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Release NotesThese release notes contain important, late-breaking information for Microsoft® Windows NT® Server NetShow™ Services.
General Information and Issues System Requirements:
NetShow Services Documentation Complete NetShow Services documentation is installed with NetShow™ server components in Microsoft® Windows NT® Server and Administration Setup. The online NetShow™ tools documentation is installed with NetShow Tools Setup. After you run Setup, you can reach the online documentation from the Microsoft® Windows® Start menu. NetShow Services documentation for the NetShow server components and NetShow tools is provided in HTML Help which requires Internet Explorer 4.01 or later. NetShow Services documentation is installed in the Program files\NetShow Services\docs\html folder. You can open the documentation from there in one of the following ways:
Upgrading from Earlier Versions of NetShow Services
NetShow™ Services Version 1.0 .asf Files It is a known issue that some version 1.0 .asf files cannot be streamed using NetShow Services. To stream this content, you must regenerate the NetShow Services .asf files from their original sources.
Events Not Shown on the NetShow™ Server Unicast Monitor The NetShow Unicast Monitor window (Monitor Server - Publishing Point Clients) does not receive events. Logging Multicast and Unicast Client Information When Using Netscape Navigator It is a known issue that Netscape Navigator 3.04 can fail to obtain the URL of the Web page where the client is embedded. This prevents the client information, that is, the URL value of the cs(Refere) field, from being properly logged when Netscape Navigator 3.04 is used on the client side. NSISAPI Does Not Work NSISAPI.exe is correctly installed during NetShow server components setup; however, the stand-alone setup does not work correctly on all computers. Using NetShow Server Components and Microsoft® Site Server with Membership Authorization Plug-In If you are using NetShow server components with Microsoft® Site Server version 3.0, and you have the Site Server Membership Authorization Plug-in enabled, there is a known "boot race" problem. The Membership Authorization Plug-in fails to load when the NetShow server starts, and clients are unable to connect to the NetShow server. When this occurs, there is no error message written to the Event Log to indicate a failure. To verify the failure, connect to the NetShow server using NetShow™ Administrator. NetShow Administrator messages appear, indicating that the plug-in has failed to start, and you are prompted to restart the NetShow Unicast service. To work around this problem, restart the NetShow Unicast service.
Making NetShow Services ASF Content Compatible with NetShow™ Player Version 2.0 To make sure that content you create with NetShow tools is compatible with the version 2.0 player, use the following steps:
Encoding Platform Localization Causes Problems for Lernout & Hauspie Audio Codec When using NetShow Encoder to create .asd files, care must be taken in localizing the encoding platform. If a localization applet is used to change character definitions and an .asd file is saved on that computer, do not transfer the .asd file to a non-localized computer without first changing the character definitions back to the default values and re-saving the .asd file. If this is not done and the Lernout & Hauspie audio codec is used, the non-localized computer is not able to recognize the codec, and an error occurs. Enabling Microsoft® PowerPoint® Presenter Browser Identification Active Server Pages (ASP) use the Browser Capabilities Component to determine which browsers are requesting the ASP. Microsoft maintains up-to-date browscap.ini files that you can use to identify browsers. The current browscap.ini file can be downloaded from the Microsoft® BackOffice® page of the Microsoft® Web site (http://backoffice.microsoft.com/downtrial/moreinfo/bcf.asp). A working version of the BrowsCap.ini file that is constantly updated can be downloaded from the Cyscape Web site (http://www.cyscape.com/asp/browscap/). Using NetShow Encoder Automatic Indexing If you are encoding content to both an .asf file and a NetShow server, and using automatic indexing, do not move the .asf file prior to stopping the encoder. The index is created for the .asf file when the encoding process stops. If you have set a limit on the file size or duration of the .asf file, encoding of the .asf file could be completed prior to the end of the encoding session. If the .asf file is not in the folder in which NetShow Encoder created it, the indexing process fails, and produces an error message. Creating .asf File without Automatic Indexing If automatic indexing is not selected when you record an .asf file to disk (defaults to selected), the file, when played locally, plays only once if Repeat forever is selected on the player. You correct this by running NetShow ASF Indexer on the .asf file. Using Winnov Videum Video Card as the Audio Source A problem has been encountered with the Winnov 2.0 drivers where the encoding process can fail after a variable amount of time when sourcing audio data from the Winnov Videum card. Winnov currently has new drivers that are being beta-tested. In some cases, installation of the new beta Winnov drivers fixes the problem. Currently, Microsoft recommends that an alternate audio source, such as a sound card, be used instead of the Videum card. There is no problem accepting video data from the Videum card. Using NetShow Encoder with the Crystal Semiconductor Audio Card Certain older drivers for the Crystal Semiconductor Audio Cards are not compatible with NetShow Encoder. If you try to use one of these cards, an error message is displayed that reads, "There are no active audio mixer devices available. You may install or activate mixer devices from the Control Panel." An updated version of the driver is available from the Cirrus Logic Web site (http://www.cirrus.com). Also, when viewing the summary settings on NetShow Encoder when using this audio card, the Audio Input field remains blank, although the audio input is being received and encoded. This is a known issue that is related to the drivers, but has not yet been resolved. In addition, for Windows 95-based systems, it is recommended that you not use the Crystal Sound CS4232/36/37/38 cards/drivers with NetShow Encoder. Image Size Constraints When Using NetShow Encoder with Windows 95 Most video capture cards do not support the 720 x 720 image size when you are using NetShow Encoder with Windows 95, and at 100 Kbps, NetShow Encoder can fail. Latest Hauppauge Wincast/TV NT Drivers (Version 1.06) If NetShow Encoder tries to open a video capture device that is already in use, the error message, "All boards in use by another process," is displayed many times in a row before finally being cleared. This is a known problem with the latest Hauppauge Wincast/TV NT drivers (version 1.06), and there is no resolution yet. Another problem has been found where selecting Video Capture in NetShow Encoder sometimes fails to bring up the Wincast capture card properties page. To download any Wincast/TV driver or WinTV application updates that may resolve this problem or the earlier problem, see the Hauppauge Web site (http://wwpreviousw.hauppauge.com). Certain Voxware Audio Codecs Are Not Appropriate for Real-Time Encoding Due to the high CPU requirements of the 44 kilohertz (KHz) Voxware MetaSound codecs, these formats have been found not appropriate for real-time encoding when the input is live or when the output is being sent to a NetShow server. There is no associated problem with transcoding file to file, for example from .wav to .asf. Memory Leak When Using Run-Length Encoding (RLE) When running Windows 95 and encoding from an .avi file that has run-length encoding (RLE), a memory leak occurs. This is a known issue with Windows 95, and has not been resolved yet. Audio Loss Setting on NetShow Encoder If you are going to encode audio-only content for any multicasts or for unicasts that are streamed to substantial numbers of version 2.0 clients, you must use the custom configuration, and you must change the Audio Loss setting from Voice to Music. To change the Audio Loss setting, in NetShow Encoder, go to Properties/Compression, under Audio, select Advanced, and then select Music. Creating Illustrated Audio with NetShow T.A.G. Author Currently it is assumed that, when using NetShow™ T.A.G.™ Author, a presentation ends with the last image placed on the timeline. If you have audio content or script commands placed after the last image, this content is not included in the .asf file. To avoid this, make sure that a closing image is placed at the end of your timeline, after all of the content that you want to include in the .asf file. Using IBM ThinkPad with Trident Video Capture Driver Version 1.11 and IBM Mwave Audio Mixer Is Restricted When using this encoding platform, you must adhere to the following restrictions for a successful encoding session:
VYU9 Pixel Format Does Not Always Work with Brooktree Capture Hardware There are some scenarios where changing the pixel format to VYU9 causes encoding failure on capture cards that use the Brooktree capture hardware (cards of this type include the Osprey 100 and Wincast cards). If you experience problems with this pixel format, either select the default pixel format (preferred), or one of the other pixel formats in the list. The VYU9 pixel format can be used successfully if selected while creating the encoder configuration. Using ASFChop on Files with Scripts ASFChop works differently than documented. The documentation says, "When you use ASFChop on an .asf file, it replaces any existing script commands, indexes, and markers." The script commands are only replaced if another script file is provided to overwrite the existing scripts.
Using Forms in a Web Page to Deliver Content If you use a form in an HTML document to deliver content to a user (based on user input), you must use the Get method (method = "get") for submission of the form. In this version, if you use the Post method for form submission, the URL returned to the player does not contain the information needed to fully resolve the script processed when the form is submitted.
ASX Metafile Reference In this version, if you use Events in an ASX file, the Event must occur in the first Entry (Clip) in the ASX file. If there is not an Event in the first Entry, Events in subsequent Entry elements sometimes do not function correctly.
NetShow™ ASF Indexer Fails to Run It is a known issue that NetShow™ ASF Indexer fails to run if Windows Media Player is not installed on the computer. Using NetShow ASF Indexer from within Adobe Premiere When creating .asf files that you want to index from within Adobe Premiere, do not create an .asf file name with embedded spaces. The indexer within Adobe Premiere cannot recognize the file. The stand-alone version of NetShow ASF Indexer can index .asf file that have names with embedded spaces. This issue will be fixed in the released version of the product. NetShow T.A.G. Author: Conversion Error Can Occur When Converting Audio to Internet 56 Kbps Music If the message, "1 of 1 files failed to convert with the following error: Unknowns conversion error", appears when using NetShow T.A.G. Author to convert audio to Internet 56 Kbps Music, it means that the audio is precompressed. The solution is to start with audio that is not precompressed.
Microsoft Windows Media Player When using certain video display cards with Windows Media Player, such as ATI Rage cards, various redraw problems can occur when a clip is played. The problem can appear as purple or green streaks across the images, as blocks on the images, or as jittery motion. To correct this problem, change the YUV flipping property on the Windows Media Player property pages using the following procedure:
Uninstalling Windows Media Player Removes DirectShow Filters Uninstalling Windows Media Player removes other DirectShow™ filters that are installed on the system. After uninstalling the client, reinstall the application that provides the DirectShow filters. NetShow Presenter Content viewed with Netscape Navigator To receive content from NetShow Presenter for Microsoft® PowerPoint® 97, client computers using Netscape Navigator and Windows NT Workstation 4.0 (or Windows NT Server 4.0), you must use Netscape Navigator version 4.05 or later. Otherwise, the content does not play properly with Windows Media Player.
NetShow Services Software Development Kit (SDK) Known Issues Using the Windows Media Player Plug-In for Netscape Navigator:
Note: Property, method, and event names are case-sensitive in JavaScript. For up-to-date information on the status of the Windows Media Player Plug-in for Netscape Navigator, see the NetShow Services page in the Windows NT Server section of the Microsoft Web site (http://www.microsoft.com/NTserver/Basics/netshowservices/default.asp/site=nts). Installing SDK Help NetShow Services Software Development Kit (SDK) documentation is installed as a separate component of NetShow Services. If you choose to install the SDK documentation, you get Help files for the NetShow Services SDK, the Microsoft® NetShow™ Theater Server SDK, and the Microsoft® Windows® Media Player SDK. Each of these SDK components is contained in a separate compiled HTML Help (.chm) file. The SDK documentation can be printed from within the HTML Help viewer application. Defining a Default Realm for the Authentication Plug-In
The custom authentication in sample provided in the SDK returns a null string for
the defaultRealm in the Initialize function. If you build authentication
plugins you should define a defplugault realm for the plug-in. If a null string is returned as the value of the
default realm (the defaultRealm parameter), Windows Media Player does not save users' passwords in the
password list, meaning users must provide a username and password each time they access content on the NetShow server
where this authtication plug-in is enabled. This is true even if a user selects the Save Password option in the password dialog.
You must modify the source code and change the value of the defaultRealm parameter from null to any acceptable string (sz) value for the default realm.
You should select a value that is unique to avoid conflicts with other servers. The file containing the code you must change is Nsdbauthen.cpp, which is
found in the SDK\Sample\Admin\Authentication\DBAuthen directory under where the SDK is installed.
This is the code from the Nsdbauthen.cpp file:
///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
HRESULT NSDBAuthen::Initialize( INSSServerContext *SvrCtx, DWORD *dwFlags,
LPBSTR pbstrDefaultRealm )
{
//
// do authentication plugin initialization here...
//
HRESULT hr;
//
// set for uuencoded data
//
*dwFlags = NS_TEXT_WIRE_PROTOCOL;
//
// Return the default domain to the server.
//
OLECHAR szDefaultRealm[1];
szDefaultRealm[0] = NULL;
*pbstrDefaultRealm = SysAllocString( szDefaultRealm );
if ( NULL == *pbstrDefaultRealm )
{
return(E_OUTOFMEMORY);
}
Event Notification Authorization Context The NSS_USER_IP_ADDRESS property of the user context holds the user's IP address. It returns a Long value, not a String value as stated in the NetShow Services SDK documentation. File Transfer Service (FTS) Control HTML pages using the FTS control to transfer large files (over 50 MB) at high bit rates (over 500 Kbps) must not incorporate procedures that respond to all of the events fired by the control. This is because the rate at which events are fired by the control can exceed the rate at which the browser can process these events. This results in a large backlog of queued events, which can leave the browser in a locked state after the file transfer is complete. The solution is to reduce the transfer rate, or reduce the number of event-handling procedures on the HTML page. INSSAuthenticator::Initialize Section of Authentication API Reference The LPBSTR pbstrDefaultRealm parameter is defined in the syntax section, but missing from the remarks section of this topic.
Problems Using NetShow Network Samples on an Alpha Computer In the Alpha version of the NetShow Services SDK, the version of the Administrator that is installed is for an x86 computer.
NetShow Services Customer Feedback Your reports and suggestions are an integral part of the product development cycle. For more information, see the NetShow Services page in the Microsoft Windows NT Server section of the Microsoft Web site: http://www.microsoft.com/NTserver/Basics/netshowservices/default.asp/site=nts Or send your feedback to: When reporting a problem, include the following information:
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