The Microsoft® Windows MediaTM Player (WMP) is a premier application for playing high-quality multimedia Web audio and video content. Normally a downloadable application and plug-in to a standard browser, WMP has been integrated into our receiver. Our version of the Windows Media Player reports itself as being a recent version, so that the user is not constantly prompted to upgrade the player. However, not all of the features of that release are supported. The following lists show the current level of support.
Audio Codecs Supported:
Note: The MSN TV service does not support the Voxware Metasound audio codec that Microsoft has replaced with Microsoft® Audio.
Video Codecs Supported:
Our most recent version of the Windows Media Player supports a new feature that allows users to toggle between video sizes of 160 × 120 and 320 × 240 (normal and double size). Developers should be aware that the normal size can appear small on a television screen. On the other hand, the double size, while easier to see on the screen, can lose some resolution because of the expansion. Keep these factors in mind when including streaming media in your productions.
Newer versions of Windows Media Player now offer support for multiple bit rate streams for video content. Our version also supports these multiple bit rate streams. This feature enables the server to offer more than one (video) stream, enabling the client to choose a stream depending on the current data throughput. Our version chooses the appropriate stream before starting to play. However, it does not stream switch based on the data transfer rate changes while playing content. Multiple bit rate streams can be an effective way to provide content that can be played on both our platform and PCs.
For Windows Media, our receivers support the three common streaming methods: UDP, TCP/IP, and HTTP.