MediaPortal 2 Alpha 1 - Winter release!
Time for another Alpha release of the next generation in HTPC software: MediaPortal 2!
A lot has been done since the autumn release, so the path to Alpha 2 is nearly gone.
Please be aware that this is still an Alpha release, meaning that it isn't either feature complete nor bug free, and therefor is 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
Here is a list of major changes since the autumn release:
- The internal player handling of MediaPortal 2 got extended to control an unlimited number of players, which allows us nice things like Video Backgrounds
- Better input handling including support for key shortcuts (see Keyboard shortcuts)
- Copy and paste support for Text Controls / Virtual Keyboard
- Added UPnP compression support, which improves network performance
- Reworked the Fanart handling both on server (extensible provider structure) and client (faster loading)
- Multiple monitors are now supported correctly, MP2-Client can also run fullscreen on secondary screen
- Integrated news plugin, using news ticker in home screen
- Support for more power options. This will be used later for an advanced shutdown menu (WiP)
- Support for reading metadata from video MP4-tags
- Support for picture geo location (lookup country, state, city from GPS coordinates inside EXIF)
- Several tweaks done to further improve performance
- And last but not least: The new skin for MediaPortal 2 - Titanium!
Additionally there are new plugins available, ready to be used with the current Winter Release:
- Now it's possible to use MySQL instead of Microsoft SQLCE, resulting in much better performance and no size limit for database. The required plugin can be downloaded separately from: (MySQL database plugin)
- Online Videos MP2 has been updated for Winter Release (OnlineVideos MP2)
- (coming soon: Integrated TVE3.5 test build: Test builds for Native MP2 TV)
Screenshots
To get a first impression of the new Titanium skin take a look at those screenshots:
Installation
Before installing MediaPortal 2, you need to make sure all requirements are installed.
Then simply run the .msi installer file. For screenshots refer to our installation wiki.
Upgrade notes
If you have an earlier version of MP2 installed, you need to recreate your shares for pictures. Due to the new location lookup feature the database has been extended. Remove your existing share, then add a new one for the same location.
Feedback & Support
Discuss this release in the official thread MediaPortal 2 Alpha 1 Winter Release!
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 Mantis & bug report forums first. If it has not been reported already, create a new thread.
Download
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 2.0 Alpha 1 Winter Release .::.
