Microsoft Unveils Windows Media Audio and Video 8
Microsoft announced the final release of its Windows Media Audio and Video 8 codecs. Even more significantly, however, is that Microsoft isn't offering an upgrade to Windows Media Player 8. The new player will just be available with Microsoft XP, the next version of its operating system due to be released later this year.
According to Sean Alexander, senior product manager at Microsoft, the new audio and video codecs will be backwards compatible with the existing Windows Media Player 7, so anyone can take advantage of them. The codecs are also compatible with new Windows Media Player 7 for Mac, released Wednesday.
Microsoft says Windows Media Audio and Video 8 codecs deliver a "30 percent improvement" in quality compared with its previous version. Microsoft says it can encode "near-DVD quality" at 500 Kbps, while "near-CD quality" audio is available at 48 Kbps. This essentially lowers the bit rate from existing codecs, like RealNetworks, which uses the 750 and 64 Kbps benchmark, for video and audio, respectively.
Alexander said WMA 8 is an "encode-only change" so it doesn't change how files are decoded. Although encoding for video may take longer with the new codec, Alexander said that audio is "faster than real-time." Content providers can download the new Windows Media Encoding Utility, from Microsoft's site at http://www.microsoft.com/windowsmedia.
Windows Media Player 8
The new Windows XP operating system has a new look, but the biggest upgrade may be how deeply the new multimedia features are integrated. In press materials, Microsoft calls Windows Media Player 8 an "exclusive feature" of the new OS.
But the tight integration of media player and OS should come as no real surprise. Media players have been integrated into Windows for many years. But the bundling may also change the competitive landscape between Microsoft and RealNetworks. Both companies are vying for the most users and downloads of their players. Although RealNetworks has been leading the way, Microsoft has been making some inroads recently.
Perhaps the biggest downside is that users of Windows Media 7 and earlier versions won't be able to take advantage of some of the new features of WMP 8. Some of the more interesting features include support for DVD playback, support for album art and graphics for WM audio files, and unlocking CD recording speed, so users can record CDs as fast as their drives can support. Other software products like RealJukebox and MusicMatch "cripple" the CD recording function, in order to sell player upgrades. WMP8 also asks users, before it encodes music, if they want to use the built-in digital rights management (DRM) features. Previous versions of the player were automatically set to turn DRM on, which limited where users could play their files.
WMP 8 has a new look, although it bears a close resemblance to the previous player. Users can now collapse menu bars, reduce the size of the player and even control playback in full-screen mode.
Windows XP incorporates a feature called "My Music," which includes album art for Windows Media files, which can be viewed offline. (MP3 doesn't support artwork, said Alexander, because there's no standard way to include graphics.) Users can search and re-sort the folder by artist, name and other criteria. The player can even keep track of music files that you move, delete or re-name.
Alexander said that Microsoft is still looking into supporting MP3 encoding in WMP 8. Many users of WMP 7 have been frustrated because it doesn't support MP3, just WMA. But Alexander indicated that a final determination about supporting MP3 encoding hasn't been made. It's possible that Microsoft will let third-party companies include a plug-in to support some MP3 encoding.
"We want to give consumers the best possible experience in terms of audio quality," said Alexander. "They don't recognize that [MP3 is] a 12-year-old technology. It's like the vinyl of the digital music industry."
Pushing Movies
Microsoft announced that over 18 million movies have been distributed online using Microsoft's format by companies like ALWAYSi, CinemaNow, FILMSPEED, IMAX, Kanakaris Wireless and SightSound Technologies — which are all switching to the new video codec.
Video-over-DSL company, Intertainer said it was using the new Windows Media Video 8 codec, compressing films and other content from major studios like Warner Bros., Universal Studios, New Line Cinema, Twentieth Century Fox and DreamWorks SK. Intertainer announced this week that Cincinnati's ZoomTown.com will be the nation's first broadband provider to deploy a video on demand service to 40,000 subscribers.