Windows Media 9 Comes Alive in L.A

After months of teasing and dropping hints around its digital media
strategy, Microsoft will finally showcase a beta of
Windows Media 9 Series, a media player that looks to turn PCs into TVs.

When Bill Gates officially lifts the wraps off the software formerly known
as “Corona” Wednesday in Los Angeles, it will signal the next stage in the
battle between Microsoft and RealNetworks to a share of
the eyes and wallets of PC users worldwide.

Early versions of the WM9 media player have already been leaked on the Web
and there is buzz that the software would include the ability to copy DVD
movies to disk. While the DVD copying capabilities were spotted in early
builds of the WM9 player, there is no official word on what is included in
the final release.

Gates is expected to take the stage Wednesday morning to tell the gathering
that Windows Media 9 Series had won support from consumer electronics firms
and technology partners looking to jump on the Microsoft bandwagon.

With a revamped WM9 player promising to virtually purge buffering delays
when streams are launched, Microsoft is throwing down the gauntlet to
RealNetworks that this is a genuine two-horse race in the space.

Real has shrugged
off
Microsoft’s hogging of the spotlight and launched an ambitious project of
its own, the Helix software that pipes audio and video in a range of
formats — including Microsoft’s Windows Media.

Judging from early-version leaks of the beta, the new Microsoft WM9 player
doesn’t include a major facelift on the surface but in addition to DVD
copying, it offered improved encoders and superior plug-in management,
according to testers who used the beta.

One major change is Microsoft’s inclusion of a “Services” tab that pushes
premium content from third-party suppliers, a strong hint that WM9 would
soon mirror the rival RealOne subscription services.

Microsoft’s “Services” tab on the menu bar points to a page for users to
sign up for digital media packages. There are strong hints that the
Microsoft-backed paid-download music service pressplay will find a home on the player.

The software giant has put a “Send a File” button on the player to signal
explicit support for the concept of digital file-sharing. Users can send
digital music or video files. A new media library supporting Microsoft’s
XML-based Windows Media Metadata and “Smart Playlists” have also been added
to let users view and sort music and videos.

While those cosmetic changes are all consumer-driven, Microsoft’s major
focus will be on securing hardware partners for the software. And, by
launching the event in Los Angeles, the obvious target is Hollywood and the
movie studios looking for new distribution outlets for films.

Already, Web-based movie-on demand firm Intertainer Inc. has put eight
movies in the new Microsoft format and Microsoft also announced the
U.K.-based Tandberg Television would partner to offer broadcast software
supporting Windows Media 9 Series for the telecom and broadcast industries.

Tandberg Television is developing a dedicated, real-time hardware-based
encoding platform for Windows Media, based on Windows Media Audio and Video
9 Series. The two companies are collaborating at a number of levels,
including engineering, sales and marketing. “With the transition from
analog to digital accelerating, the broadcast and broadband worlds are
increasingly driven by a common goal: to deliver the best quality at the
lowest cost,” Microsoft said.

“This new cooperation between Tandberg Television and Microsoft will give
operators the flexibility to use Windows Media 9 Series either as the basis
for an end-to-end IP-based broadcast and video on demand (VOD) network, or
enhancing existing DVB- and MPEG-based broadcast networks with higher
quality at lower data rates, compared with current standards-based
compression technologies,” the companies said in a statement.

Microsoft has also inked a deal with electronics maker Pioneer to put the
WM9 series in Pioneer’s Digital Network Entertainment (DNE) products, the
first time a home theatre device will include support for Windows Media
video. Pioneer would support Windows Media digital rights management (DRM)
technology and its use for secured music and video playback and Windows
Media Video for both streamed and downloadable video and for home movies
created using Windows Movie Maker in Windows XP.

Microsoft might have given up ground to Real in the digital media software
race 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.

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