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SAFARI Montage® Version 5.8.x



Product Release Information


Product:
Version:
Releases & Dates:
Customer Support:


SAFARI Montage
5.8.x
5.8.54 - 12/20/2013
5.8.50 - 12/12/2013
5.8.34 - 08/07/2013
http://www.safarimontage.com/support

Introduction

This document contains the release notes for SAFARI Montage 5.8.x. This is a full release of the SAFARI Montage System and the following sections provide details to its release. SAFARI Montage 5.x is not a software-only upgrade from SAFARI Montage 4.x and may require a new OS drive, increased RAM, and/or a new server. Contact SAFARI Montage Customer Service (1-800-782-7230) regarding SAFARI Montage 5.x upgrade options.

New in this Release -
5.8.54

  • State Standards and Correlations Updates and Additions
    • Academic standards and packaged content correlations have been comprehensively updated.
    • Partnership for 21st Century Skills: K-12 Support Systems 2010
    • Partnership for 21st Century Skills: K-12 21st Century Student Outcomes 2009
    • Support for new content packages has been added (see "New Content Packages" below).

New Content Packages

  • Video
    • National Defense Education Program STEM
    • Arab American Stories
  • Still Images
    • World Factbook (2014)
  • Web Links
    • Scholastic Channel Web Links
    • Reading Rockets Web Links
    • Numberphiles Web Links
    • TED-ED Web Links
    • MIT OpenCourseWare Web Links

New in this Release -
5.8.50

  • View & Chat
    • Provides synchronous chat between students and teachers while playing media.
    • Allows for active participation in a way that does not disrupt the classroom during a lesson.
    • Works with desktop workstations or mobile devices.
    • Requires SAFARI Montage Media Player 5.8.22 for Microsoft Windows clients or 5.8.24 for Apple OS X client.

5.8.50 Release Details

  • SAFARI Montage Media Player
  • Known Issues and Workarounds

    Issues
    Affected Module/Package
    Affected Operating System
    Affected Web Browser
    Resolution/Workaround
    Changes to Safari browser cause control loss of SAFARI Montage Media Player in fullscreen Presentation View in Digital Curriculum Presenter. Digital Curriculum Presenter Apple OS X Apple Safari Use Firefox or Chrome browsers or upgrade to SAFARI Montage Media Player 5.8.24.
    Changes to the Apple OS X causes loss of browser window focus when closing a launched browser window from fullscreen Presentation View in Digital Curriculum Presenter Digital Curriculum Presenter Apple OS X Any After closing the launched browser window, click on the SAFARI Montage Media Player window to regain focus and continue presenting the lesson.
    Unable to playback Selective Video Streaming, streams when updating to Video LAN (VLC) Player 2.1.0 or later Selective Video Streaming Any Any VLC verison 2.0.3 is the supported version for use with Selective Video Streaming. Uninstall later VLC version and reinstall VLC version 2.0.3

New in this Release -
5.8.34

  • State Standards and Correlations Updates and Additions
    • Academic standards and packaged content correlations have been comprehensively updated.
    • Next Generation Science Standards have been added.
    • Support for new content packages has been added (see "New Content Packages" below).
    • New and updated 300K video packages now include both English and Spanish languages, eliminating the need for separate 300K Spanish packages.
  • Digital Curriculum Presenter (DCP)
    • Student Assignments
      • Ability for teachers to develop and assign Assignments to students within the context of a Lesson.
      • Student access of Assignments includes a new Student Dashboard interface and a unique Assignment icon with number counter indicating total pending assignments.
      • Assignments can be given due dates and student submissions to teacher are time stamped.
      • Assignment resources or student questions can be discussed via the integrated discussion feature.
      • Students can turn in SAFARI Montage items, Playlists, My Locker items, web links or local files as a part of their assignment submission to the teacher.
  • CreationStation/My Locker
    • My Locker now supports Web Links for Student with Uploads users.
  • Dashboard
    • Portal Links Dashboard Panel
      • Portal Links allow CreationStation web links to 3rd party systems to be published to the dashboard.
      • Portal Links observe standard CreationStation digital rights management to control whether links are published to the dashboard district-wide, to specific schools, and/or to specific user types.
    • Selective Video Streaming (SVS) and N-DVR dashboard panels have been relocated on the dashboard.
  • Selective Video Streaming/Network-DVR/Channel Guide
    • Support for the SAFARI Montage G1570 HD Encoder.
    • N-DVR Recording Retention Settings
      • Retention settings have been added to N-DVR settings, allowing Administrators to manage recording retention, based either on age or available storage, automatically expiring recordings to free hard drive space based on selected settings.
      • Separate setting are provided for SVS and Channel Guide recordings.
      • Expiration dates set automatically by retention settings can be overridden for individual titles through CreationStation Rights Management.
    • Administrators can now set N-DVR recording rights by Users Type under N-DVR settings instead of at individual user setting.
    • Channel Guide and N-DVR icons have been relocated to the respective dashboard panels for ease of access.
  • Pathways SM
    • Newly supported devices:
      • Panasonic 360 camera
      • Epson BrightLink 485W projector
  • Classroom Media Controller/Digital Signage
    • Integration of Amino Aminet A140 high-performance set top box decoder, supporting both Pathways SM and SAFARI Montage Selective Video Streaming.
  • SAFARI Montage Media Player
    • Extended 3rd Party support for document cameras to include:
      • Lumens Ladybug DC265
  • SAFARI Montage Live! v5
    • Support for SML v5.4.2.1, including Apple iOS and Android mobile SML5 clients
    • Improved email invitations and invitation management, including control over whether invitations are sent to all or only new invitees.
  • Mobile Devices®
    • New iOS app (v 1.0.5) featuring:
      • Integrated, in-app search and playback, including familiar SAFARI Montage Media Player features such as access to Spanish audio tracks, closed captioning, multiple resolutions/bitrates, and variable speed playback.
      • Integrated, in-app image & video capture with direct to My Locker for Student with Upload users.
      • Ability to upload any supported media file to My Locker for Student with Upload users.
  • Web Browser Support
    • Support for the following web browser types:

      Operating System
      Microsoft® Internet Explorer®
      Firefox®
      Apple® Safari®
      Chrome™
      Microsoft Window® 8 (Desktop) 10 22.0 Unsupported 28.0
      Microsoft Window® 7 10.0, 9.0 and 8.0 22.0 Unsupported 28.0
      Microsoft Window Vista® 9.0 and 8.0 22.0 Unsupported 28.0
      Microsoft Window XP SP3 8.0 and 7.0 22.0 Unsupported 28.0
      Apple Mac OS® X 10.8 Unsupported 22.0 6.1 28.0
      Apple Mac OS X 10.7 Unsupported 22.0 6.1 28.0
      Apple Mac OS X 10.6 Unsupported 22.0 5.1 28.0

Supported Content Packages

  • Audio Clips With Supporting Still Image
    • IRC: History Pictures
    • IRC: California History Pictures
    • U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Photographs (2013)
    • Digital Resources From the National Archives
    • National Park Service Natural & Historical Digital Resources
  • Interactive
    • Visual Dictionary
    • Cyber-Science 3D Model (2013)
  • Still Images
    • Schlessinger Image Library
    • World Factbook
    • Paintings by the Masters
    • Digital Resources From NASA
    • IRC: History Pictures
    • IRC: California History Pictures
    • National Atlas of The United States Maps
    • NOAA Weather Photos
    • U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Photographs (2013)
    • Images from the National Gallery of Art
    • Digital Resources from the National Archives
    • Digital Resources from FEMA
    • Cyber Science 3D Model (2013)™
  • Video
    • K-8 Core Content (2013)
      • K-8 Core (2013)
      • K-8 Expansion (6-2013)
      • K-8 Super Core (6-2013) [K-8 Core + K-8 Expansion]
    • 9-12 Core Content (2013)
      • 9-12 Core (2013)
      • 9-12 Expansion (6-2013)
      • 9-12 Super Core (6-2013) [9-12 Core + 9-12 Expansion]
    • K-12 Core (6-2013) [K-8 Core + 9-12 Core]
    • K-12 Super Core (6-2013) [K-12 Core + K-8 Expansion + 9-12 Expansion]
    • Additional Schlessinger Media® K-8 (2010)
    • Additional Schlessinger Media 9-12 (2010)
    • Digital Resources from NASA
    • Career Clips1
    • BestQuest Teaching Systems®
      • Algebra'scool® (2012)
      • Math'scool® (2012)
    • Almanac Newsreel
    • National Underground Railroad Freedom Center®
    • The Video Encyclopedia of the 20th Century®
    • BBC Shakespeare
    • National Park Service National & Historical Digital Resources®
    • Digital Resources from FEMA
  • Web Links
    • Themed Resources from the Library of Congress
    • Khan Academy Web Links
    • Digital Resources From the Encyclopedia of Life

Installation and Upgrade Notes

  • Installation and Upgrade
    • See the SAFARI Montage 5.8.x Upgrade Instructions tab above.
  • Minimum System Requirements
    • See the SAFARI Montage 5.8.x System Requirements tab above.

5.8.34 Release Details

Notes

1Requires SAFARI Montage Media Player for playback.

Microsoft® Windows®

Operating System
  • Windows 8 (Desktop Mode)
  • Windows XP Service Pack 3
  • Windows Vista®
  • Windows 7
Web Browsers
  • Internet Explorer®
    • 10.0 (Windows 8 Desktop Mode and 7)
    • 9.0 (Windows 7 and Vista)
    • 8.0 (all supported Operating Systems)
    • 7.0 (Windows XP)
  • Firefox®
    • 22.0 (all supported Operating Systems)
  • Google Chrome™
    • 28.0 (all supported Operating Systems)
Minimum Hardware
  • 1.8 GHz CPU (Recommended: 2 GHz or greater)
  • 512 MB RAM (Recommended: 1 GB or greater)
  • 128 MB of Video RAM
Apple® Mac OS®

Operating System
  • Mac OS X v10.8.31
  • Mac OS X v10.7.31
  • Mac OS X v10.6.82
Web Browsers
  • Safari®
    • 6.1 (OS X 10.8 and 10.7)
    • 5.1 (OS X 10.6)
  • Firefox®
    • 22.0 (all supported Operating Systems)
  • Google Chrome™
    • 28.0 (all supported Operating Systems)
Minimum Hardware

1

  • Mac with an Intel Core 2 Duo, Core i3, Core i5, Core i7, or Xeon processor
  • 2GB RAM
  • 7GB of available space

2

  • Mac with Intel® processor
  • 2.0 GHz CPU
  • 1GB RAM
  • 5GB of available space
Browser Plug-ins (All Platforms)

  • SAFARI Montage Media Player
    • Plays both Windows Media® and Apple QuickTime®

      • Installers

    • Version 5.8.22 (32-bit Windows 8, 7, Vista, XP)
    • Version 5.8.24 (OS X 10.8, 10.7 and 10.6)

      • Required for:

    • Microsoft Windows Vista and Windows 7 Compatibility
    • Digital Curriculum Presenter™ (DCP)
    • Pathways SM™
    • SAFARI Montage Managed Home Access Module
    • Closed Captioning Toggle
    • Alternate Language Audio Tracks
    • Enhanced Full-Screen Playback
    • Playback of Career Clips Content
  • VideoLAN

    The SAFARI Montage Media Player is compatible with the use of the VideoLAN VLC media player for streaming media playback.

    • Version 2.0.3 (Windows all versions)
    • Version 2.0.3 (OS X all versions)
  • Apple QuickTime

    Required for Windows operating systems and Mac OS for playback of QuickTime and H.264 content, and Managed Home Access.

    • X (OS X 10.8, 10.7)
    • 7.7 (OS X 10.6/Windows 8, 7, Vista and XP)
  • Microsoft Windows Media Player 11 (Windows XP and Windows Vista) or Microsoft Windows Media Player 12 (Windows 8 and 7)
    • Required for the playback of Windows Media. Windows Media playback not available on Mac OS.
  • Adobe® Flash® Player 11 - Required for Visual Dictionary interactive image package.
  • Adobe® Acrobat® Reader XI
  • Sun® Java® 7 Standard Edition - required for CreationStation uploads.
  • Cyber-Science 3D v4 Viewer
    • Required to view Cyber-Science Interactive 3D models

      • Installers

    • Version CS.4.0b.2075 (Windows and OS X all versions)
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
    • Hitachi® StarBoard® - .YAR
    • eInstruction® Workspace™ - .GWB
    • 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
    • StarBoard (v 8.11 or greater)/StarBoard LE - Viewer Only (v 3.0 or greater)/StarBoard for OS X (v 9.2 or greater)
    • eInstruction Workspace for Windows (v 8.90 or greater)/eInstruction Workspace for OS X (v 5.10 or greater)
Managed Home Access Clients
  • SAFARI Montage Media Player 5.8.x
  • Appled QuickTime
  • 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 5.8.x

Please note that these upgrade instructions are ONLY for upgrades to installations of version 5.0.29 or later. If you are currently running a version prior to 5.0.29, you will need to first upgrade your server. A server upgrade to version 5.0.29 will require a hard drive and memory upgrade. Please contact Technical Support at 800-782-7230 if you have any questions or concerns regarding the current status of your SAFARI Montage server.

WARNING: DO NOT ATTEMPT TO APPLY THIS UPGRADE TO A SAFARI MONTAGE SERVER RUNNING SOFTWARE VERSION 4.4.X OR EARLIER. DOING SO WILL RENDER YOUR SERVER INOPERABLE.
Contents

An email from SAFARI Montage containing a download link

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 5.8.x Release Notes available online, as these may include Known Issues that you should understand before running the upgrade.
  • Review the SAFARI Montage 5.8.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:
  1. 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. Administrators can suppress this notification in the following location: ADMIN -> Settings -> System -> Alert to Install SAFARI Montage Media Player. The latest version of the player is available for download at http://www.safarimontage.com/support.
  2. If monitoring the update from the console, be aware that the system may appear to be inactive at certain times during the upgrade. This does not mean that the upgrade 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):
  1. The Expansion Controller must be upgraded first. See Upgrade Instructions below.
  2. 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):
  1. The WAN Manager Parent server must be upgraded first. See Upgrade Instructions below.
  2. 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.
    1. Navigate to Admin -> WAN Manager -> Remote School Servers
    2. 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.

Download and Upgrade Instructions:
  1. Backup your SAFARI Montage system via the Administration tools:
    1. Navigate to Admin Data Recovery Backup
    2. Perform a full backup using one of the following methods:
  2. Download upgrade media (ISO) using the link provided in the email from SAFARI Montage.
  3. Upload the downloaded ISO file to the SAFARI Montage system via the Administration tools:
    1. Navigate to Admin » Tools » Software Update History.
    2. Click on the Upload an ISO image of the update and install link.
    3. Browse to the location of the ISO file downloaded in Step 2 and click on Open.

    The ISO will begin uploading to the server. Once the upload is complete, the upgrade will begin and will take approximately one to two hours, after which the server will reboot.

~ 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.