Streaming Video

Windows Media Technologies is an innovative digital media platform that provides end users with unmatched audio and video quality. Windows Media Technologies also provides the emerging streaming media industry with the tools to develop powerful applications, to create high-quality multimedia content, and to reliably distribute their content. Version 4.0 of Windows Media Technologies contains a rich suite of products and features that you can use to create, deliver, and play streaming media for applications ranging from news and entertainment to e-commerce, corporate communications, and distance learning. This article explores Windows Media Technologies and the emerging world of streaming media.

Key Features of Windows Media

Highest quality audio The Microsoft® Windows Media™ Audio codec provides FM-radio-quality sound to all modem users and CD quality at half the bit rate of MP3.

Fast video encoding. Windows Media Encoder encodes lengthy, on-demand content at the fastest rate in the industry.

Scalable to full screen. The video playback window in Windows Media Player can be enlarged to full screen.

Integration with other Microsoft products. You can leverage your investment in other Microsoft products, such as Windows NT Server, Microsoft® Site Server, and the rest of the Microsoft® BackOffice® family of products.

Digital rights management. Using Microsoft® Windows Media™ Rights Manager, content owners can make their intellectual property more secure.

Microsoft® PowerPoint® 2000 Presentation Broadcasting This feature is a complete system for synchronizing the live presentation of PowerPoint slides with audio and video over a network.

Wide bandwidth rangeIntelligent streaming Windows Media Technologies offers one of the industry's widest range of bandwidths for high-quality streaming, from mono-quality audio at 2.4 kilobits per second (Kbps) to broadcast-quality video at greater than 6 megabits per second (Mbps). Windows Media Technologies provides high quality at every bit rate.

Intelligent streaming The Windows Media server monitors and automatically adjusts the bit rate of each client stream according to current bandwidth. This ensures that the highest-quality stream is delivered to end users, regardless of network conditions.

Multiple bit rate encoding. You can create a live stream or file containing multiple streams, each of which is encoded for a different bit rate. Multiple bit rate encoding is part of intelligent streaming.

High scalability. Windows Media Technologies supports more than 2,000 unicast clients connecting at 28.8 Kbps on a single-processor Pentium II server.

Built-in multicast service. Windows Media Technologies conserves network bandwidth by delivering a single multicast stream to support unlimited end users.

Seamless stream switching Windows Media Technologies provides a smooth viewing experience by reducing the delay that occurs when switching between content in a playlist. A playlist is a list of streams that Windows Media Player plays sequentially. Windows Media Technologies supports both server-side and client-side playlists.