Windows Home Server Power Pack 3
Compatibility Report
November 24, 2009
Updated May 10, 2010
TV Archive
Windows Home Server Power Pack 3 includes new integration between Windows Home Server and Windows Media Center. TV Archive will automatically move either individual series recordings or all new recordings to the Windows Home Server immediately and also transcode for other devices at the same time. TV Archive is discussed in more detail here and here, among others.
Important: The basic functionality of TV Archive overlaps with the AutoMove and Collections functionality of Recorded TV Manager. The reason is that both Recorded TV Manager and TV Archive try to move recordings immediately after they complete recording. If TV Archive is enabled, then Media Center will deny access to Recorded TV Manager and AutoMove and Collection rules will likely fail.
Recommendation: Recorded TV Manager does everything TV Archive does except transcoding for different devices, so I recommend leaving TV Archive turned off and using the AutoMove function in Recorded TV Manager. If you prefer to use TV Archive, then you should turn off AutoMove in Recorded TV Manager and insure there are no overlapping Collection rules, i.e. both Recorded TV Manager and TV Archive trying to move the same individual series episodes at the same time. I believe it may be possible to use both at the same time, say for transcoding one series and collecting another, but that may cause some AutoCopy Issues.
Note that even if AutoMove and Collections are both disabled in Recorded TV Manager, the AutoCopy service will still run and monitor your Media Center folders which will keep the SeriesInfo Database up to date and support other advanced features of Recorded TV Manager.
Differences between Recorded TV Manager Add-in and TV Archive
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Recorded TV Manager AutoCopy can move recordings anywhere in the Folder List, not just to the Windows Home Server.
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Recorded TV Manager includes the AutoMove and Collections Wizards and supports many other Collection Scenarios.
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Recorded TV Manager supports AutoDelete of duplicate episode recordings and previously watched episodes.
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Recorded TV Manager AutoCopy provides advanced rule editing through the AutoCopy Rule Editor.
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Recorded TV Manager AutoCopy builds and updates the SeriesInfo Database and supports Checked Episodes.
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Recorded TV Manager provides a central location (the Home Server Console) for configuring all AutoCopy functionality. With TV Archive, each Media Center machine must be configured separately using the Media Center interface.
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Recorded TV Manager includes a powerful Client Application which provides additional support for managing your collections and the SeriesInfo Database.
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Recorded TV Manager includes a Media Center Add-in which provides Browse and Play Next pages.
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TV Archive can transcode recordings for different devices (like Zune). Recorded TV Manager does not currently support transcoding.
AutoCopy Issues
Sometimes, AutoCopy fails with an AutoCopy (2) Error
This is a new error with the latest PP3 RC build. This error occurs intermittently with TV Archive turned OFF.
The process cannot access the file because it is being used by another process.
When this error occurs, the AutoCopy is never completed and the file remains in the original location. (Use Recorded TV Manager 3 (Client App) to move the recordings manually.)
It doesn't always happen, and I can see no clear pattern. My best best guess at this point is that the new TV Archive code, which also runs when the recording completes, is either still busy or has not yet released the file handle. That causes the AutoCopy (2) error and the AutoCopy fails to move the file.