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DVD Player Chipsets To Support Windows Media Files

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the shaking-the-devil's-hand dept.

An Anonymous Coward writes: "According to this article in EETimes, Microsoft previewed its next generation Windows Media technology, and said that chipset makers that account for 90% of home DVD players will be including the technology in their upcoming chipsets. I hope the various courts looking into Microsoft's monopoly examine this closely, there is a lot of potential for Microsoft to extend its monopoly here. The next logical step would be for them to pay movie studios to produce Windows Media format movies that are available before or cost less than regular DVD format, that is, if they are made available in regular DVD format at all! This would also be a neat way for studios to force us all to upgrade our existing DVD players use the now-cracked CSS." Ton van der Liet points out this article on ZDNet, writing: "Microsoft touts the advantages of Windows Media, such as longer playback. Wasn't MPEG-4 supposed to do this? And aren't the newest Windows Media codecs based on a draft of the MPEG-4 standard?"

3 of 407 comments (clear)

  1. Re:I'm pleased... by Tiroth · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Actually, DVDs are /required/ to have a Dolby Digital or PCM track. Having additional audio formats (i.e. DTS) is optional.

  2. Has to do with XP and beating out Apple by Ripp · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Windows XP has built into it now the capacity to capture and edit video (so say the ads) but *ONLY in the Windows Media format*

    Stop. Ponder that. Consider that Apple is now pushing their own OS's ability to capture, edit, and burn DVD video. In MPEG2 no less.

    God forbid MS would just *use the existing standards* that are in place and working-very-well-thank-you-very-much. I guess they get to claim this move as an 'innovation.'

    --
    Blech. Signatures.
  3. exactly.. Its all about WMF as a defacto standard by acomj · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Microsoft now can tell XP users "use WMF and burn CD's of your videos" watch them in modern DVD players... Much cheaper than DVD burn technology, it gives them an In into the desktop video market. Soon instead of burning weddings etc.. onto DVD those folks will offer cheaper MWF Cds. Download music /videos on your computer and burn them to cd to watch on your tv...

    And only creatable on Microsoft PC's. Very clever indead. Although they may be too late to the party.

    How long till these are playable on Xbox too.....