Software-update: MediaPortal 2.5

Versie 2.5 van MediaPortal is uitgekomen. Met dit programma kan een Windows-machine als hart van de multimediahardware in de huiskamer worden gebruikt. Zo kan op een eenvoudige manier naar radio en muziek worden geluisterd, en naar video's en dvd's worden gekeken. Ook kunnen tv-programma's worden opgenomen. Door middel van plug-ins en extensies kan de functionaliteit worden uitgebreid en kan de look & feel van het programma worden aangepast. De release notes voor deze uitgave kunnen hieronder worden gevonden.

We are proud to present MediaPortal 2.5

MediaPortal 2.5 is a full-blown media center software that addresses most common user requirements out of the box. Aside from its support for live TV and radio, it offers a complete media server for music, movies, and series. Info is automatically downloaded from various sources to provide posters, fanart, album art, and various additional metadata, such as cast, staff, and more. MediaPortal 2.5 also provides access to online video sources. Integrated news, weather information, and management for your digital images complete this software package. User management for your family let you configure users (e.g. kids) and restrict age dependend content and settings.

Installer
MediaPortal 2.5 comes with a brand-new installer, which is offering a smooth and comfortable installation process and also brings a cool design making the installer look fresh and modern.

New Features
In the installer you can choose between 3 TV engines (or non if TV functionality is not needed):

• TVE3 (only in NET4.8 version of MediaPortal 2)
• TVE3.5
• TVMosaic

You have a clear view of which packages are already installed, which will be updated, will which be added or removed. The installer takes care that all needed packages (e.g. NET) are installed in the background. Please check also the wiki for more details.

System

Many changes have happened in the backend of MediaPortal. The code was ported from NET4.8 to NET6, which provides a performance increase on most systems. However some features are not (yet) compatible with NET6 such as OnlineVideos and TVE3. Accordingly we decided to publish two installer and you need to decide which one covers your needs better.

• NET6 installer (OV and TVE3 not included)
• NET4.8 installer

Due to heavy development of MediaPortal 2, many new text strings have been added, but have been not localized yet. Everybody can support translating strings in our translation platform transifex. Every help to bring MediaPortal 2 forward is highly appreciated by our small development team.

Other Changes

• Potential deadlock when disposing GENA event subscription
• Separate Fullscreen/Windowed toggle from "Always On Top" behavior
• Update Nuget.config to use https myget source
• Update build process to use Transifex CLI instead of the now obsolete Transifex client
• Workflow navigation to child screens does not respect some parent screen properties
• Centralized MediaLogo and Certification images to Default skin to avoid redundant storage in multiple skins
• Fix shortcut items not displayed on Weather and News home content
• Fix Potential Infinite Loop In VirtualizingPanels
• Extended age certification logos for Australia, Canada, Finland, Italy and Japan
• Add MediaPortal 2 version infos to settings
• Play/Pause OSD button restarts playback from beginning if pressed whilst seeking
• Nfo SeriesFanArtHandler can throw a null reference exception if actors list is null
• Opening the Diagnostics config page breaks server communication and other weird issues
• Wrong exception is logged/displayed if there is an issue during startup
• FanArtService can throw a NullReferenceException on shutdown
• Update transifex build scripts to support VS 2022

TV Dedicated Radio Tile

So far radio was part of TV. In MediaPortal 2.5 we have added a dedicated radio tile.

• In the main menu you have a radio tile with its own home content
• Radio has its own EPG screens
• Recordings and schedules are still shared between TV and Radio, but can be distingished by media type

TVMosaic

The current TV engine (TVE3) for Media Portal 1 and 2 was developed a long time ago, and is not state of the art any more. Accordingly we decided to develop the TVMosaic plugin as an alternative TV provider. The TVMosaic Community Edition is freeware and can be configured by web browser. Because it is not bonded to windows it may run on many platforms. The client plugin can be selected in the installer now. Further improvements and bug fixes such as improved EPG loading time and inproper channel indexes were integrated since the previous version. Check the wiki for further information.

TVE3.5

The current TV engine (TVE3) for Media Portal 1 and 2 was developed a long time ago and is not state of the art any more.

• The TVE3.5 is a further development of the TVE3, with mainly better support for SAT>IP
• The development was unfortunately stopped, so this plugin is just the latest, but stable state of unfinished work

Check the wiki for further information.

Other Changes

• All EPG screens have clear focus texts explaining the function or behavior
• Downloading of TV and Radio logos is improved
• SlimTv ChannelContext is not thread safe
• Remove hardcoded limit of 4 digits when channel zapping

Nereus Skin Dialogs

• A scale and fade animation was added when dialogs appear and disappear. The dialog appearance was significantly improved with a skin setting to configure glow effect, edge radius, and transparency
• Fix the problem of the dialog closing if non-clickable element within dialog is clicked

Configuration of Home Screen Header
The home screen header can be configured to show one or more of date, time, current weather condition and current temperature.

Main Menu Tile Style
New option to switch main menu tile styles – square (default) or circle.

Other Changes

• FanArt visibility settings have a live preview now
• Settings for scroll speed, scroll delay and loop scrolling were merged into one dialog
• Better gradients and background images in settings
• Better list index presentation for shares and input devices
• New button style with rounded edges
• Better textbox styles with icon
• Improved message with icon in case no share is added with option to add a share directly
• Added image for “local media” tile

Input Device Manager

The Input Device Manager was completely revised by our developer Brownard! Now it supports not only HID devices, but finally also allows mapping of all non-HID devices or devices that send simple key presses to an application. Please check also the wiki for further details.

Plugins

This refers to all optional plugins, meaning they are not part of the installer, but need to be installed manually. You can find them in the download section.

Cinema

The Cinema plugin was dead for longer time, because the used service google showtimes was abadoned. Our developer BigGranu completely rewrote the plugin using alternative services. There is a NET4.8 and NET6 version. Features:

• Add multiple cinemas e.g. close to your location by entering your country and postral code
• See the play schedules for the movies in the selected cinema
• Watch the trailers (in this new version also HD trailer playback is supported)

Webradio

The Webradio plugin is using NET6 besides NET4.8 now and several improvements have been integrated.

• Updated streaming list
• Updated player OSD (dome infos removed, some newly added)
• New context menu entry to add/remove favorites
• Filter dialog reworked

Emulators

The emulators plugin is using NET6 besides NET4.8 now and serveral improvements have been integrated.

• Updates to support new HID input plugin
• Several skin improvements

Full List of Changes

You can review all changes by taking a look at the change log: MediaPortal 2.5.
For known issues please check out our Jira and our Bug Reports Forum.

De volgende downloads zijn beschikbaar:
MediaPortal 2.5 (NET4.8)
MediaPortal 2.5 (NET6)

Versienummer	2.5
Releasestatus	Final
Besturingssystemen	Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 10, Windows 11
Website	Fabrikant
Download	https://www.team-mediaportal.com/mediaportal-download
Licentietype	GPL