SAFARI Montage® Version 4.3.x
Product Release Information
Product:
Version:
Releases & Dates:
Customer Support:
SAFARI Montage
4.3.x
4.3.7 - 10/22/2010
http://www.safarimontage.com/support
Introduction
This document contains the release notes for SAFARI Montage 4.3.x. This is a full release of the SAFARI Montage System and the following sections provide details to its release.
New in this Release
- SAFARI Montage CreationStation® Module
- eBook support added for EPUB® (.EPUB) and Microsoft® Reader (.LIT) formats
- SAFARI Montage MHA H264 Auto Converter Add-On Module
- Automatically converts CreationStation videos to the H.264 standard for use with Manage Home Access
- Provides administrators with control of conversion settings for quality, bitrate and frame size for optimal quality and use of bandwidth
- Provides administrators with real-time management of the conversion queue and the ability to mass convert existing titles
- SAFARI Montage Media Player
- Support for 64-bit Apple® Mac OS® X systems
- Pathways SM™ Module
- All Call improvements to support very large environments
- Local Help added to Classroom Media Controllers & Kiosks
- Backup & Restore of Pathways SM configuration
- Administrator
- LDAP Integration
- User types may now be mapped based on an LDAP user attribute
Supported Content Packages
- Audio Clips With Supporting Still Image
- IRC: History Pictures
- IRC: California History Pictures
- Interactive
- Visual Dictionary
- Still Images
- Schlessinger Image Library
- World Factbook
- Paintings by the Masters
- Digital Resources From NASA
- IRC: History Pictures
- IRC: California History Pictures
- Video
- K-8 Core (2010)
- 9-12 Core Content
- 9-12 Core
- 9-12 Expansion
- K-12 Core (2010)
- K-12 Super Core
- 9-12 Super Core
- Additional Schlessinger Media® K-8 (2010)
- Additional Schlessinger Media 9-12 (2010)
- K-6 Supplemental
- Eyes on the Prize
- Career Clips1
- BestQuest Teaching Systems®
- Algebra'scool®
- Math'scool®
- Almanac Newsreel
- National Underground Railroad Freedom Center®
- Reading Rainbow®
- The Video Encyclopedia of the 20th Century®
Installation and Upgrade Notes
- Installation and Upgrade
- See the SAFARI Montage 4.3.x Upgrade Instructions tab above.
- Minimum System Requirements
- See the SAFARI Montage 4.3.x System Requirements tab above.
Release Details
- SAFARI Montage Version 4.3.7
- MHA Auto Converter requires FreeBSD® 7.2 or later
- SAFARI Montage Media Player
- SAFARI Montage Media Player version 4.3.16 (32-bit Microsoft® Windows®XP, Vista®, 7)
- SAFARI Montage Media Player version 4.3.8 (32-bit Apple Mac OS X)
- SAFARI Montage Media Player version 4.3.12 (64-bit Apple Mac OS X)
NOTE: For use only on 64-bit OS X systems; 32-bit OS X systems should use version 4.3.8 of the SAFARI Montage Media Player
- Known Issues and Workarounds
Issue Number |
Issues |
Affected Module |
Affected Operating System |
Affected Web Browser |
Solution |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
3044 | WAN titles are not automatically converted on remote servers and EdCast subscribers | Managed Home Access H.264 Auto Converter | Windows XP Windows Vista Windows 7 |
Internet Explorer® 7 – 8 Firefox® 3.0 – 3.6 |
Known issue with no current workaround. |
3036 | 'All-Call' and 'Push to CMC' buttons for .ePub and .lit file formats are not functional | Pathways SM | Any | Any | Known issue with no current workaround. |
3019 | A blank All-Call entry appears after deleting the associated digital title | Pathways SM | Any | Any | Known issue with no current workaround. |
3007 | Scrubbing does not work in DVD playback with OSX player | SMMP | OS X 10.5 (Leopard®) OS X 10.6 (Snow Leopard®) |
Safari® 4.x Safari 5.x Firefox 3.6 |
Known issue with no current workaround. |
3006 | The search field for LDAP groups is not available when "Use Attribute for LDAP Groups" has been enabled | Admin | Any | Any | Known issue with no current workaround. |
3005 | LDAP Groups panel display issue in Firefox | Admin | Any | Firefox 3.0 – 3.6 | Use any supported versions of Internet Explorer or Safari web browsers. |
3004 | Exiting PC DVD to return to FLV playback crashes browser | SMMP | OS X 10.6 (Snow Leopard) | Firefox 3.6 | Use any supported Safari web browser. |
3003 | Player's Previous button does not go to previous playlist item in full browser | SMMP | OS X 10.5 (Leopard) OS X 10.6 (Snow Leopard) |
Safari 4.x Safari 5.x Firefox 3.6 |
Known issue with no current workaround. |
3002 | Going full browser restarts FLV playback in embedded preview player | SMMP | OS X 10.5 (Leopard) OS X 10.6 (Snow Leopard) |
Safari 4.x Safari 5.x Firefox 3.6 |
Known issue with no current workaround. |
2999 | "Add School" link appears on standalone servers | Admin | Any | Any | Known issue with no current workaround. |
2998 | Speed button is appearing for FLVs in Home Access | Admin | Any | Any | Known issue with no current workaround. |
2975 | Playlist playback does not work on expansion controller after redirect on OSX | Playback | OS X 10.5 (Leopard) OS X 10.6 (Snow Leopard) |
Safari 4.x Safari 5.x Firefox 3.6 |
Known issue with no current workaround. |
2956 | Automatic playlist playback does not play MP4 content titles when WMV package is assigned on OSX clients | Playlists | OS X 10.5 (Leopard) OS X 10.6 (Snow Leopard) |
Safari 4.x Safari 5.x Firefox 3.6 |
Known issue with no current workaround. |
2951 | Pausing video playback for 5 minutes or more, then resuming playback will cause the web browser to stop responding | Web Links | Windows XP Windows Vista Windows 7 |
Internet Explorer 7 – 8 Firefox 3.0 – 3.6 |
Restart web browser. |
2913 | Stream does not play after changing URL | Streaming | Windows XP Windows Vista Windows 7 |
Internet Explorer 7 – 8 Firefox 3.0 – 3.6 |
Use SAFARI Montage Media Player or disable DB Cache. |
2910 | Full screen opens in embedded browser with Windows Media Player in Firefox | Playback | Windows XP Windows Vista Windows 7 |
Firefox 3.0 – 3.6 | Use SAFARI Montage Media Player or Internet Explorer with Windows Media Player. |
2897 | Web Links to Windows Media Player videos are not embedded in browser | Web Links | Windows XP Windows Vista Windows 7 |
Internet Explorer 7 – 8 Firefox 3.0 – 3.6 |
Known issue with no current workaround. |
2895 | Clicking the Control CMC button returns a Script Error | Pathways SM | Windows XP Windows Vista Windows 7 |
Internet Explorer 7 – 8 Firefox 3.0 – 3.6 |
Close the device remote, reopen the device remote and click Control CMC. |
2884 | Web browser stops responding after clicking on SAFARI Montage Media Player's play button to restart playback | Managed Home Access | Windows XP Windows Vista Windows 7 |
Internet Explorer 7 – 8 Firefox 3.0 – 3.6 |
Click on the title's Play button to restart playback. |
2836 | Internal database error appearing for reservations that are assigned to deleted devices | Pathways SM | Any | Any | Add another stream to reservation or delete the current reservation. |
2834 | Supported document file types are not being displayed via the CMC during an All-Call | CMC/Kiosk | Any | Any | Known issue with no current workaround. |
2831 | QuickTime full screen opens behind SAFARI Montage window | Playlists | OS X 10.5 (Leopard) OS X 10.6 (Snow Leopard) |
Firefox 3.6 | Click on the QuickTime window to bring to front. |
2830 | Audio issues with QuickTime 7.6.6 on Windows | Playlists | Windows XP Windows Vista Windows 7 |
Internet Explorer 7 – 8 Firefox 3.0 – 3.6 |
Use SAFARI Montage Media Player or reinstall QT version 7.6.5. |
2829 | No video playback with QuickTime 7.6.6 in Safari browser | Playlists | OS X 10.5 (Leopard) OS X 10.6 (Snow Leopard) |
Safari 4.x Safari 5.x |
Use SAFARI Montage Media Player or any supported version of Firefox. |
2823 | Playlist keyword search is returning JavaScript error in IE8 | Playlists | Windows XP Windows Vista Windows 7 |
Internet Explorer 8 | Wait for page to finish loading before performing a keyword search. |
Notes
1Requires SAFARI Montage Media Player for playback.
Microsoft® Windows®
Operating System
- Windows XP Service Pack 3
- Windows Vista®
- Windows 7
Web Browsers
- Internet Explorer® 7.0 - 8.0
- Firefox® 3.0 - 3.6
Note: For version 3.0, full-screen playback unavailable for all media players; for version 3.6, full-screen playback requires SAFARI Montage Media Player.
Minimum Hardware
- 1.5 GHz CPU (Recommended: 2 GHz or greater)
- 256 MB RAM (Recommended: 512 MB or greater)
- 64 MB of Video RAM
Apple® Mac OS®
Operating System
- Mac OS X v10.4
- Mac OS X v10.5
- Mac OS X v10.6 (32 and 64-bit)
Web Browsers
- Safari® 4.0 - 5.0
- Safari® 5.0 (64-bit)
- Firefox® 3.0 - 3.6
Note: For version 3.0, full-screen playback unavailable for all media players; for version 3.6, full-screen playback requires SAFARI Montage Media Player.
Minimum Hardware
- Power PC® G4 (Recommended: G5 or Intel® processor
- 1GHz CPU (Recommended: 1.6 GHz or greater)
- 256 MB of RAM (Recommended: 512 or greater)
- 64 MB Video RAM
Browser Plug-ins (All Platforms)
- SAFARI Montage Media Player
- Plays both Windows Media® and Apple QuickTime® (Apple QuickTime 7.6 required)
- Version 4.3.16 (32-bit Windows XP, Vista, 7)
- Version 4.3.8 (32-bit OS X)
- Version 4.3.12 (64-bit OS X)
NOTE: For use only on 64-bit OS X systems; 32-bit OS X systems should use version 4.3.8 of the SAFARI Montage Media Player
- Microsoft Windows Vista and Windows 7 Compatibility
- Pathways SM™
- SAFARI Montage Managed Home Access Module
- Closed Captioning Toggle
- Alternate Language Audio Tracks
- Enhanced Full-Screen Playback
- Playback of Career Clips Content
Installers
Required for:
- Apple QuickTime 7.6
- Required for Windows operating systems and Mac OS for playback of QuickTime and H.264 content, and Managed Home Access.
- Microsoft Windows Media Player 11 (Windows XP and Windows Vista) or Microsoft Windows Media Player 12 (Windows 7)
- Required for the playback of Windows Media. Windows Media playback not available on Mac OS.
- Adobe® Flash® Player 10 - Required for Visual Dictionary interactive image package.
- Adobe® Acrobat® Reader 9
- Sun® Java® 6 Standard Edition - required for CreationStation uploads.
Additional Local Software
Additional software may be required to create or view certain CreationStation content.
- Software clients for the associated file types
- SMART Notebook® software / SMART Notebook Interactive Viewer software - .NOTEBOOK / .NBK
- Promethean® ActivInspire® / ActiveStudio® / Flipchart Viewer - .FLIPCHART / .FLP / .AS3A
- Microsoft Office / Office Vewiers - .DOC/.DOCX, .XLS/.XLSX, .PPT/.PPTX
- OpenOffice.org® - .SDW/.ODT, .SDC/.ODS, .SDD/.ODP, .ODG; .ODF, .SDP
- Apple iWork® - .PAGES, .NUMBERS, .KEY
- Adobe Acrobat Reader - .PDF
- An EPUB® Reader - .LIT, .EPUB
- Interactive Whiteboard Integration - supported software versions.
- SMART Notebook Software / Notebook Interactive Viewer - v 9.5 or greater
- Promethean ActivInspire (v 1.5 or greater) / ActiveStudio (v 2.5 or greater) / Flipchart Viewer
Managed Home Access Clients
- SAFARI Montage Media Player 4.3.x
- Appled QuickTime 7.6
- 768kbps Broadband Internet Connection
Local Area Network
- 100Mb Wired Ethernet
- NetBIOS Protocol
- Windows: "Client for Microsoft Networks" protocol must be active on client machines.
- OS X: The "Samba" suite of protocols is already active. No changes are required.
- Switched Backbone
- Full Duplex
Instructions for Upgrading SAFARI Montage OS to Version 4.3.x
Please note that these upgrade instructions are ONLY for upgrades to installations of version 2.3.13 or higher. If you are currently running a version prior to 2.3.13, you will need to update your installation to 2.3.13 first.
Contents - One(1) of the Following:
- SAFARI Montage - 4.3.x Upgrade DVD - Disc 1 of 1
- SAFARI Montage - 4.3.x Upgrade USB Drive
OR
Please read these instructions in their entirety before you begin:
- These instructions and all related documents are available online at http://www.safarimontage.com/support
- It is important that you review the SAFARI Montage 4.3.x Release Notes available online, as these may include Known Issues that you should understand before running the upgrade.
- Review the SAFARI Montage 4.3.x System Requirements, which include important information that will ensure your environment meets all requirements.
- Allow for time to backup your system in your update planning.
- No one should use the SAFARI Montage System during the update process, so please perform this update during off-hours.
- Review any questions with Technical Support in advance. Please note that SAFARI Montage Technical Support is available Monday - Friday from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Eastern Time and they may be contacted by telephone at 800-782-7230 or online via http://www.safarimontage.com/support/.
Important Considerations:
- SAFARI Montage Media Player Deployment:
- We recommend you update all client computers to the current version of the SAFARI Montage Media Player prior to running the OS upgrade. Not doing so will result in all users receiving an alert upon logging in to SAFARI Montage instructing them to upgrade the player. The latest version of the player is available for download at http://www.safarimontage.com/support.
- Determine the version of SAFARI Montage OS that you are running by clicking on the "Admin" tab. Then click on "System" within the "Settings" menu on the left nav.
- If you are upgrading from version 3.2.x or later:
- This upgrade requires approximately two hours to complete for each server in your environment.
- If you are upgrading from version 2.3.13 - 3.1.x:
- This upgrade includes significant database updates and optimizations and it may take from four to six hours to complete on your primary server, after which updates can be distributed and synchronized to your expansion and remote school servers.
- The total time to complete the update will depend upon the number of servers in your specific environment, so please use the following guidelines when planning your schedule:
- 1 or 2 servers can be upgraded overnight.
- 3 or more servers should be upgraded when 1-2 days of downtime can be scheduled.
- Once the software update is complete, the SAFARI Montage server will reboot, and the database optimization process will begin automatically.
- If you are upgrading from version 3.2.x or later:
- If monitoring the update from the console, be aware that the system may appear to be inactive at certain times during the update. This does not mean that the update has stopped.
WARNING: DO NOT interrupt the update in any way or power off the server at any time during the update process or database optimization. Doing so may severely and irreparably damage your Safari Montage system.
If you are running WAN Manager with Expansion Server(s):
- The Expansion Controller must be upgraded first. See Upgrade Instructions below.
- Once the Expansion Controller has been upgraded, it will automatically push the upgrade to all of the Expansion Servers. The progress of the upgrade can be viewed by navigating to Admin -> Expansion Server -> Expansion Servers.
If you are running WAN Manager with Remote School Server(s):
- The WAN Manager Parent server must be upgraded first. See Upgrade Instructions below.
- Once the upgrade is completed on the WAN Manager Parent server, you will be able to automatically 'push' the upgrade to the Remote School Servers, thereby eliminating the need to upgrade them separately on-site.
- Navigate to Admin -> WAN Manager -> Remote School Servers
- Either check 'Remote update all servers', which will update five servers at a time until they have all been upgraded, or select individual servers to be upgraded by checking the box next to the server name.
Total time to upgrade all expansion and/or remote school servers will depend upon the total number of servers and available bandwidth. The upgrade will be downloaded to each remote server, where the upgrade process will run automatically and take approximately one to two hours. If 'Remote update all servers' is selected, servers will be processed in groups of five, and upgrades will run concurrently on each group of remote servers.
Upgrade Instructions (DVD):
- Backup your SAFARI Montage system via the Administration tools:
- Navigate to Admin -> Data Recovery -> Backup
- Perform a full backup setting the backup option 'Data Only' to 'No'.
- Click on the 'Backup' button to begin.
- At the SAFARI Montage Console, select 'Eject Removable Media' (option 6) to open the DVD drive, and then insert the SAFARI Montage Upgrade DVD.
- Select 'Update SAFARI Software' (option 5) from the console menu and press 'Enter'.
- Select 'Update from CD or DVD' (option 1) and press 'Enter' to run the software upgrade. The upgrade will take approximately one to two hours, after which the server will reboot.
- If you are upgrading from a version prior to 3.2.x, database optimizations will begin automatically when the server reboots. Please allow at least six hours for this process to complete.
- When the upgrade is complete, choose 'Eject Removable Media' from the SAFARI Montage Console Screen and remove the disc.
Upgrade Instructions (USB):
- Backup your SAFARI Montage system via the Administration tools:
- Navigate to Admin Data Recovery Backup
- Perform a full backup setting the backup option 'Data Only' to 'No'.
- Click on the 'Backup' button to begin.
- Insert the provided USB drive into an available USB port on the server.
- Select 'Update SAFARI Software' (option 5) from the console menu and press 'Enter'.
- Select 'Update from USB Drive' (option 2) and press 'Enter' to run the software upgrade. The upgrade will take approximately one to two hours, after which the server will reboot.
- If you are upgrading from a version prior to 3.2.x, database optimizations will begin automatically when the server reboots. Please allow at least six hours for this process to complete.
- When the upgrade is complete, remove the USB drive from the server's USB port.
~ THIS COMPLETES THE SERVER UPDATE PROCESS. PLEASE TEST FROM A CLIENT BROWSER. ~
Deploying the SAFARI Montage Media Player:
Go to http://www.safarimontage.com/support/ to download the latest version of the SAFARI Montage Media Player and for instructions on how to deploy the player to your client environment.