Patent ID: 8224470

Claim:
A sound system including a network having connected thereto a plurality of audio devices and at least one control device for controlling the plurality of audio devices, each of said plurality of audio devices including a first storage section storing therein an audio device ID identifying the audio device, control data for controlling the audio device, and an area ID indicative of an area the audio device belongs to, the audio device ID being composed of an unique ID and an in-area ID, the in-area ID and area ID being set by a user, said control device comprising: a second storage section storing therein one piece of area information including an area ID indicative of an area and one or more pieces of virtual device information for one or more virtual devices registered in the area, each of the virtual device information including a virtual device ID identifying the corresponding virtual device, and control data for remotely controlling an audio device related to the corresponding virtual device; a matching section that receives, from each of the audio devices connected via the network, the audio device ID and the area ID in said first storage section of the audio device and judges, for each of the audio devices, if the audio device ID and the area ID from the audio device match any of the virtual device IDs and the area ID in said second storage section or not and, if the judgment is affirmative, relates the audio device with the virtual device identified by the matched virtual device ID and the area ID; a synchronization section that synchronizes the control data for the virtual devices with the control data in the audio devices, by receiving, for each of the virtual devices, the control data from the audio device related with the virtual device and overwriting the control data for the virtual device in said second storage section with the received control data, or by transmitting, for each of the virtual device, the control data for the virtual device in said second storage section to the audio device related with the virtual device to overwrite the control data in the audio device with the transmitted control data; and a remote control section that remotely controls each of the audio device if the control data in the audio device is synchronized with the control data for one virtual device in said second storage section at the moment, by displaying the control data for the virtual device in said second storage section for the user, receiving a control operation by the user, and modifying the control data for the virtual device in said second storage section and the control data in the audio device at once in response to the control operation.