy to chat or show you the technology in action.

Sound System:
Bowers & Wilkins 802 D3 (Front L&R Main Speakers) Link
Bowers & Wilkins CWM7 (High Performance In-Wall Surround Speakers) Link
Bowers & Wilkins ASW10CM S2 (High Output Subwoofer) Link
Rotel RAP-1580 (Dolby Atmos Preamp Receiver) Link
Rotel RB-1590 (High Performance 2-Channel Amplifier) Link
Rotel RMB-1585 (High Performance 5-Channel Amplifier) Link

Video:
Epson Pro Cinema 6040UB (3LCD Projector with 4K Enhancement, HDR and ISF) Link
Screen Innovations Zero Edge Solar Gray 120” -16:9 HD Cinema Screen Link

Sources:
Oppo UDP-203 (4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Disc Player) Link
Kaleidascape Alto Movie Player (Blu-ray quality download or Disc Player) Link
Fusion Research Premiere Movie Server Link
Autonomic MMS-5A Mirage 5 Source Audio Server link (dedicated music server)
Cisco 4742 HDC Cable Box
Apple TV 4K Streaming Server Link (including apps)
Roku Ultra 4660 4K HD HDR Streaming Device Link

Acoustics:
GK Acoustics Room Kit
• (7) 242 Acoustic Panels 2’ x 4’ x 3.5” Absorbers for walls and ceiling.
• (4) 2’ x 2’ Ceiling Diffuser Panels
• (4) 2’ x 4’ Corner Bass Traps

Control System:
Savant Pro with Smart Media Pro HDMI Matrix Switcher Link

Lighting Control:
Lutron Lighting with Palladiom Keypad Link

Cables:
Kimber Kable BIFOCAL XL Summit Series Speaker Cable
Kimber Kable Hero Analog Interconnects
Kimber Kable Summit Series Digital Interconnects

Power & Accessories:
Richard Gray Power Company RGPC 400 Pro (Power Purification System)
Chief Mounts RPMC1 RPA Elite (Projector Security Mount (Lock C)

Furniture:
Black Leather Love Seat