We’re hearing reports from Mac OSX Lion beta testers that Apple’s all new operating system update breaks the HP MediaSmart Server’s ability to back up the Mac.

Once you’ve updated your Mac to the new release, you’ll find the HP MediaSmart Server client can still detect the home server on the network, but is unable to remount the drive – leaving you to work through the same manual workarounds as other Windows Home Server v1 owners.

With the MediaSmart Server team at HP now disbanded to work on webOS devices, we’d be surprised to see a compatibility patch released by the company. Windows Home Server 2011 is due to support Mac backups courtesy of a (still unreleased) third party add-in. HP MediaSmart Server owners currently backing up their Macs will now be faced with the dilemna of holding fire on their OSX Lion updates later this month, or plumping for a WHS 2011 upgrade.

Thanks to Gatsby Assassin for the tip.

We’re receiving reports from readers that HP have now ended their MediaSmart Server 3.0 update programme.

As regular readers will recall, the company’s v3.0 software update was available to MediaSmart Server owners ordering a set of discs from an HP appointed agent. However, HP Support in the US are now telling MediaSmart Server owners that the update is no longer available, and no more discs will be shipped.

If you’ve been able to order the discs recently, please leave a comment below.

Update: Comments now closed.

If you’ve noticed your HP MediaSmart Server or Data Vault taking a long time to open the Windows Home Server Console (20 seconds plus), or being slow to react to commands within the console, then you may find it helps to stop the bundled TwonkyMedia Server software from sharing your media. Twonky is a DLNA media sharing application that ensures that your media can be played back on a greater variety of devices – however, you may find that Windows Home Server’s own uPnP media server works fine with your devices at home.

To stop Media Sharing with Twonky Media Server, go to the HP MediaSmart Server (or HP Data Vault) tab, select Media Server and then click the Stop Sharing button.

You should notice an instant improvement in the responsiveness of your server.

Now head over to the Settings menu and select Media Sharing. Ensure the radio buttons for Music, Photos and Video are switched on. This is Windows Home Server’s own uPnP media server which is not as comprehenisve as Twonky in the range of devices and file formats it supports, but it does handle the basics well.

It’s not all good news, however, note that this will disable a number of features on your server, including HP’s Web Media Streamer and iPhone streaming app. If you use these two apps, you may not wish to switch of Twonky’s Media Sharing – if not, it’s a simple way to improve your server’s performance. Switching Media Sharing back on is a simple case of clicking the button a second time.

HP have announced an update for their HP MediaSmart Expander for TiVo add-in, which allows TiVo owners to copy recorded TV shows to their MediaSmart Server, as well as watch movies and TV shows stored on the server on the TiVo, PC or Mac. The free add-in is available for all MediaSmart Server and Data Vault owners running HP’s 3.0 software or greater.

The update, version 4.0.0.36035, allows users to schedule series recordings of their favorite programs and have them automatically copied over to their MediaSmart Server or Data Vault.

To connect the MediaSmart Server with your TiVo, install the add-in and enter the TiVo’s Media Access Key in the dialog available from the MediaSmart Server’s Welcome page.

TV shows and movies can be copied from the TiVo to the MediaSmart Server or Data Vault from within the Windows Home Server Console. If the show selected is a series, the Transfer Series button will be enabled in the lower pane. The add-in checks for new episodes on your TiVo every 3 hours, and transfers them automatically when they have finished recording.

Once connected, the server is available to select in the TiVo’s Now Playing list.

Programmes stored on the server can be browsed and played back directly on your TV, via the TiVo set top box.

Programmes stored on the server can also be managed directly in the Windows Home Server console.

The updated HP MediaSmart Expander for TiVo is compatible with TiVo DVR Series II, Series III, TiVo Premier and TiVo desktop software. It’s now available from HP’s website.

Download: HP MediaSmart Expander for TiVo

HP this week released another update for their MediaSmart Server and Data Vault models. Version 3.3 includes a fix to improve the quality of transcoded audio files, an issue seemingly introduced in the last update as explained by Alex Kuretz.

The update is available now via the Windows Home Server Console. Simply head to the Settings tab, select MediaSmart Server (or Data Vault depending on your model), then find the HP Update tab and select Check for Updates.

Incidentally, with a lot of issues hanging around Twonky on the MediaSmart Server, a few weeks ago I took the decision to uninstall TwonkyMedia Server from my home server. I’m not recommending this as a course of action for everyone, as you will need to do a full server recovery if you ever want it back on your home server. Bear in mind doing this also breaks HP’s own Web Streaming application through the browser and iStream app. But I’m finding Windows Home Server’s own uPnP media server is good enough for streaming my content to my Media Center, and the Squeezeboxes around the home use their own add-in so all is good. For remote streaming from the home server, I’m using the latest version of Orb Live on the iPhone which is a pretty simple installation, and works really well indeed.

We reported earlier this week that HP were finally shipping MediaSmart Server 3.0 discs to customers in the USA and Canada, which came as a welcome relief to those of you who had ordered them and have been waiting for several weeks to arrive.

Unfortunately it appears that some readers who have received the disc set have found that there’s a labelling issue, as reader Michael Joslin reports,

Got my new 3.0 recovery discs today. I put the Server Recovery Disc in and it came up saying that it wanted to restore my PC. Seemed a little odd so I figured I try and put the PC recovery disc in and sure enough it was the Server Recovery disc. You would think that after 3 weeks of waiting to get the disc they would at least be labeled correctly. Anyway if this happened to me I am sure it will happen to some other people.

We’ve had similar reports from other readers in North America – I’m pretty sure it’s not affected everyone, but certainly it appears that a batch of discs went out mislabelled. So, if you try to update your home server and you get the option to restore a PC, then make sure you check the other discs.

Another add-in update this week, this time courtesy of Alex Kuretz who has updated MSS Fan Control to support EX47X HP MediaSmart Servers running the new v3.0 Software Upgrade.

The add-in allows the user to control the behaviour of the MediaSmart Server’s fans – increasing or reducing their speed, which impacts the noise output from the server.

Unfortunately, this cracking add-in only works with the EX47X series, as HP moved fan controls into the BIOS in later generations of the product. However, if you own an EX470 or EX475, make sure you check out this one.

Download: MSS Fan Control v1.0.0.9

A couple of weeks ago, we teamed up with Raxco (the developers of PerfectDisk 11 for Windows Home Server) to launch the latest release of their disk defragmentation add-in with a bang – an exclusive competition to win a cool LX195 HP MediaSmart Server!

To win, all you had to do was to check out the PerfectDisk website and answer a few simple questions.

The guys at Raxco checked out your answers and picked out a winner, who was jefflafleur from the USA! Jeff will receive his prize next week.

A big thank you and commiserations to everyone who entered the competition, as well as thanks to Raxco for helping out with the prize.

MSS Fan Control is an Add-In for the Microsoft Windows Home Server Operating System.

It is designed to work exclusively with the HP MediaSmart Server EX47x models, and will not work with any other WHS systems.

MSS Fan Control allows the user to easily control the speed of the upper and lower exhaust fans of the MediaSmart Server.

It also allows the user to configure the speed and temperature thresholds that determine how the fan speed should increase as the CPU temperature rises.

Developer: Alex Kuretz

More Info: Download | Support Forum | Review

Release History

v1.0.0.9 (21st March 2010)

• Compatible with MediaSmart Server 3.0 Software (EX47X Series Only)
• Bug fixes
  

v1.0.0.8 (24th September 2009)

• Fix issue where the Advanced Controls would be modified after rebooting the server or restarting the Server Console.

1.0.0.7 Beta

• Initial release

Whilst HP MediaSmart Server owners across Europe have been eagerly upgrading their home servers to the latest version, it seems that HP’s North American distributors have been struggling to get the upgrade discs out to owners in the US and Canada.

However, good news is starting to reach us from both countries where WGS readers are reporting that discs are now shipping:

Hi from Vancouver Canada. According to UPS the disks will arrive Monday 22 March in Vancouver as they’re in transit now. It started from California and is oozing it’s way through Chicago at the moment.

Just got a notification that my disks have shipped. I live in Richmond VA and ordered on the 25th of February. Anyone else in the US ship yet?

I’m in central Texas… just got my confirmation from HP, almost 30 days since the original order… at least HP isn’t leaving the early adopters behind…

Good news in the US… just got a shipment confirmation on 3/19. Its in the mail… I had ordered on 2/25.

We look forward to hearing your upgrade adventures!

If you’re a TiVo owner with a HP MediaSmart Server, get ready to bring the two devices together courtesy of the HP MediaSmart Expander for TiVo. Here’s what to expect:

Transfer TV Shows from TiVo to your MediaSmart Server

All transfers have to be initiated manually on the server or the TiVo – there are not automatic transfers available at this point in time (which would be a cool feature for the future).

Transfer TV Shows from the HP MediaSmart Server for Viewing on TiVo

Delete TV Shows From Your MediaSmart Server

More Info: HP.com | Download

HP have announced a brand new add-in which allows you to store, view and manage TV Shows recorded with TiVo on the HP MediaSmart Server.

The add-in, HP MediaSmart Expander for TiVo®, is a free download available today for owners of HP’s latest generation of home servers – the EX490 Series and X510 Data Vault. Those of you who have upgraded your previous generation MediaSmart Servers to HP’s v3.0 software should also be able to use the add-in, but HP tell us they have not tested this scenario and it’s therefore unsupported.

HP MediaSmart Expander for TiVo® allows users to perform similar tasks with TiVo that Microsoft enabled in Windows Media Center following the release of Windows Home Server Power Pack 3 (which I find essential on a daily basis), including:

• transferring shows from TiVo to a HP MediaSmart Server and back to TiVo
• viewing TiVo recordings stored on a HP MediaSmart Server
• watching TiVo recordings that are stored on the HP MediaSmart Server on any PC in the home using Windows Media Player

To watch TiVo content stored on the MediaSmart Server on other computers in the home you’ll need TiVo Desktop for PC/Mac to sort out any DRM issues or alternatively Roxio Toast 10 for the Mac.

“The HP MediaSmart Server is the ideal companion to TiVo. With the HP MediaSmart Expander for TiVo, consumers don’t have to worry about running out of high-definition storage space since they can save their movies and shows on the HP MediaSmart Server and watch them on any computer in the home,” said Jason Zajac, vice president of Attach, HP Personal Systems Group. “Plus, consumers will benefit from all of the additional features the HP MediaSmart Server provides, such as backing up all Windows and Mac computers.”

The add-in is compatible with TiVo DVR Series II, Series III, TiVo Premiere and TiVo desktop software.

Once again, it’s great to HP continue to develop new add-ins for the MediaSmart Server to keep the product right at the heart of the digital home. HP MediaSmart Expander for TiVo®  is a must have add-in for TiVo users in the US and Australasia, and let’s hope the add-in works in the UK with Virgin Media’s forthcoming TiVo Service too.

At this point, the add-in unfortunately does not allow other content (music, photos etc) to be played from the MediaSmart Server on the TiVo. This is something that HP see as an obvious feature for the add-in but would not comment on whether it will be enabled in the future.

To download the add-in, head over to HP’s Add Software site where you’ll be able to get hold of the application. To find out more about HP MediaSmart Expander for TiVo®, make sure you check out our visual walkthrough of the add-ins’s features.

More Info: HP.com | Download