Windows Media
Encyclopedia
Windows Media is a multimedia framework
for media
creation and distribution for Microsoft Windows
. It consists of a software development kit
(SDK) with several application programming interface
s (API) and a number of prebuilt technologies, and is the replacement of NetShow
technologies.
The Windows Media SDK is being replaced by Media Foundation
.
Multimedia framework
A multimedia framework is a software framework that handles media on a computer and through a network. A good multimedia framework offers an intuitive API and a modular architecture to easily add support for new audio, video and container formats and transmission protocols...
for media
Media clip
A media clip is a short segment of media, either an audio clip or a video clip.Media clips may be promotional in nature, as with movie clips. For example, to promote upcoming movies, many actors are accompanied by movie clips on their circuits. Additionally, media clips may be raw materials of...
creation and distribution for Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
. It consists of a software development kit
Software development kit
A software development kit is typically a set of software development tools that allows for the creation of applications for a certain software package, software framework, hardware platform, computer system, video game console, operating system, or similar platform.It may be something as simple...
(SDK) with several application programming interface
Application programming interface
An application programming interface is a source code based specification intended to be used as an interface by software components to communicate with each other...
s (API) and a number of prebuilt technologies, and is the replacement of NetShow
NetShow
NetShow was Microsoft's framework for network broadcasting, intended to compete with RealNetworks RealMedia. It is now renamed and marketed under the Windows Media umbrella....
technologies.
The Windows Media SDK is being replaced by Media Foundation
Media Foundation
Microsoft Media Foundation is a COM-based multimedia framework pipeline and infrastructure platform for digital media in Windows Vista, Windows 7 & Windows 8...
.
Applications
- Windows Media CenterWindows Media CenterWindows Media Center is a digital video recorder and media player developed by Microsoft. It is an application that allows users to view and record live television, as well as organize and play music and videos...
- Windows Media PlayerWindows Media PlayerWindows Media Player is a media player and media library application developed by Microsoft that is used for playing audio, video and viewing images on personal computers running the Microsoft Windows operating system, as well as on Pocket PC and Windows Mobile-based devices...
- Media format 11 runtime - Windows Media EncoderWindows Media EncoderWindows Media Encoder is a freely downloadable trial version media encoder developed by Microsoft which enables content developers to convert or capture both live and prerecorded audio, video, and computer screen images to Windows Media formats for live and on-demand delivery. It is the successor...
- Media encoding tool - Windows Media ServicesWindows Media ServicesWindows Media Services is a streaming media server from Microsoft that allows an administrator to generate streaming media . Only Windows Media, JPEG, and MP3 formats are supported...
- streaming media server
Formats
- Advanced Systems FormatAdvanced Systems FormatAdvanced Systems Format is Microsoft's proprietary digital audio/digital video container format, especially meant for streaming media...
(ASF) - Advanced Stream RedirectorAdvanced Stream RedirectorThe Advanced Stream Redirector format is a type of XML metafile designed to store a list of Windows Media files to play during a multimedia presentation....
(ASX) and Windows Media Playlist (WPL) - Windows Media AudioWindows Media AudioWindows Media Audio is an audio data compression technology developed by Microsoft. The name can be used to refer to its audio file format or its audio codecs. It is a proprietary technology that forms part of the Windows Media framework. WMA consists of four distinct codecs...
(WMA) - Windows Media VideoWindows Media Video'Windows Media Video is a video compression format for several proprietary codecs developed by Microsoft. The original video format, known as WMV, was originally designed for Internet streaming applications, as a competitor to RealVideo. The other formats, such as WMV Screen and WMV Image, cater...
(WMV) and VC-1VC-1VC-1 is the informal name of the SMPTE 421M video codec standard, which was initially developed as a proprietary video format by Microsoft before it was released as a formal SMPTE standard video format on April 3, 2006... - HD Photo (formerly Windows Media Photo, standardized as JPEG XR)
- DVR-MSDVR-MSDVR-MS is a proprietary video and audio file container format, developed by Microsoft used for storing TV content recorded by Windows XP Media Center Edition, Windows Vista and Windows 7....
, the recording format used by Windows Media CenterWindows Media CenterWindows Media Center is a digital video recorder and media player developed by Microsoft. It is an application that allows users to view and record live television, as well as organize and play music and videos... - SAMISAMISAMI is a Microsoft accessibility initiative released in 1998. The structured markup language is designed to simplify creating captions for media playback on a PC, i.e. not for broadcast purposes....
, the closed caption format developed by Microsoft. It can be used to synchronize captions and audio descriptions with online video.
Other
- Media Transfer ProtocolMedia Transfer ProtocolThe Media Transfer Protocol is a devised set of custom extensions to the Picture Transfer Protocol . Whereas PTP was designed for downloading photographs from digital cameras, Media Transfer Protocol supports the transfer of music files on digital audio players and media files on portable media...
(MTP), for transferring and synchronizing media on portable devices - Microsoft Media ServicesMicrosoft Media ServicesMicrosoft Media Server is the name of Microsoft's proprietary network streaming protocol used to transfer unicast data in Windows Media Services . MMS can be transported via UDP or TCP...
(MMS), the streaming transport protocol - Windows Media DRMWindows Media DRMWindows Media DRM is a Digital Rights Management service for the Windows Media platform. It is designed to provide delivery of audio and/or video content over an IP network to a PC or other playback device in such a way that the distributor can control how that content is used.WMDRM includes the...
, an implementation of digital rights managementDigital rights managementDigital rights management is a class of access control technologies that are used by hardware manufacturers, publishers, copyright holders and individuals with the intent to limit the use of digital content and devices after sale. DRM is any technology that inhibits uses of digital content that... - WMV HDWMV HDWindows Media High Definition Video is the marketing name for high definition videos encoded using Microsoft Windows Media Video 9 codecs...
, (Windows Media Video High Definition), the branding name for high definitionHigh-definition videoHigh-definition video or HD video refers to any video system of higher resolution than standard-definition video, and most commonly involves display resolutions of 1,280×720 pixels or 1,920×1,080 pixels...
(HD) media content encoded using Windows Media codecs. WMV HD is not a separate codec. - Windows XP Media Center EditionWindows XP Media Center EditionWindows XP Media Center Edition is a version of the Windows XP operating system designed to serve as a home-entertainment hub. The last version, Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005, was released in October 2004.-Versions:...
, versions of Windows XPWindows XPWindows XP is an operating system produced by Microsoft for use on personal computers, including home and business desktops, laptops and media centers. First released to computer manufacturers on August 24, 2001, it is the second most popular version of Windows, based on installed user base...
or later with built-in Windows Media CenterWindows Media CenterWindows Media Center is a digital video recorder and media player developed by Microsoft. It is an application that allows users to view and record live television, as well as organize and play music and videos... - Windows Movie MakerWindows Movie MakerWindows Movie Maker is a video creating/editing software application, included in Microsoft Windows Me, XP, and Vista. It contains features such as effects, transitions, titles/credits, audio track, timeline narration, and Auto Movie. New effects and transitions can be made and existing ones can be...
, a Windows Media movie editing application
External links
- Microsoft's official WM site
- Windows Media Intelligent Streaming (or Intellistream)
- Windows Media Lite
- Description of the algorithm used for WMA encryption
See also
- QuickTimeQuickTimeQuickTime is an extensible proprietary multimedia framework developed by Apple Inc., capable of handling various formats of digital video, picture, sound, panoramic images, and interactivity. The classic version of QuickTime is available for Windows XP and later, as well as Mac OS X Leopard and...
- Apple Computer's multimedia framework - Silverlight