HP MediaSmart Server Webinar and Q&A Transcript
We Got Served
MS Windows Home Server
Windows is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and other countries.
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 Vista Media Center Add-in Beta 2
August 24, 2008
This Vista 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 Vista Media Center 10ft interface to browse, play and delete series recordings wherever they reside on the network.
New functionality in the build:
IMPORTANT: This software will only run on Windows Home Server networks which have Recorded TV Manager Add-in for Windows Home Server already installed and functioning. See Prerequisites.
- Prerequisites
- Download and Install
- 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.
In order for this Vista 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 installed and be capable of playing recorded TV files (dvr-ms files). Primary Media Center machines fit this description by default, but the software will also run on other Vista machines which do not contain TV tuners. See Playing *.dvr-ms Files
- Windows Home Server Console must be installed and the computer must be connected to the Windows Home Server.
- Recorded TV Manager Add-in for Windows Home Server must be installed on the Home Server. There must be at least one folder defined in the folder list and there must be at least one Collection defined using the Collections wizard.
- Recorded TV Manager WHS Client Version 3.4.12 must be installed and running correctly on the client computer.
- Optionally, the AutoCopy Restart Service Version 3.2.2 should be installed and running on the Windows Home Server. (Recommended)
Download and Install
If you have Beta 1 (MCECollections - Play Next) installed, please use the Control Panel to uninstall that version first.
Download and install the following msi file on the client computer:
RecordedTVManagerVMCAddinInstaller.en-us.msi (906KB)
The installer will register the application with Media Center and add a Play Next entry point on the Recorded TV menu strip. It will also add an entry point on the More Programs page which, for now, just opens the same Play Next page.
The first time you access the Play Next page, if the "loading collections" page does not appear in a reasonable amount of time, backspace and then restart Play Next.
If you try to run MCECollections on a Vista system which does not have Recorded TV Manager WHS Client installed, you will get a Media Center dialog which says, "This add-in requires Recorded TV Manager WHS Client" and the add-in will not load.
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 the Checked Episodes in the client application. 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 Checked Episodes page. Use the Checked Episodes in the Client application for more options and editing features.
The following steps are required in order to use Recorded TV Manager on a Vista Media Center Extender:
- On the client machine, navigate to the folder C:\Program Files\Drasch Computer Software\Recorded TV Manager WHS Client
- Right-click on the file Recorded TV Manager WHS Client.exe and select Run as Administrator.
- Click Allow in User Account Control
- The Client application will run in a higher level process and make necessary entries in the registry to enable the Recorded TV Manager software to run in the Extender session.
- From the View menu, select Refresh.
- Once the Refresh is complete, close the program.
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 update mechanisms are still evolving and I will post more information here over time.
The Vista Media Center Add-in does not directly access the Series Info database. Instead, the software issues "Series Update Requests" which are processed as follows:
- If the Client Version (3.4.12) is running it will process the request shortly after they arrive.
- If the AutoCopy Restart Service 3.2.2 is running on the WHS, it will process the request sometime in the next 15 minutes.
If neither of these programs is running, the series update request will not be processed.
- Sometimes the add-in software takes a long time to start and Vista 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.
- Unexpected check marks. There is at least one operational condition where a series episode will be checked incorrectly. If the WHS option Automatically delete checked episodes is selected, this may result in loss of recordings.
- When accessing the software through the Program Library, 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.
- Language localization is not complete. The Episode History page is not correctly localized.