The technology, which can be installed in any acoustic piano, uses solenoids to move the keys. According to the company, unlike pneumatic player systems, a modern reproducing piano has much better control over the key movement, with 127 levels of velocity per key, so it sounds like someone is actually playing it.

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"The piano is a beautiful instrument, and to some, an important status symbol. We found a way to give pianos a technology upgrade without attaching unsightly electronics to the instrument," said the company Executive Vice President, Tom Lagomarsino.

The flagship product has a Linux based web server and 802.11n wireless technology concealed inside the piano.

"An embedded web server gives us the most flexibility, and allows customers to control the piano via computers, web pads, or mobile devices," says PianoDisc Engineering Manager David Honeywell.

The iQ system, the company's latest product, is a device that allows any music player (such as an iPod or DVD player) to control the piano. The patented iQ technology even senses the volume level of the music player, and tailors the piano dynamics to match, the company says.

With an emphasis on open source, the company has commissioned some open source tools that allow piano data to be streamed along with compressed digital audio. So you can listen to your favourite tunes with a piano accompaniment.

If you're an iPod user, for example, you can load an audio CD into iTunes , then buy the piano accompaniment from PianoDisc (which has its own in-house recording studio). The accompaniment software scans the iTunes library for the matching album, and appends the data necessary for piano playback directly to the audio in iTunes. After that you can burn a CD or play the music directly through iTunes into a piano – giving you your own little concert hall.

The price of such high-tech wonders is not cheap though, with prices ranging from approximately $8300 to $23,000.

See: www.pianodiscau stralia.com.au