Just a quick note to confirm we have released iHomeServer 2.2.35.0 recently which adds formal support for iTunes 11 and Windows Server 2012 Essentials.
As per our previous post, if you are upgrading to iTunes 11, we recommend you use iTunes version 11.0.1 only and follow the following steps:
Make sure you have your latest backup available, in case you have any problems with iTunes 11
Uninstall iHomeServer first (don't worry your user settings, watch folder config, etc, won't be deleted)
Upgrade iTunes from an admin account on the desktop/server you use to run iTunes
Log in as the user you have told iHomeServer to use when it starts iTunes
Ensure you agree to the updated Terms and Conditions dialog
Close any tutorial window or 'What's new' windows
Ensure the library main window is open (i.e. do not leave it showing the iTunes Store)
Close iTunes and restart your computer.
Reinstall the latest version of iHomeServer and enter the same user account details you were originally using in or...
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We are getting a lot of emails about iHomeServer support for iTunes 11 so thought it was best to write a quick post on the current status.
iTunes 11 is not yet officially supported as we are still testing iHomeServer with iTunes 11 - however, we have so far found no problems. We have also had a large number of existing and new users who have confirmed they have upgraded and seen no issues using the latest iHomeServer release (2.2.23.0) with iTunes 11. All key features (watch folders, AirPlay, Wifi sync, etc) should work ok.
We have, however, received two reports of issues which we are still trying to replicate. Both relate to iTunes crashing within a few minutes of being started by iHomeServer due to a crash in webkit.dll. These may be isolated incidents, but we are investigating further before stamping iHomeServer as iTunes 11 compatible.
In the meantime, whilst most users have had success simply upgrading iTunes, we would suggest the following steps to reduce ...
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Just a quick post to let you all know that we are actively working on some exciting developments and approximate timescales for up and coming releases.
Those of you who have used Windows Home Server as your server platform will no doubt have heard the news that Microsoft is ending the Windows Home Server line and instead replacing it with Windows Home Server 2012 Essentials at a much higher price. Many users will likely migrate over to Windows 8 instead due to its significantly cheaper price point.
Fortunately, iHomeServer is now supported under Windows 8 and provides an excellent platform upon which to run a standalone headless instance of iTunes on a Windows 8 based desktop or home server. The latest version of iHomeServer (2.2.23.0 at time of writing) installs as a desktop app on Windows 8. For those of you who have used Windows Home Server previously, the iHomeServer tabs you see in the Windows Home Server Dashboard are available under Windows 8 in a dedicate...
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We have just updated the beta release of iHomeServer 2.2 to add support for content rating (eg PG-13, R, etc), the HD flag and extended iTunes properties such as Cast, Director, Producer, Studio, etc.
These properties aren't directly accessible within iTunes, however, are usually set on media you download from the iTunes Store. iHomeServer now brings these tags to all your media! Most of the tags are displayed on Apple TV; a subset are also displayed on iPhones/iPads. iHomeServer allows these to be set in the normal metadata editor (which you can get to by double-clicking a file in the Watch Folder view, or selecting 'Get Info' from the right-click menu on either Watch Folder or iTunes tabs). The extra fields are on the 'Video' tab - see http://www.bizmodeller.com/ihomeserver/userguide/edit_track_metadata_window___video_tab.htm for more info.
The additional metadata properties are also supported by AutoTag.
Content Rating allows you to apply a rating t...
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A minority of users have reported that iHomeServer occasionally fails to restart iTunes after a system reboot. This appears to be restricted to a subset of users who are running iTunes 10.6.x on a slow-ish server.
The current version of iHomeServer (2.1.x) waits 2.5 minutes for iTunes to start up prior to giving up. This has been plenty of time in the past, however, the later version of iTunes starts up a bit more slowly so may affect a minority of users.
Fix:
If (and only if) you are suffering this issue, there is a simple workaround:
Log onto the server hosting iHomeServer; Choose Start / Control Panel / Administrative Tools / Services. Find the 'bizmodeller iHomeServer (for iTunes)' service and right-click it, select 'Properties'. On the 'General' tab, find the 'Startup type' drop down box and select 'Automatic (Delayed Start)'; click 'OK' and close the Services window. Next time your reboot, iHomeServer should correctly restart iTunes.
Alte...
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The next major release of iHomeServer is now in feature-freeze and available from our beta/pre-release download site. Please note it is still going through additional testing; there will be a few minor releases to it before it is promoted to the main download site.
Main features are:
- Internet metadata lookup - plus AutoTagging of Movies and TV Series; Watch Folder AutoTagging
- Interactive iTunes launch - launch full iTunes from the iHomeServer Console within your WHS RDP session
- "Caching Playlists" - has been significantly sped up
Download the pre-release now and let us have your feedback
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We are soon to be releasing an update to iHomeServer that will perform metadata queries direct from online metadata services. The feature will allow one click setting of episode / movie titles, descriptions, cover art, etc, so should save people lots of time and avoid the need for other tools in the rip-to-watch workflow.
We currently have two services lined up - tagChimp and TheMovieDb.com. This post is really a request for feedback on whether iHomeServer users would like integration with any other Internet services?
Let me know! Either through a comment here, email (support@bizmodeller.com) or tweet (@bizmodeller)
Did you know that pre-release versions of iHomeServer that include upcoming features that are still going through final testing are regularly available on our beta download page?
These are available to any user who wishes to download them, although they are still subject to the same 30-day trial as the production iHomeServer release.
The current features being tested include:
Significantly improved handling of media when iTunes is set to "copy added media to the iTunes Media library" - no more false failures showing up
Importing of iTunes Media Library XML files from other instances of iTunes - automatic matching of data with your the instance of iTunes run by iHomeServer. iHomeServer will then update ratings, play counts, last play dates and playlist membership - this is a great easy way of copying other iTunes metadata across from a personal computer to your iTunes server without having to do a full iTunes folder migration.
Ability to change the credentials of user iHomeServer...
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It is important when upgrading any add-in on Windows Home Server v1 that you uninstall the previous version of the add-in before copying the updated add-in file to the server's add-in folder and installing any newer version. This is a long lamented and unfortunate design decision within WHSv1 which has fortunately been resolved in Windows Home Server 2011.
This blog explains how to manually uninstall iHomeServer from your server if you find yourself in this situation.
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iHomeServer v2 updates (for Windows Home Server 2011) should normally be installed simply by downloading and directly running the iHomeServer.wssx file from the Downloads area of the bizmodeller.com web site. The installation process will automatically uninstall any previous versions and update your system to the latest version. Any settings will be preserved including the registration of which user account will run the iHomeServer service.
However, once in a while, we receive a support ticket from a user who has had problems upgrading to the latest version. Typically the error says "The Add-in is already installed". This blog post shows you how to get around this error to upgrade your install of iHomeServer to the latest version
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