MediaPortal 1.8.0 FINAL released

MediaPortal 1.8.0

Attached to this news you will find the final release of MediaPortal 1.8.0.

For this release, we've put our focus on bug fixing and improved stability. To name a few: We've reduced the CPU usage for the AutoDJ function. Fixed UNC paths for LiveTV streaming, memory-leak(s), flickering visualisations, incorrect audio-channel mappings, (Spanish) forced subtitles, etc.

New features like creating a folder thumb from inside the UI, a Ping Monitor function in the PowerScheduler++ plugin and the option to allow different standby hours in weekends can also be found in this release.
Scroll down to the 'Full list of changes' to read up on all of them!

Highlights of this release

Enhanced TV experience

MediaPortal IconThe default protocol for LiveTV streaming on a multi-seat setup is RTSP. MediaPortal has an option to change this to UNC for those that experience problems with RTSP, but we've had a long long lasting issue with UNC paths, because of a Microsoft problem with the SMB2/3 cache.
After a lot of work on the TsReader filter from our developer Owlsroost, we can now say that this 'known issue' is solved, and the issues related to UNC paths should be fixed!

A while ago, we updated the default MySQL install to 5.6, which uses InnoDB as its default database engine. However, the database was not updated to use InnoDB for update installs. It is updated in this release. A few other SQL related bugs have also been fixed.

 Music improvements

MediaPortal IconA number of things have been fixed in the Music section since our last release. We've reduced the CPU load coming from the AutoDJ function, fixed incorrect channel mappings for 3.0 and 4.0 music files, possible flickering visualisations and a sound loop when you have music playing in the background of a pictures slideshow.

Unfortunately Last.fm has now completely removed their Radio function (more info about this on the last.fm forum).
Because of this change, the team has removed this function completely.


 Full list of changes

gear-iconYou can review the complete change log for 1.8.0 by using the link below:
Changelog: MediaPortal

Documentation of new features can be found at the following link:
What's new for MediaPortal 1.8.0


Installation, Upgrade, Download and Feedback

Installation

MediaPortal IconSince we switched to .NET4 you need to make sure you have.NET4 installed on your computer (not needed if you are on Windows 8 because it comes with .NET4, but you NEED the .NET 3.5 features enabled!). Otherwise you are not able to install MediaPortal and the installer just quits.

Download-Link: Microsoft .NET Framework 4 (Standalone Installer)

Aside from that when doing a clean installation of the 1.8.0 Release there is nothing else to worry about.

Upgrade

update-iconUpgrading from 1.2.x, 1.3.0 Alpha/Beta/RC/Pre Release/Final, 1.4.0 till 1.7.1 to 1.8.0

All MediaPortal 1.2.x, 1.3.0 Alpha/Beta/RC/Pre Release/Final, 1.4.0 till 1.7.1 installations can be upgraded to 1.8.0, without losing your settings.

Plugins:

If you are running MediaPortal 1.6.0 or earlier, then it is possible that some of your previously installed plugins will be shown as incompatible after the upgrade to 1.8.0! Whether or not a plugin is incompatible depends on the MediaPortal subsystems the plugin uses.
All plugins that work for the 1.7.1 HotFix release, should also work with the 1.8.0 Release.

Skins:

Warning! Due to the new features and changes introduced in 1.4.0, none of the 1.3.x skins are compatible with 1.8.0!

Please contact the author of the skin you use for further information and updates.

Upgrading Extensions:

The easiest way to upgrade your extensions is by launching the MediaPortal Extension Installer, and let it check for updated versions. However this only works for extensions that use our MPEI system. If the author of the extension releases it as a stand alone installer, you must contact them for an updated version.

Upgrading from 1.2.0 Alpha or earlier to 1.8.0

All MediaPortal installations starting with 1.1.0 RC1 can be upgraded to 1.8.0, without losing your settings.

If you are running MediaPortal 1.2.0 Alpha or earlier, then none of your extensions (plugins and skins) will work after the upgrade to 1.8.0! You must update your extensions after the upgrade! 

So, please make sure that 1.8.0 compatible versions of your extensions are available before you start the upgrade!

General note about Upgrades

Manually stop TV-Service!

television-iconOn some systems our installer is not able to update the TV-Server installation because its files are locked or the service can not be stopped.
For upgrades to 1.8.0 we recommend that you manually stop the TV-Service and make sure, via Windows Task Manager (enable the "all users" option), that the TvService.exe process is really gone before starting to upgrade.

Custom TV-Service properties

If you manually changed the properties of the TV-Service (like restart on error options), then you must redo these changes after the upgrade. The installer is not able to save and restore your custom service properties when it installs the new version of the TV-Service.


 Feedback

menuv3 forumBugs

If you think you found a bug then please post a detailed report in our Bug Reports Forum.

Make sure your report includes all the required information. Incomplete reports will be removed to keep the forum clean.


 Download

Finally - the download. We hope that you took the time to read this release news entirely because it includes vital information about the major changes.

  If you would like to support MediaPortal, we would be happy to receive a small donation!

The Team wishes you a lot of fun with this new release!

.::. Download - MediaPortal 1.8.0 .::.

:: Post a Comment ::

About The Project

The vision of the MediaPortal project is to create a free open source media centre application, which supports all advanced media centre functions, and is accessible to all Windows users.

In reaching this goal we are working every day to make sure our software is one of the best.

         

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