Teamspeed.com - Switched On: Multi-room music's rocket ride

Multi-room music has a long history as the province of the wealthy, the corporate, and those with the forethought to build or buy new construction with the structured wiring to support it. But over the past few years a number of companies have tried various wireless technologies to bring multi-room music closer to the masses. Some companies have used proprietary wireless systems while others have used WiFi, and yet others have tried both approaches in different products at different times.

Those approaches, though, now face competition from a new ingredient brand called Rocketboost. While it may sound like a powdered nutritional supplement that Jamba Juice adds to smoothies, Rocketboost uses the second generation of a wireless audio technology dubbed AudioMagic 2G, which developer Avnera claims is the first multipoint to multipoint HD wireless audio platform. Indeed, AudioMagic 2G can support up to five sources and nine receivers -- significantly shy of Sonos's 32 zones, but enough to cover many homes. Each Rocketboost receiver has, at minimum, a button to cycle through active sources, and the standard also supports displays that would enable more flexibility in source selection, particularly AudioMagic 2G has a data channel for sending information about a source and the content it is playing.

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Avnera's first-generation technology was used by Best Buy in its Rocketfish wireless rear speaker surround kit, and the retail giant plans to do much of the boosting behind Rocketboost. For one, it's upgraded that rear speaker surround kit to accommodate 7.1-channel 96kHz audio for Blu-ray -- a jumping-off point that serves as a Trojan horse for building a whole-home audio system based around Best Buy's Rocketboost PC audio kits and outdoor speakers.

And Best Buy has even greater ambitions for the technology: it's encouraging other consumer electronics companies to license Avnera's technology and sell Rocketboost-enabled components at its stores and at other retailers worldwide. Some home audio companies may bite, particularly if it could help in having Best Buy feature their products. Others, though, have started down a different path; Sony's S-Air technology, which the company has integrated into a family of audio components, appears to be the closest competitor. Hedging its bets and offering consumers multiple opions, Best Buy has partnered with Sony to sell its S-Air products under the Altus name.

Full article here -->> Switched On: Multi-room music's rocket ride -- Engadget