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Home Server Add-in
Collections
1. Select a series to collect.
2. Choose a location to collect the series.
3. Choose a Media Center computer to watch the series on.
AutoMove
AutoDelete
Recorded TV Manager Media Center Add-in Beta 3
May 24, 2009 - Build 3.1.3
Now supports WTV files.
This
Media Center Add-in
is integrated into your Windows Home Server network via the Recorded TV
Manager Add-in for Windows Home Server to provide complete access to your
entire recorded TV collection.
Use the Media Center 10ft interface to browse, play and delete series recordings wherever they reside on the network. Runs on any Vista or Windows 7 Media Center computer (with or without a tuner).
- Play Next - Play the next episode in a recorded TV series collection
- Browse - Access your entire collection of recorded TV programs
- History - Your recording and viewing history
- Prerequisites
- Download and Install
- Startup Problems
- Checked Episodes
- Using Media Center Extenders
- Language Localizing the User Interface
- Series Info Update Issues
- Known Problems With This Build
Note: This is Beta software and contains errors. See Known Problems With This Build for a discussion of these errors.
Important information on 64-bit Vista Media Center.
In order for this Media Center add-in to run on a client computer, the following conditions must be true:
- The computer must have Windows Vista Home Premium or Vista Ultimate or Windows 7 installed and be capable of playing recorded TV files (dvr-ms or WTV files). Primary Media Center machines fit this description by default, but the software will also run on other machines which do not contain TV tuners.
- The user account on the client machine must have administrative privilege.
- Windows Home Server Console must be installed and the computer must be connected to the Windows Home Server.
- Recorded TV Manager 3 must be installed on the client computer.
Download and Install
Important: Uninstall any previous versions of this software.
Download and install the following msi file on the client computer:
Build 3.1.3 - May 24, 2009 Release Notes
RecordedTVManagerMCAddinInstaller.msi (906KB)
The installer will register the application with Media Center and add a Recorded TV Manager menu strip to the Start menu and a Play Next entry point on the TV + Movies menu strip. It will also add an entry point on the More Programs page which provides access to the add-in. You can edit the Start menu in Vista Media Center by selecting Tasks >> Settings >> General >> Program Library Options. For 64-bit Vista see here.
INVALID APPLICATION - Unable to launch "RecordedTVManagerVMC"
Recorded TV Manager 3 must be installed and run at least once on the client computer in order to properly set up required system files (event log) and also to set the PATH variable which points to required data files. Close Media Center, install and configure Recorded TV Manager 3, run it at least once and then re-start Media Center.
Cannot find PATH. See Release Notes.
See Manually Set The Path. If Recorded TV Manager 3 is installed, then you would not generally see this message. However, when running the Recorded TV Manager Media CenterAdd-in on an Extender device, you must apply this workaround.
Every known episode has a checkmark attribute associated with it. Every episode is either checked or not-checked. The basic meaning of the checked attribute is "this episode has been watched." Episodes are checked automatically when they are deleted from either the Play Next page or the Browse Episodes page. There is a series-level option called Check On Play which can be set through Tools >> Series Info in Recorded TV Manager 3. If that option is set, then the episode will be automatically checked when played from either the Play Next or Browse pages.
Checkmarks can be toggled on or off from the History page.
When running the Recorded TV Manager Media Center Add-in on a Media Center Extender device, the following additional steps are required (even if Recorded TV Manager 3 is installed):
- On the client machine which supports the Media Center Extender, using Windows Explorer, navigate to the root folder C:
- Create a new folder named RTVMan (C:\RTVMan)
- Open that folder and create a new text file named RTVManPATH.txt (C:\RTVMan\RTVManPATH.txt).
- Open that file and type in the UNC PATH to the required Recorded TV Manager data files. See here for examples.
- Close and Save the file.
To enable the Extender to see recordings on the Windows Home Server:
- Open the Home Server Console.
- On the User Accounts tab, select the Guest account.
- Click Properties.
- Select the Shared Folder Access tab
- Select Full access for the shared folder named Software and all folders which store recorded TV files.
- Click Apply
The Series Info Database keeps track of all known series recordings and your viewing history.
Developer's Note: The automatic update mechanisms are still evolving. WTV files do not expose their metadata and that also complicates things.
The Media Center Add-in does not directly update the Series Info database. Instead, the software issues "Series Info Update" requests, which are processed by the AutoCopy service on the Windows Home Server. That service runs on 15 minute intervals, so changes to the Series Info database may take upwards of 15 minutes before being reflected in the Media Center Add-in interface.
- Sometimes the add-in software takes a long time to start and Media Center will interpret that as not-responding and terminate the add-in. Re-starting the add-in will usually clear that up. If not, then shut down Media Center and then start it up again. Most often caused by network congestion or non-responsive client computers.
- When accessing the software through the Program Library (Extras on Windows 7), the Back button will return to the "Loading" page instead of the Start page. Hitting Back twice (quickly) will generally return to the Start page. Otherwise, use the Green Button to return to the Start menu.
- In some circumstances, mostly involving WTV files, automatic checkmarks and last watched episode information are not updated correctly. Works reliably for dvr-ms files, which include metadata.
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When playing and deleting multiple consecutive episodes of the same series using Play Next, returning to the Play Next page for the same series will not always work correctly. Use Browse to play multiple consecutive episodes of the same series.
Important information on 64-bit Vista Media Center
There is a problem with the installer and the Recorded TV Manager custom strip on the Start menu is not configured properly and some entry points may not appear. The technical issue is described here. On 64-bit Vista Media Center, use Programs Library (Extras on Windows 7) to access Recorded TV Manager. There are additional configuration options in Windows 7 Media Center.