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SAFARI Montage® Version 3.4 to 3.4.2



Released: 3/30/2009

What's New

Audio Clips with Supporting Still Image

Support for new audio content format, providing the display of a correlating still image during playback of the audio clip. Available for the new "IRC: History Pictures" package. Requires latest version of SAFARI Montage® Media Player (see below).

Updates

  • SAFARI Montage® Media Player

    New versions of the SAFARI Montage® Media Player have been released for Microsoft Windows® (v1.0.4) and Mac OS® X (v1.0.10).

    • Player Detection Upon Login - The user is notified upon login if their SAFARI Montage® Media Player version is out of date, and is given the opportunity to upgrade.
    • OS X Installation and Mounter - The Mounter and SAFARI Montage® Media Player are now wrapped into a single installer. Mounting performance has also been improved.
    • Live USB Video Camera Playback - Windows XP and Vista only. SAFARI Montage now supports live playback from a local USB video camera. To access this feature, attach a USB camera, then right-click on the SAFARI Montage Media Player, and select "Check for capture device" from the menu.
    • MPEG-2 Playback - Windows XP and Vista only; requires MPEG-2 decoder.
  • Search
    • Improved Performance
    • Dynamic Publisher List - "Publisher" drop-down list in the Search criteria is now dynamic, and displays only those publishers associated with active content.
  • CreationStation
    • The CreationStationâ„¢ Media Upload page has a new file-upload applet for compatibility with new browsers (see "Java Virtual Machine Requirements Changed" below).
  • State Standards
    • New York State Standards have been updated.
  • WAN Expansion Server
    • Expansion Servers now have their own SSL settings, independent of the Controller.
  • Managed Home Access
    • Quality - The Quality preference has been removed and now defaults to the highest quality available.
    • Closed Captioning - Improvements have been made to video playback with closed captions displayed.
  • Playlists
    • User-uploaded CreationStation™ logo now appears on Playlists on expansions servers.
  • Selective Video Streaming
    • School News Available to Anonymous Users - There is a new "SVS Settings" page in the Admin section that will make school news available on the Login page to anonymous users.

Known Issues

Java Virtual Machine Requirements Changed

Our Java requirements have changed due to a new file-upload applet required for compatibility with new browsers. Users must have Sun Java Virtual Machine, Version 6, Update 11 or greater installed. Earlier versions may result in failed uploads, "incorrect Java version" messages, the browser "spinning" indefinitely, or browser crashes.

Security Warnings on Upload

A security warning may appear in your browser when the CreationStation upload feature is used and, during bulk uploads, you may see the warning repeated every few files. The warning on Windows Vista is "This application's digital signature cannot be verified." The warning on OS X is similar to "Java cannot verify the authenticity of the signature's certificate."

We recommend you trust the upload applet to avoid seeing this warning each time you upload a file. For Microsoft Windows, check the "Always trust content from this publisher" checkbox. On Mac OS X, click the "Show Certificate" button and check the "Always trust Library Video Company" checkbox.

Content Packages

This release supports the following content packages. All video packages are available in QuickTime and Windows Media formats.

Video

  • Algebra'scool Teaching System (BestQuest)
  • Math'scool Teaching System (BestQuest)
  • Almanac Newsreel
  • K-8 Core Content
  • 9-12 Core Content
  • K-12 Core Content
  • Middle School/Junior High Supplement
  • National Underground Railroad Freedom Center
  • Reading Rainbow
  • Schlessinger Media K-8
  • Schlessinger Media K-8 Additional
  • Schlessinger Media K-8 Additional Upgrade
  • Schlessinger Media K-8 Additional Rev. A
  • Schlessinger Medai 9-12
  • Additional Schlessinger Media 9-12
  • Video Encyclopedia of the 20th Century
  • K-6 Supplemental - NEW!

Still Images

  • Schlessinger Image Library
  • World Factbook
  • Paintings by the Masters
  • Images from NASA
  • IRC: History Pictures - NEW!

Audio Clips with Supporting Still Image

  • IRC: History Pictures - NEW!

Interactive

  • Visual Dictionary

Microsoft Windows©


Windows Vista

Web Browsers
  • Internet Explorer 7.0
  • Firefox 2.0 - 3.0: Full-screen playback unavailable. Windows Media not supported.
Browser Plug-ins
  • SAFARI Montage Media Player 1.0.4+ for Windows Vista: See "SAFARI Montage Media Player" under "Browser Plug-ins" in the "All Platforms" section below.
  • Flash Player 9: Required for Visual Dictionary interactive image package.

Windows XP©

Web Browsers
  • Internet Explorer 6.0-7.0
  • Firefox 2.0 - 3.0: Full-screen playback unavailable. Windows Media Player 11 not supported.
Browser Plug-ins
  • SAFARI Montage Media Player 1.0.4+ for Windows Vista: See "SAFARI Montage Media Player" under "Browser Plug-ins" in the "All Platforms" section below.
  • QuickTime 7.5.5+
  • Windows Media Player 9-11: Windows Media Player 9 does not support closed captioning in Full Screen mode.
  • Flash Player 9: Required for Visual Dictionary interactive image package.

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 Macintosh©


Mac OS® X 10.4-10.5

Web Browsers
  • Safari 2.0-3.0
  • Firefox 2.0-3.0
Browser Plug-ins
  • SAFARI Montage Media Player 1.0.9+ for Mac OS X: See "SAFARI Montage Media Player" under "Browser Plug-ins" in the "All Platforms" section below.
  • QuickTime 7.5.5+
  • Flash Player 9: Required for Visual Dictionary interactive image package.

Mac OS® X 10.3.9

SAFARI Montage CreationStation add-on is not supported on this operating system.

Web Browsers
  • Firefox 2.0-3.0
Browser Plug-ins
  • SAFARI Montage Media Player 1.0.9+ for Mac OS X: See "SAFARI Montage Media Player" under "Browser Plug-ins" in the "All Platforms" section below.
  • QuickTime 7.4.5
  • Flash Player 9: Required for Visual Dictionary interactive image package.

Minimum Hardware

  • G4 (Recommended: G5 or Intel System)
  • 1 GHz CPU (Recommended: 1.6 GHz or greater)
  • 256 MB RAM (Recommended: 512 or greater)
  • 64 MB Video RAM

All Platforms


All Operating Systems

Browser Plug-ins
  • SAFARI Montage Media Player: Plays both Windows Media and QuickTime, but in order to play QuickTime media, you must have QuickTime 7.5.5+ installed.  SAFARI Montage Media Player is required for:
    • Microsoft Windows Vista Compatibility
    • SAFARI Montage Managed Home Access Add-on
    • Closed Captions
    • Mulit-Language Audio
    • Enhanced Full-Screen Playback
  • Sun Java2 Virtual Machine, Version 6, Update 11 or Greater: Required for CreationStation uploads.
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 are already active. No changes are required.
  • Switched Backbone
  • Full Duplex

Please note that these update instructions are ONLY for updates 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) Update DVD:
  • 1. SAFARI Montage Update version 3.4.x Disc 1 of 1
Please read these instructions in their entirety before you begin:
  1. Please read these instructions completely to plan your update.
  2. These instructions and all related documents are available online at http://www.safarimontage.com/support
  3. It is important that you review the SAFARI Montage 3.4.x Release Notes available online which include Known Issues that are critical to understand before running the upgrade.
  4. Review the SAFARI Montage 3.4.x System Requirements which include important information that will ensure your environment meets all requirements.
  5. Include time to backup your system in your update planning.
  6. No one should use the SAFARI Montage system during the update process, so please run the update off-hours.
  7. 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 may be contacted by telephone at 800-782-7230 or online via http://www.safarimontage.com/support
Important Considerations:
  1. If you have deployed the SAFARI Montage Media Player throughout your school/district:
    • We recommend you update your clients to the current version of the SAFARI Montage Media Player prior to running the 3.4.x 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
  2. Determine the version of SAFARI Montage OS that you are running by going to the "Admin" tab. Then go to "System" within the "Settings" menu on the left nav.
    • If you are upgrading from version 3.2.x or later:
      • This update requires approximately one hour to apply to each server in your environment.
    • If you are upgrading from version 2.3.13 - 3.1.x:
      • This update includes significant software updates and database optimizations and 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 child 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.
  3. If you are watching 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 Update Instructions below.
  • Once the Expansion Controller has been updated, it will automatically push the update to all of the Expansion Servers. The progress of this update push can be viewed by browsing to Admin -> Expansion Server -> Expansion Servers.

If you are running WAN Manager with Child Server(s):

  • The WAN Manager Parent server must be upgraded first. See Update Instructions below.
  • Once the update is completed on the WAN Manager Parent server, you will be able to automatically "push" the update to the Child Servers, thereby eliminating the need to update them separately onsite.
    • Browse to Admin -> WAN Manager -> Child Servers
    • Either check "Remote update all servers," which will update five servers at a time until they have all been updated, or select individual servers to be updated by checking the box next to the server name. The update will proceed automatically.

Total time to update all expansion and/or child servers will depend upon the total number of servers and available bandwidth The update will be downloaded to each remote server, where the update 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 updates will run concurrently on each group of remote servers.

Upgrade Instructions:

  • 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".
  • At the SAFARI Montage Console, select "Eject CD" to open the CD drive and insert the SAFARI Montage Update DVD.
  • Select "Update from CD-ROM" to run the software update, which 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.
~ THIS COMPLETES THE SERVER UPDATE PROCESS. PLEASE TEST FROM A CLIENT BROWSER. ~

Deploying SAFARI Montage Media Player:

See separate instructions at http://www.safarimontage.com/support to deploy the new SAFARI Montage Media Player to your client environment.