Can the New Windows Media Deliver on the Hype? - Page 2

Fast streaming to a PC near you

In regular audio or video streams, Microsoft is promising a encoded at 100Kbps would be delivered at that speed, even if the available bandwidth is greater, which causes network congestion to affect playback quality.

WM9 is promising only a few seconds of buffering before a stream is launched and by using client-side caching, the new platform is sure to find favor among content programmers. The player implements server-side playlist support to allow real-time ad insertion and delivery for ad-driven streaming media business models.

"(The) advances in compression technology help lower bandwidth costs, and with twice the server scalability compared with the previous version, (Windows Media 9) answers the call for a cost-effective platform that can be used to build a profitable streaming business, or to use streaming to reduce costs of high quality enterprise communication," Microsoft said.

Microsoft said a new version of its proprietary Windows Media Video (WMV) codec would provide a 20% efficiency boost compared with the previous version and would allow HDTV-like video quality playback at file sizes half that of DVDs. "The new WMA Professional codec is the first codec to enable Web-based delivery of 6 channel surround sound with full-spectrum, full resolution audio (24 bit/96 kHz sampling)," the company claimed.

To encourage industry adoption, Microsoft is cozying up to application developers with the release of a revamped software development kit (SDK) to let clients incorporate digital media into their applications and services, using the programming languages with which they are already familiar.

Talking competition

Between now and September 4 when the product will be launched at the Windows Media 9 Series Technical Summit in Los Angeles, the comparisons and public posturing between Microsoft and RealNetworks won't likely subside.

Microsoft might have given up ground to Real but industry watchers believe the Richmond-based firm will make inroads in the enterprise space where many companies are more inclined to adopt the company's all-encompassing software because of a comfort level with the platform.

"Microsoft has an unchallenged position in the enterprise already, and now that streaming is a big part of Windows XP, they can only get stronger. This should be a major worry to RealNetworks," said a spokesman, speaking under condition of anonymity for StreamingMedia, a Francisco-based firm that tracks the industry.

"I think it will be interesting because, for Microsoft, streaming media is just a very small part of their business. They're in the business of selling software applications and the media player is only a very, very small part of it," he said, noting that RealNetworks' exclusive focus is on content distribution via a paid subscription model. "Let's also not forget that Apple is in the picture with QuickTime," he said, referring to Apple's media player, which is included in its new Jaguar OS X operating system.

More than likely, analysts say content providers would continue to offer consumers both options for digital playback, since streaming media consumers are likely to have both media players downloaded.

"The prevailing philosophy in the digital distribution landscape is to wrap the content in barbed wire. We have two companies going to consumer media clients and saying 'our barbed wire is better than their barbed wire.' The truth is, they both have useful and interesting technology," Gartner's Batchelder said.

For Real's Banfield, the jury is still out on who will win the digital media delivery race. "It's hard to say what kind of affect (WM9) will have on the industry. It is clear Microsoft will continue down their propriety path with everything designed around pure support for Windows. We don't see this as having a big impact. We're focused on our product set and we're continuing to grow our unique user base. We've grown our consumer subscription service to over 700,000 subscribers while they (Microsoft) are yet to offer a competing product."