Autonomic Software Bridges MCE/Automation Gap

So you like your Crestron, Control4 or AMX system, but your customers want to bring their Media Center Edition (MCE) along? Now you can have your traditional controller and MCE too, says startup Autonomic, Inc.

The company's Media Center Control Server runs as a service on Microsoft XP MCE and Vista and provides a two-way TCP/IP control protocol for use by integrators utilizing dedicated control systems and software.

"We think this application provides vital functionality to the integration market and further closes the gap between MCE servers and other, high-end solutions such as ReQuest," says Autonomic principal Michael de Nigris.

The Autonomic software is installed on the host MCE. From that point, it runs as a service to provide a full control protocol over IP, just as with other custom-oriented media servers.

"Integration works exactly the same as any A/V component that supports an RS-232 or IP-control protocol," says de Nigris. "The protocol documentation is on our Web site and programmers are familiar with working with this type of interface."

Specifically for Crestron, the installer simply inserts a TCP/IP client symbol into the SIMPL program and enters the IP address of the host PC. To simplify the Crestron integration, a preconfigured control module and touchpanel interface can be downloaded from the Autonomic site and customized to suit the installation.

"We will be providing pre-built AMX templates shortly, but providing these modules are for convenience, not necessity," says de Nigris. "Programmers of any control system are not reliant on us to build modules for them. If the system can communicate over IP and respond to feedback, they can be integrated with the MCE Control Server."

Currently, Autonomic only supports MCE music, not photos, video, or other media services. But even the music support can be difficult, says de Nigris.

"There are challenges in synching the music. If a user is interacting with Media Center directly, then a product that uses our module will change the music on the [control system]," he says. "If it's not properly done, if you issue a play command on the controller and through the TV, you could have two songs playing at once."

The Autonomic solution also supports Media Center Extenders (Xbox 360) for multizone applications.

Not only can Autonomic enable third-party controllers to bring MCE-based music into the control environment, the application allows MCE to exploit the control capabilities of an automation system.

Programmers can send dialog boxes to the MCE interface along with graphics to interact with the user from the control system. For example, an integrator might send a Caller ID message to the MCE when the phone rings, or a notification that an alarm zone has opened.

A more complex scenario might be an application for a video intercom door or gate station. "When the door or gate bell is rung, the control system can pause Media Center, display a message box along with a picture from the intercom or security camera, and ask the user if they would like to grant access," de Nigris says. "Once an answer is received, the control system can resume playback on MCE."

For their part, home-control manufacturers have been slow to incorporate MCE integration into their offerings. Crestron demonstrated a solution at CEDIA Expo in 2005. The company was expected to demonstrate an offering at this year's event in September.

Control4 indicates it has plans to incorporate MCE eventually. Elan Home Systems has no immediate plans to touch MCE. HAI has embraced MCE, but the manufacturer's application is only one-way: You can control the home through MCE, but you cannot deliver MCE-based services to HAI.

MCE maker Inteset has built-in control modules on two of its MCE models that enable two-way communications with some third-party systems, not unlike the Autonomic solution.