Cisco TelePresence Content Server Release 5.0 Release Notes
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Table Of Contents
Cisco TelePresence Content Server Release 5.0 Release Notes
New Features and Functionality in 5.0
Embedded Silverlight and Flash Players
New Stacked Layout for Recordings
Integration with Show and Share
Changes to Default Streaming Bit Rates
Premium Resolution Option Key and Features
Prerequisites and Software Dependencies
Checking for Updates and Getting Help
Cisco TelePresence Content Server Release 5.0 Release Notes
February 2011Contents
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New Features and Functionality in 5.0
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Introduction
These release notes describe the features and capabilities included in the Cisco TelePresence Content Server (Content Server) software version 5.0.
New Features and Functionality in 5.0
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Customizable Website Name
Site managers can replace the website name displayed at the top of all Content Server pages. The default text is Cisco TelePresence Content Server. Go to Management > Configuration > Site settings to change the website name.
New View Recordings Page
A new View Recordings page displays recordings currently in progress as well as recordings available for on demand viewing. This replaces View Conferences and its two sub-menus, Live and Recorded, available in previous versions.
The View Recordings page enables you to:
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Categories on the View Recordings Page
Click on a category name under a recording thumbnail or in the All categories/Top categories panel at the bottom of the page to view all recordings in this category. You can now add this page to the favorites in your browser to easily access recordings in this category later.
The Top categories list is displayed if there are more than 10 categories with two or more recordings assigned to each category that you have permission to view. Otherwise, All categories is displayed.
Thumbnails on the View Recordings page
The View Recordings page now displays a gallery view of up to 25 recording thumbnails per page.
Recordings which are currently in progress are marked with a red recording dot, with mouse-over text: Currently recording.
Thumbnails for recordings are now bigger than in previous versions. Recordings upgraded from previous versions will have small thumbnails until you re-transcode one of the outputs in 5.0.
Embedded Silverlight and Flash Players
New Silverlight and Flash players are now embedded on the View Recordings page.
Site managers can now specify the preferred player—Silverlight or Flash—from Management > Configuration > Site settings. The preferred player is then set as the default player for viewing recordings on the Content Server. For example, if a recording is available in Windows Media and MPEG-4 for Flash formats, and the preferred player is Silverlight, the Silverlight player will open first when you click on the recording thumbnail.
By default, Windows Media recordings will open in the new Silverlight player.
You can access links to the legacy Windows Media player by clicking the Other formats tab.
Links to legacy players which open in a pop-up window will be displayed for playing on demand recordings in the deprecated Two videos layout in Windows Media and MPEG-4 for Flash formats, and also for playing any live or on demand recordings in MPEG-4 for QuickTime format.
The new Silverlight player requires Silverlight v.4 and the new Flash Player requires Flash v.10 plug-in to be installed on your computer.
Play Options
If two streaming media sizes are available, you can change to the other streaming media size while playing the recording. To change the size of the recording you are playing back, click the Size icon in the player taskbar.
Full Screen Option
To expand the player to full screen, click the Full screen icon in the player taskbar.
Indexes
Indexes you add through the Content Editor will appear as an overlay over the new Silverlight and Flash players. You can toggle the index on and off by clicking the Index icon in the player taskbar.
Share, Download, and Set Bandwidth Preferences
You can access the share link, links to downloadable files (if available) and bandwidth preferences in the embedded player area.
When using the share link to access a recording, you will now be directed to the embedded player on the View Recordings page, and not, as in previous versions, to a player in a pop-up window.
New Stacked Layout for Recordings
'Stacked' is a new layout for recordings where main video is scaled down and displayed on top of the presentation stream. Main video and presentation stream are composited into a single video stream. The Stacked layout replaces the deprecated Two videos layout, where main video and presentation stream were streamed as two separate videos.
You can use the stacked layout for streaming from the Content Server web interface, for downloads and also for distribution to other systems, like Podcast Producer.
Stacked and joined layouts in 5.0 now feature smooth transitions when the presentation stream starts or ends. When you start the presentation stream in a call, the main video displayed in the center of the player area at the beginning of the recording will shrink and move to its position at the top-center of the player in stacked, and to the left in the joined layout. When you end the presentation stream, the main video will once again become the central focus of the player area.
Localizable Web Interface
The Content Server web interface can now be localized. Language packs for Simplified Chinese, Japanese and French will be available on the Cisco web site shortly after software release. Site Managers can upload them on their Content Server through the web interface, from Management > Configuration > Site settings > Upload language pack.
Site managers can specify the preferred language from Management > Configuration > Site settings. The preferred language is then set as the default language for all users accessing the Content Server web interface and for emails sent by the system. By default, English is the preferred language.
You can set your preferred language for viewing the interface by selecting a language from the Select language menu in the top right-hand corner of the page.
User language preference will be saved for authenticated users, and will persist until the browser window is closed for guests.
Content Server localization does not include the countdown and recording logo displayed on the endpoints during a recording; installer and TCS Wizard messages; logs; the operating system and the Windows Server administrative site.
Integration with Show and Share
You can make a recording with the Content Server and upload it automatically to a Cisco Show and Share server for on demand viewing. The recording will be copied across with its metadata—recording name and description.
To enable seamless integration with a Cisco Show and Share server, a Site Manager needs to set up a media server configuration first. Go to Management > Recording setup > Media server configurations, add a Show and Share server configuration and fill out the required fields. You have the option to automatically publish your recording on the Show and Share server—otherwise your video will be uploaded but will stay in draft mode. You also have the option to upload a recording to a specific category available on your Show and Share server. After saving your Show and Share media server configuration, you can add it to a template.
To automatically upload all your new recordings to Cisco Show and Share, you need to use a personal recording alias with a template that has a distribution output using your Show and Share media server configuration.
Alternatively, to upload an existing recording to Cisco Show and Share, go to Manage outputs for the recording, select Distributed to Podcast Producer, Show and Share or iTunes U, then select Show and Share, choose the Media server configuration for the Show and Share server that you want to upload your recording to, and finally select what size video you want to upload.
Changes to Default Streaming Bit Rates
Higher default streaming bit rates and bit rate ranges will apply to new recordings made with 5.0 and also to pre-5.0 outputs re-transcoded in 5.0.
Small Outputs
The target streaming bit rate range of small outputs created in 5.0 is now between 150 and 512 kbps (changed from 56-200 kbps in 4.x). The default streaming bit rate is now 250 kbps (changed from 56 kbps in 4.x).
Medium Outputs
The target streaming bit rate range of medium outputs created in 5.0 is now between 512 and 1152 kbps (changed from 200-700 kbps in 4.x). The default streaming bit rate is now 800 kbps (changed from 512 kbps in 4.x).
Large Outputs
The streaming bit rate of large outputs created in 5.0 can now be up to 1.5 times higher than the call rate at which a recording was captured. In 4.x, the highest streaming bit rate for large outputs could never be higher than the call rate.
New Online Help Format
Site managers, Creators and Editors can access context-sensitive online help by clicking the Help link at the top right hand side of the page. Help has been updated and now includes a more powerful index, search, print and go back/forward functionality.
Premium Resolution Option Key and Features
Additional functionality is available on second generation Content Server hardware by adding a Premium Resolution key.
Premium Resolution option offers the following additional functionality:
Higher Call Speed and Video Resolution
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Presentation Stream Recorded with H.264
The presentation stream on the Premium Resolution Content Server can be recorded with the H.264 video codec. This means the presentation stream will be recorded at the maximum resolution that the endpoint, which is acquiring the presentation stream, is able to encode—up to the maximum resolution settings for each recording.
Watching a Recording Using a Videoconference Endpoint
Content Server recordings made with 5.0 can be viewed on an endpoint by dialing a Playback H.323 ID or E.164 alias of the recording from your endpoint. Playback addresses for recordings are displayed on the Edit recording page and in the email sent from the Content Server when a call has finished.
To enable playback on a Content Server with the Premium Resolution option key installed, Site managers must first enter a playback H.323 and/or E.164 gateway prefix in Management > Configuration > Site settings.
To enable playback automatically for new recordings created with your personal recording alias, edit your recording alias and select Make finished recording available for playing on endpoints.
Alternatively, to playback an existing recording from an endpoint, select Make recording available for playing on endpoints in the Play recording on endpoints section of the Edit recording page and save. The playback address for your recording will be displayed under the option you have just selected.
If you play back your recordings on endpoints which support presentation, you can to toggle between layouts. You can pause and resume playback by pressing any DTMF key.
Playback from endpoints is available for H.323 and interworking calls only, with a maximum of two calls per Content Server.
Additional Options Available When Playing Back Content Server Recordings from an E-20 (TE4.0)
If you play back your Content Server recording from an E-20, you will get an in-call soft button option to Pause playback. In Paused mode, you will see a timeline with time elapsed from the beginning of the recording, and total time.
Press the Resume soft button to continue viewing the recording.
Press the call disconnect button to stop playback when you are done.
Review Recordings from an E-20 (TE4.0)
When you are making a recording on a Content Server from an E-20, soft buttons in the E-20 interface will provide in-call options to stop the recording (Stop) and then either review what you have just recorded (Review) or delete the last take you have recorded and start a new recording (Redo). You can record as many takes as you want, and only the last one will be saved.
When you are done, press the Save and End soft button or the call disconnect button to end the call. This will save the last recording you made.
Review recording options are available in calls to recording aliases which have no live streaming outputs. Calls with a live streaming output will only display a Save and End option.
Review recording is available in up to 5 calls per Content Server.
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Resolved Caveats
The following issues were found in previous releases and were resolved in 5.0.
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Video
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Note
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Interoperability
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API
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Web Interface
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Clustering
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Known Limitations
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Open Caveats
The following issues currently apply to this version of Cisco TelePresence Content Server.
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Interoperability
The systems below have been tested and verified with this software release.
Table 1 H.323 Gatekeepers/Traversal Servers
Tandberg Gatekeeper
N6.1
Tandberg Border Controller
Q6.1
Cisco TelePresence Video Communications Server
X6.0
Table 2 SIP Registrars/Proxies
Cisco TelePresence Video Communications Server
X6.0
Table 3 MCU Interoperability
Cisco TelePresence MPS
J4.5
Cisco TelePresence MCU 4220
4.1(1.51)
Cisco TelePresence MCU 4520
4.1(1.51)
Polycom MGC
9.0.3.1
Upgrading to 5.0
Prerequisites and Software Dependencies
The 5.0 installer will upgrade your Content Server from 4.0 and 4.1 versions. If your Content Server is at an earlier version, you will need to upgrade to 4.0 first before running the 5.0 installer.
A release key is required for upgrading to 5.0.
Caution
Caution
If the software upgrade installer detects Real Media outputs, templates or media servers on your Content Server, it will give you an option to delete those outputs, or to transcode your recordings to one of the following formats: Windows Media, MPEG-4 for QuickTime, or MPEG-4 for Flash. The installer will also delete the Helix streaming server media server configuration, and any Real Media outputs specified in templates.
If you chose to transcode your Real Media outputs to another format during the upgrade process, those recordings will be offline transcoded after the upgrade. Real Media replacement transcode jobs will have low priority, which means that any new recordings created after the upgrade will take precedence. Recordings created with versions earlier than 3.0 will not be able to be retranscoded and will lose all playable outputs. Cisco recommends that you back up those recordings on another server before the upgrade.
Caution
Unsupported components which MUST be removed prior to upgrading:
Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Analysis Services 9.0 OLE DB Provider, Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Backward Compatibility Components, Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Command Line Query Utility, Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Data Mining Viewer Controls, Microsoft SQL Server 2005 JDBC Driver, Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Management Objects Collection, Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Compact Edition, Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Notification Services Client Components, Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Upgrade Advisor, Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Reporting Services Add-in for Microsoft SharePoint Technologies, Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Data Mining Add-ins for Microsoft Office 2007.
Upgrade Instructions
The approximate duration of an upgrade is 10-20 minutes.
To upgrade your Content Server to 5.0, do the following:
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Caution
Step 11
Refer to the TANDBERG Knowledge Base for more information if the installer displays warnings or errors at the end of the upgrade process. The installation logs are available in the following locations: E:\logs\Install and E:\logs\SetupUtility.
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Caution
If your Content Server has 3.0 or 3.1 recordings with incorrect durations, you will see a list of those recordings in the Transcoding queue after the upgrade to 5.0. The description of the transcode job under Outputs pending will be File pre-pass. When this process has finished for all 3.0 and 3.1 recordings, durations of those recordings will be reported correctly by new players.
Checking for Updates and Getting Help
Cisco recommends registering your product at http://www.tandberg.com/services/video-conferencing-product-registration.jsp in order to receive notifications about the latest software and security updates. New feature and maintenance releases are published regularly, and we recommend that your Content Server software is always kept up to date.
If you experience any problems when configuring or using your Cisco TelePresence Content Server, consult the online help (available within the UI) for an explanation of how its individual features and settings work. If you cannot find the answer you need, check on the web site at http://www.tandberg.com/support to make sure that your <product> is running the most up-to-date software and for further relevant documentation.
You or your reseller can get help from our support team by raising a case at http://www.tandberg.com/support/video-conferencing-online-support.jsp. Make sure you have the following information ready:
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Related Documentation
For more information about the Cisco TelePresence Content Server, see these documents:
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All documents are located here:
http://www.cisco.com/en/US/partner/products/ps11347/tsd_products_support_series_home.html
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