Homeowners take advantage of the PC connection by downloading music from the PC to the piano. Or, they can create music on the fly and then send it from the piano and into a PC using software that captures the notes and puts the work into printable form. They can then store or print out the sheet music from tunes they just hammered out.
Down the road the networking capability will lead to Internet applications, Yamaha says. Piano students could participate in online music competitions with other students from around the globe. They could take up online music lessons with a teacher across the state or across the country. Extending the reach of the piano to the Internet opens up a world of future possibilities.
Expanding the iPod The piano is one new source for the multi-room audio system. The ubiquitous iPod is another. Multi-room audio company Sonance has devised the iPort, a custom wall plate for the iPod or iPod mini that wires the portable music player into the whole-house or local audio system. iPod owners can place the iPod in the iPort dock when they arrive home and the device appears as a separate audio source on a Sonance multi-room system. It can also work with home control systems from AMX, Crestron, and Elan.
Users control the iPod on the device itself, which is charged by a DC power supply while resting in the in-wall dock. A video version of iPort works with iPod Photo players. Homeowners with photos on an iPod can view images from iPod Photo players on a TV located either in the room or elsewhere in the house.
Currently just over half of new homes go up with structured wiring. For luxury homeowners, the benefits of networked electronics will grow exponentially as companies devise useful ways to benefit from devices that talk to each other within the home. With the wine cellar, grand piano, and iPod in the picture, the case for home networking just became a little more enticing.
Rebecca Day specializes in writing about home electronics. She can be reached at customhomerd@aol.com.
With the eSommelier, homeowners can easily manage a large wine collection via a touchscreen monitor in the wine cellar or through the main control system in other rooms.
The iPort from Sonance is a custom wall plate that wires an iPod or iPod mini into a home’s audio system. A video version for iPod Photo players also is available.
