With all of the hoopla surrounding Microsoft Corp.’s Hailstorm initiative
and its XP operating system, it’s understandable how the public can forget
about other aspects of the software purveyor’s business. But many people
forget that those plays are a year or two away (tentatively, no less) from
hitting the street.
Microsoft reminded the public Wednesday that in addition to
software-as-a-service platforms and operating systems, the company knows the
public wants to be entertained; it launched the latest and final version of
its Windows
Media Audio and Video 8 encoding techology. They are both compatible
with Microsoft Windows Media Player 7 and 6.4.
With this release, Microsoft seems to shrug its shoulders at the fact that
it lies sandwiched in overall market share for media players between
industry leader RealNetworks’ RealPlayer and Apple’s Quicktime. No, it’s
banking on (what else?) its software, to show and tell with the new video
and audio app release.
As previously advertised, the company has upped the ante for audiophiles.
Windows Media Audio 8 nearly triples the audio compression of the MP3
format, making it possible to store almost three times as much CD-quality
music on hard drives and portable devices.
Equally as important, it has given video a boost.
Microsoft said it has succeeded in making this the near DVD-quality film
content killer application with a third better audio and visual quality than
version 7; Microsoft’s new compression technology enables film content
delivery at connection rates as low as 500 Kbps and near-CD-quality audio at
48 Kbps.
In addition to the enormous potential for consumer interest, online film and
video providers ALWAYSi, CinemaNow Inc., FILMSPEED, IMAX Corp., Intertainer
Inc., Kanakaris Wireless and SightSound Technologies have all pledged their
support for Video 8. All told, they are releasing thousands of hours of film
content using the new software. Specifically, the numbers break down to more
than 18 million films distributed via Windows Media Video 8
For download-and-play uses, Windows Media Video 8 provides true variable bit
rate (VBR) encoding, which eliminates the 25-second barrier of other
technologies, instead averaging encoding resources over an entire
feature-length film.
While those who follow the digital entertainment industry readily admit that
nothing will replace the experience of going to the local theater and paying
$8 (or more) to see a flick and eat popcorn for $5 a bucket, analysts do
recognize the potential for strong video-on-demand growth. If VHS and DVD
can take off, then why wouldn’t DVD-quality movies be streamed from a
set-top box to your widescreen TV, or even PC, if you so desire?
Well, for a while, technology was considerably stunted. Network capacity and
technical obstacles have delayed mass deployment of such services. But in
recent months, digital entertainment companies (the one’s that didn’t go
belly-up, anyway) have begun commercial distribution of feature films over
the Internet to PCs, television set-top boxes and even cinemas. So it seems
audiences are ready for the convenience of having film content delivered to
them when they want it.
A recent study by Forrester Research Inc. lends this notion some credence.
Movie studios, theater circuits, cable companies, and technology vendors
will each play a part in the development of business models that take
advantage of digital technology, according to the research firm; they will
also share in $6.5 billion in increased movie-industry revenues by 2006.
“The Internet will never be an important venue for the distribution of
mainstream feature films,” said Eric Scheirer, analyst at Forrester.
“Rather, it’s two other digital technologies — digital cinema and
cable-based video-on-demand — whose rapid development will fuel strong
industry growth. The transition to digital cinema is in its early stages,
but by 2004 it will be on a fast track to long-term commercial viability.
And cable operators are moving aggressively with the rollout of
next-generation digital services.”
According to the bullish Forrester study, ultimately the distributors — the
ALWAYSis, CinemaNows of this world — could stand to profit, with Microsoft
having the opportunity to piggyback on their success by gaining ground in
the media player market versus Real Networks.
For Mac users, Microsoft Wednesday also unveiled Windows Media Player 7 for
the Mac, which runs on iMac, Cube and G4 and features the same capabilities
of the Windows Media Player for standard PCs.
