Audio- and/or Videosystem, specially for vehicles or home applications

An audio/video system (A/V system) for motor vehicles includes a ring local area network, a plurality of assorted audio/video appliances (A/V appliances), one or more output units, a control unit, and at least one operating unit. The A/V appliances transmit information about their available audio/video presentations to the control unit via the network. The available A/V presentations are displayed on a display independently of the appliances and divided into classes. The result of this is an appliance-independent user interface on the basis of which the user can select the presentations independently of the appliances. The user chooses a presentation such as a radio station independently of which frequency or which A/V appliance (analog radio receiver or DAB receiver) is used to receive it. The control software is of modular design.