NuVo, Autonomic ‘Win’ EHX with Multi-Output iTunes Server

The duo of Autonomic Controls and NuVo "won" EHX Spring 2008 if I have any say in the matter.

The two companies created an incredibly useful music management and whole-house audio solution that lets users access all of their digital content from a single library, and distribute it to any room of the house -- six streams at a time.

No big deal? Consider that the library can include typical WMA [Windows Media Audio] files as well as DRM-protected iTunes music.

The software, called Media Control Server EX (MCS-EX), was created by Autonomic Controls at the behest of NuVo.

"At home, our music was in WMA [Windows Media Audio], but my wife wanted to listen to her iPod," says NuVo president David Rodarte.

"You could get one but not the other." In other words, you have to flip between music folders, rather than select from a single library.

"It shouldn't have to work that way," Rodarte says.

Worse, in the case of NuVo's and other multiroom audio systems, when the iPod disappears from the docking station, there go the iTunes.

"The iPod dock is a great solution if you want to keep the iPod docked" says Autonomic principal Michael De Nigris.

"But [the music] all comes from iTunes anyway, so why not use it from iTunes?"

Autonomic's MCS-EX software blends iTunes and WMA music into a single library -- on the fly, with no intervention from the customer.

3 Music Streams from one 5.1 Sound Card

The software runs on virtually any PC or Windows Home Server. A 5.1 sound card in the PC or server becomes a three-zone music player.

Add a second card and you get six streams flowing from the server in any combination of WMA and iTunes. "There is no other company that can do multiple-output iTunes," says NuVo CTO Rick Kukulies.

Now, plug the outputs from the sound card(s) into the stereo inputs of a NuVo Grand Concerto or Essentia E6G multiroom audio system to distribute the music throughout the house.

But don't stop there. Connect a NuVo MusicPort adapter between the Concerto/Essentia and the PC for two-way communications. Effortlessly, you can access all of your music from any NuVo keypad in the house.

Browse playlists, albums, artists and songs as if they all reside in a single library.

"If all systems are pointed to a central repository, and someone downloads music, it all shows up on the keypad, regardless of the format," De Nigris says.

"People talk about maintenance but it never happens." Consumers simply aren't willing to convert their file formats and drag their music to a central locale every time they buy a song or rip a CD.

Perfect Server for the Job

At EHX, NuVo demonstrated the media-server software running on a cheap $500 Dell PC from Wal-Mart as well as a new Windows Home Server from S1Digital.

"The multiple-output iTunes player can run on any computer," Kukulies says. "All you need is a sound card."

S1Digital created a server especially for the job. It is a 1U rack-mount box running Windows Home Server, and it's the first such product I've seen with a built-in sound card.

In addition, the server has an on-board serial port to hook into NuVo's MusicPort.

You're not going to find a lot of PC/server products these days that have a serial port, but the connector is still a must-have in the home systems integration world.

More on NuVo and Interop

NuVo has been working hard to make its multiroom audio products compatible with third-party systems -- to control those systems, not to be controlled by them.

In other words, the company wants you to be able to use NuVo keypads to access music, trigger automation scenes, set the temperature, and perform other tasks enabled by third-party automation and entertainment systems.

NuVo's first venture was with Exceptional Innovation. In September 2007, NuVo demonstrated integration between its multiroom audio system and EI's Lifeware automation system, showing how a NuVo keypad could be used to control the lights and activate scenes (GOODNIGHT, AWAY, etc.) via the Lifeware system.

At EHX, NuVo boasted an array of new partners, including Autonomic, CasaTools, Superna and HAI.

As for Autonomic, I love this itty bitty company which has been particularly influential in bridging the Media Center and home automation gap.