bizmodeller blog

Installing or Upgrading WHS v1 (32-bit) to iTunes 11.1

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Just a quick post to point out a couple of interesting things when upgrading to iTunes 11.1.

Firstly, if you try to download iTunes from Internet Explorer on WHS v1, Apple will unfortunately redirect you to download the 64-bit version of iTunes.  WHS v1 is, of course, a 32-bit operating system so it just won't work.  You'll get an error such as:

"The image file xxxx\iTunes64Setup.exe is valid, but is for a machine time other than the current machine"

To get around this, we found that the following link from Apple still allows a 32-bit copy of iTunes 11.1 to be downloaded:

http://www.apple.com/uk/itunes/affiliates/download/

Note that Apple still doesn't support running iTunes on WHSv1 so you may receive an error saying "Apple Mobile Device Support requires that your computer is running Windows XP SP2 or newer".  If you do (which you probably will on Windows Home Server v1), then don't forget about our free tool which modifies the iTunes install package to enable running on WHS no problems :)  - we've retested this for iTunes 11.1 and it's good to go.

iHomeServer v3 has started beta testing!

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We haven't posted for a while, however, want you to know that we haven't been sitting back relaxing.  Instead, we have been working hard on the next major release of iHomeServer - version 3.

Version 3 will continue to do all the great things that many of you have come to appreciate with iHomeServer v2, however, will add a LOT of new features.

We feel these features will be equally useful to desktop and server users alike and therefore the release aims to make iHomeServer more accessible for desktop users who have a single computer and run iTunes on it.  They can then take advantage of existing features such as Watch Folders and the advanced metadata editing facilities we have built into iHomeServer in addition to all the new bells and whistles which we have built on top of the iHomeServer framework.

So what's in the new release?  At the moment, this is a closely guarded secret so you'll have to wait a few more weeks, however, I hope you will be pleased with what we have added.

Beta testing is currently by invitation only, therefore there is unfortunately no public link available today.  However, within the next couple of weeks we will open up the beta to everybody.

In the meantime, if you are particularly interested to get your hands on the latest release, drop us a mail at the usual address - [email protected].

iHomeServer Release 2.2.35.0 - iTunes 11 + Windows Server 2012 Essentials support

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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 order to restore your settings.

iHomeServer support for iTunes 11

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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 the risk of any unexpected issues:

• 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 order to restore your settings.

Support for Windows 8 and Windows Server Essentials 2012

Filed under iHomeServer 2 , Windows Home Server , Windows 8

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 dedicated management console called the 'iHomeServer Management Console' available in the Windows 8 Start Menu.

We are also working hard to provide iHomeServer support for Windows Home Server 2012 Essentials.  Note that, whilst not supported, the current version of iHomeServer should install on this platform, however, the add-in interface is not yet available in the current release.  So, as with Windows 8, you will need to configure and monitor iHomeServer using the iHomeServer Management Console application installed in the Start menu.  We are planning to release an update to iHomeServer to provide Windows Home Server 2012 Essentials Dashboard support very shortly.

As usual, we are very keen for any users who would like to beta test our early releases.  If you are interested in getting access to an early version of the Windows Home Server 2012 Essentials version of iHomeServer, then please let us know by emailing [email protected] 

Please note at we have no plans to stop supporting Windows Home Server v1 and Windows Home Server 2011 at the current time!

BETA: iHomeServer 2.2.18 - now supports content rating, HD flag and extended iTunes properties

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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 tag such as PG-13, U, R, TV-14, etc to your media.  Our implementation is particularly flexible because iHomeServer allows you to specify your preferred content rating system - eg the content rating for your own country (where supported).

The HD flag will now automatically be set for any movies whose vertical resolution is 720 pixels or greater.

Here's a screenshot of the new fields:

As always, the beta is available from our beta web-page. 

PRB: iHomeServer may not start iTunes automatically on reboot

Filed under iHomeServer 2 , iHomeServer 2

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.

Alternatively, please download our beta of iHomeServer 2.2.x which gives iTunes significantly longer to start-up so avoids this iTunes issue without the workaround

iHomeServer Pre-Release Available 2.2.1.0 - internet metadata tagging, interactive iTunes launching, faster start-up time

Filed under iHomeServer 2 , iTunes , Metadata , Windows Home Server

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.

Screen shot:

This release has some very cool new features which we hope you will like:

• Internet metadata lookup - the big feature is new internet metadata lookups.  Whilst iTunes does a great job of fixing metadata automatically for CD rips, etc, it doesn't touch TV/Movie files.  So, we've tried to make this as easy and useful as possible.  You don't want to spend hours tracking down the right metadata/artwork for a movie/video track; you want a quick streamlined search process.  iHomeServer now integrates with three of the leading metadata services - themoviedb.org, thetvdb.com and tagchimp.com. Metadata lookup hooks into the iHomeServer workflow in many ways:
• On the metadata editor page, you can click 'Internet Search' to autopopulate metadata fields / artwork based on results from these services.
• You can select a set of movies on either the Watch Folder view or iTunes View tab, right-click and select 'Auto-Tag'.  iHomeServer will then get the best-matched data based on filename or embedded track name and set the metadata to the file with no further clicks from you.
• You can select all the episode in a TV season, right-click and select 'Auto-Tag'.  iHomeServer will guide you through a wizard to choose the TV series, season and then match episde numbers up against your file names.  Hit 'Finish' and it will auto-tag all the results and immediately update iTunes so that the results are available to your Home Sharing clients
• Finally, you can switch AutoTagging on automatically for a Watch Folder.  Whenever iHomeserver detects a new movie has been added to a Watch Folder, you can configure Auto-Tagging to automatically best-match tag the movie with zero user involvement!
• The metadata search *should* be multi-lingual - we would be very grateful for your feedback as to how well this works and what improvements are necessary
• We're quite pleased with the user experience; hope you like it - of course, let us know your suggestions / feedback / improvements

• "Interactive iTunes launch" - we have been promising this for a while, and this pre-release has the core functionality complete.  When you click the 'Start iTunes' button within iHomeServer Console, you are now given an option as to whether you want to start iTunes within iHomeServer or whether you want to start it interactively.  If you choose the latter, iHomeServer will open the full-fat iTunes interface under the same user you have configured the service to run.  And best of all, it is run within the same RDP session as the WHS Dashboard/Console, therefore you will be running a remote instance of your server's iTunes GUI within your WHS Dashboard.  When you have finished making any changes to iTunes, you can close iTunes, click Start iTunes under iHomeServer control and iHomeServer will restart iTunes in the background.

• "Caching Playlists" - Caching Playlists has always been a bit slow; particularly for users with large libraries. On slow servers it could take 10-15 minutes.  We have rewritten this process entirely and now analyse the iTunes Library.xml file for playlist/track information instead of querying iTunes.  This has led to a massive performance boost when starting iTunes up under iHomeServer control.

Internet metadata lookup for Tv / Movies - request for feedback

Filed under iHomeServer 2 , Metadata

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 ([email protected]) or tweet (@bizmodeller)

Availability of pre-release versions of iHomeServer

Filed under iHomeServer 2 , iTunes , Beta

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 runs iTunes as from the 'Settings' dialog
• Ability to run other applications when iHomeServer launches iTunes - configurable to run either before or after iTunes is launched
• Added ability to alter "Part of compilation" metadata within the metadata editor