Superna Home Control & Multimedia: All About Standards, Options

Nov 21, 2006 I've never quite understood the allure of Superna. Sure, they have a nice PC-based home-control system, and they have a version for Media Center Edition (MCE), if that's your PC of choice.

Superna founder Arik Vardi was also the founder of ICQ, the world's first Instant Messaging service. So, I guess this quiet little Israeli company has a fair amount of credibility.

I finally got to spend some quality time with Superna at the Electronic House Expo (EHX) in Long Beach last week. I think I finally get it.

For starters, Superna is all about standards, most notably Universal Plug and Play (UPnP). I suggested recently that UPnP is rather passe, and that Web Services for Devices (sometimes known as UPnP 2.0) is the next big thing in standards-based device discovery and networking.

Don't tell that to the folks at Superna. Sure, UPnP never quite caught on in the home-systems space (lighting controls, security systems, etc.) but there are plenty of UPnP-enabled music servers and services that make integrating with Superna's UPnP-enabled products that much simpler.

Founder and COO Oded Vardi points out that UPnP is still alive and well on the A/V front. The Philips Streamium TVs are UPnP-compatible. HP's new displays have a UPnP media player. Sony's XL1B2 200-disc DVD changer/ripper is also UPnP-compatible.

Superna has done the software development to essentially UPnP-enable thousands of A/V receivers, lighting control systems, security systems, TVs, distributed audio products and the like, letting these devices to seamlessly join Superna's UPnP-based control network. Simply pick any of these products from the drop-down menus, and they appear on the network, ready to be configured and controlled.

Because Superna generates UPnP stacks for all devices to be controlled, "Getting from one infrastructure to another is very easy," says Vardi. "We take the driver spec, implement it in a text file and send it in an XML file over the network."

Superna works with RS-232, IR, IP, Z-Wave and other transports; PCs, MCEs, Linux boxes and other platforms.

More than Software

In our business, we've seen very little success among developers who just sell home automation software (See Why H.A. Manufacturers Fail"). Superna "just sells software" for those who want it. But the company also offers a host of other products and platforms for creating a whole-house control system. The aim of the company is to allow consumers to exploit the products they already have in their house, and build from there.

"People have plenty of interfaces in their homes already -- TVs, PCs, cellphones," Vardi says. Any of these can be an integral part of a Superna system.

Superna fills the gaps with its Linux-based hardware, including touchscreens and control hubs. The Superna products and the customer's own devices can interact seamlessly with each other. If you're not a big fan of running home automation software on a PC, you can buy one of Superna's Linux-based controllers -- either the $1,200 ControlBox or the lower-cost MiniBox -- and run the automation software from there.

The applications can be accessed from any PDA, Tablet PC, Superna touchscreen, or even via the TV through Media Center Edition. Superna's MCE plug-in is elegant indeed. They even have transparent overlays so you can pull up the control menus without disrupting a TV show. We may see more of that type of thing with Windows Vista, but this is the first I've seen transparences for pre-Vista MCE.

On the Vista

Speaking of Vista, lots of exhibitors showed products for Windows Vista during EHX. Only Superna, however, showed a prototype that took full advantage of some new MCE developer tools. Specifically, Microsoft now allows developers to create two "strips" on the main MCE menu, with up to five tabs each. If you've seen the Vista interface, you know what I mean. Under "TV + Movies," for example, you'll see options on the horizontal strip for RECORDED TV, LIVE TV, PLAY DVD, etc.

In the past, third-party developers could only have one line on the menu, like MY HOME. Users then would have to drill down to get to their favorite automation scenes, or rooms in the home, or playlists, for example.

In its implementation of ControlWare software for Vista, Superna takes full advantage of the real estate on the main menu, providing easy access to five "Favorites," in this case HOME, ZONES, SECURITY, LIGHTS and CLIMATE.

Dealers will be able to configure these five points to each customer's needs -- maybe a GOODNIGHT tab that shuts down the system, turns off the lights and arms the security system with the press of a button.

On another note, I asked Vardi if Superna plans to shift to Web Services for Devices, which some developers believe will replace UPnP once Vista rolls. A component of Vista PCs, the WSD protocol has enjoyed a huge PR boost from Exceptional Innovation, which uses WSD as a main building block in its Lifeware automation system.

Not yet, says Vardi. "It's just too early on. I believe it will pick up but we won't commit until there is a critical mass of products to communicate with."

Selling Software

In an industry (home automation) where manufacturers are used to buying -- and dealers are used to selling -- a bunch of boxes, Vardi rightly notes that "selling software is a new paradigm."

Superna sells its ControlWare software "per device" used in the network -- $99 for licenses for PCs, PDAs, phones and other lower-cost devices; $199 for MCE computers. The company's Linux-based hardware starts at $199 for the ControlPort, which turns a PC with ControlWare into a home automation controller.

Superna sells direct to dealer in the U.S. and through distribution worldwide.