Microsoft Corp. on Monday unveiled Microsoft Silverlight, a Web browser plug-in for playing media files and displaying interactive Web applications, at the 2007 National Association of Broadcasters conference (NAB2007) in Las Vegas, apparently trying to take aim at Adobe Systems' ubiquitous Flash technology.
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Microsoft Corp. on Monday unveiled Microsoft Silverlight, a Web browser plug-in for playing media files and displaying interactive Web applications, at the 2007 National Association of Broadcasters conference (NAB2007) in Las Vegas, apparently trying to take aim at Adobe Systems' ubiquitous Flash technology.
Formerly called Windows Presentation Foundation Everywhere (WPF/E), Microsoft Silverlight is a new cross-browser, cross-platform plug-in for delivering the next generation of media experiences and rich interactive applications (RIAs) for the Web.
Microsoft and Adobe, each shooting for a bigger share of software that can create and serve up clips, have unveiled their video-playing software, Silverlight, Adobe Media Player, respectively today at the NBA show.
Microsoft’s Silverlight, which can be used in Microsoft's Internet Explorer Web browser as well as Apple's Safari browser and Mozilla Foundation's Firefox, integrates with existing Web technologies and assets to provide higher-quality experiences with lower costs for media delivery. Due out this year, Silverlight will offer consistent experiences to both Macintosh and Windows users.
Delivered to end users through a seamless, fast installation, Microsoft’s new software will let users trigger videos by clicking in a browser window, an easier method than the one now required by Windows Media Player. Silverlight also comes with copy-protection technology called PlayReady. The download of the player will be less than 2 megabytes.
“Silverlight is the only solution in the market today that enables content creators to tap into the broad ecosystem for Windows Media technologies while taking the Web's rich interactive application experience to new levels," said Bob Muglia, senior vice president of the Server and Tools Business at Microsoft.
On the other hand, Adobe Media Player, a desktop video player, is free software for playing Flash format videos offline and is based on new technology called Apollo. With the technology, videos written with the company's popular Flash technology can be played on a Web browser or on a desktop player when users are not online.
Due for release later this year, Adobe Media Player, formerly code-named Philo, will let a user pick and manage RSS (Really Simple Syndication) feeds of video podcasts. Besides users, Adobe Media Player delivers innovation for content owners. To help content creators fight piracy, Adobe’s new desktop application will bar copying of clips as they stream over the Internet, unlike Adobe's current Flash Video format.
“Adobe Flash has revolutionized the distribution of video content across the Internet and Adobe Media Player builds on this leadership position," said Bruce Chizen, chief executive officer at Adobe. "NAB is a great venue to preview the new capabilities Adobe is bringing to market later this year -- as we build out a technology portfolio that will drive new advances in Internet video authoring, playback and commerce."
The Redmond, Washington-based Microsoft's Windows Media Video format is though widely used, particularly for downloads, but Adobe's Flash Player has become the dominant choice for streaming video used by high-volume sites such as MySpace and YouTube.
Leading media companies and solution providers have announced support for the Microsoft’s new platform including Akamai Technologies, Brightcove, Eyeblaster, Limelight Networks, Major League Baseball, NaviSite Inc., Netflix, Pinnacle Systems Inc., Rhozet Corp., Skinkers, Sonic Solutions, Tarari Inc., Telestream Inc. and Winnov.
All these early supporters have indicated plans to deliver Silverlight-based experiences for their viewers and subscribers. Brightcove will use or support both Silverlight and Flash.
According to Forest Key, a director in Microsoft's developer division, in future, videos created to play with Silverlight could also run on Microsoft's Zune digital music player and Windows-powered cell phones.
Microsoft and Adobe are locked in a fierce battle for dominance in a growing market for Internet video ads, which according to market researcher Yankee Group is expected to grow from $1.5 billion market in 2007 to $4.2 billion in 2011.
"...Silverlight also comes
"...Silverlight also comes with copy-protection technology..."
Exactly the reason to avoid it.
"The web has already been littered by flashturbating "developers" trying to show how smart they are..."
That's not really flash's fault it's the developers. They did the same thing with Java, frames, popups, color schemes, and lots of other things.
It would be fun to see what Microsoft's penetration would be if they didn't FORCE it out on people. Let people come to microsoft, download it, and install it the way they do with Firefox and flash.