MediaPortal 2 Alpha 3 released

Finally here it is! The next MediaPortal 2 alpha release - dubbed Alpha 3 - is out the door.

Although progress since Alpha 2 has been immense, please be aware that this is still an alpha release and therefore not meant to be used on a productive system. Make sure that you read the instructions at the end of this news regarding installation, upgrade and extension compatibility.

Summary of changes

Improved user experience:
- Added support for resuming playback, the resume position stored in central MediaLibrary
- Added support for more image formats that can be used inside MP2
- Added audio album cover support for Titanium and Reflexion skin
- Added animated fanart backgrounds for Series and Movies
- Improved navigation, restoring focus now works better when returning to previous screen
Fixes
- Fixed opacity mask rendering in SkinEngine
- MediaLibrary importer now only does refresh imports
Updated plugins
- Updated OnlineVideos plugin is included in this release
- News plugin will now download default news feeds per country on first run
- Weather plugin updated for new API
New plugins are available!
- New WiFi configuration plugin (included)
- WebRadio plugin to play your favourite web radio streams inside MP2!
- CEC remote plugin allows controlling MP2 (Forum)
- SlimTV plugin got a reworked miniguide (Forum) - Download: SlimTV - NativeTV or SlimTV - MPExtended from the new MP2 Plugins section on our website.

The full change log is available here: MediaPortal 2 Alpha 3 change log

Screenshots

Installation

Before installing MediaPortal 2, you need to make sure all requirements are installed.

Then extract the downloaded .zip archive and simply run the .msi installer file. For screenshots refer to our installation wiki.

Upgrade notes

If you had an earlier version of MP2 installed you might not see your media items inside the libraries. The metadata for the media items have been extended (like the added geographic location support for images). Remove your existing share, then add a new one for the same location. Local cached online data will be kept (like covers and backdrops).

Feedback & Support

Discuss this release in the official release thread MediaPortal 2 Alpha 3

If you are looking for further information please check out MediaPortal 2 wiki first. We are heavily working to improve it.
If you don't find an answer there create a new thread in MediaPortal 2 forums.
If you found a bug, please check our Issue Tracker & bug report forums first. If it has not been reported already, create a new thread.