REDMOND, Wash., April 28, 1997 — Microsoft Corp. today announced it has licensed The Duck Corp.’s TrueMotion® 2.0 video codec technology to bring TV-quality video to the PC platform. The move enables game and multimedia developers to deliver high-quality video to a broad range of Microsoft® Windows® operating system-based PCs in an authoring environment that reduces complexity and allows for faster development cycles.
“The video games market is highly competitive,” said Chris Phillips, business development manager for DirectX
™
at Microsoft. “For developers to be successful, we need to provide them with the best tools possible. By choosing to include Duck’s TrueMotion video codec in DirectX media, we’re providing the combination of hardware independence, high-quality playback, flexibility and the freedom necessary to create cutting-edge titles.”
Full-Color, Full-Screen, Full-Motion, TV-Quality Video for the PC
Video on the PC has historically been a skip-and-jerk experience for the end user. With TrueMotion software, developers can deliver better-than-TV-quality video – full color, full screen, full motion – for better game play and video playback. Taking advantage of standard Microsoft tools, developers can use DirectX media for integration and streaming of media files that use the TrueMotion codec. They will gain vastly improved video quality, with higher pixel count and better texture maps, for superior full-motion video scenes even on low-end PCs.
“Duck’s TrueMotion software-only codec technology is one of the industry’s most flexible development tools for video compression and playback being used today,” said Stan Marder, chief executive officer of The Duck Corp. “The combination of TrueMotion 2.0 and DirectX offers developers a superior next-generation tool for the ultimate end-user experience.”
Improved Authoring Environment, Scalability to Broad Range of Windows Platforms
DirectX media with TrueMotion technology enables developers to deliver high-quality, more sophisticated video to a broad range of Windows-based PCs by providing the following:
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Lower computational complexity for decoding video, giving developers freedom to make design decisions and concentrate on innovation
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Vastly improved data rate control, for reliable playback
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Optimization for rendered as well as live material input, allowing for both types of images in a single environment
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Scalability and optimization for multiple device platforms such as set-top boxes, kiosks, arcade machines and personal computers
Game developers have embraced both the DirectX set of APIs and TrueMotion, making the technologies highly successful in the games industry. DirectX has been used in more than 300 titles; DirectX-enabled games accounted for more than half of the sales among the top 30 1996 holiday PC game titles. TrueMotion also has been widely adopted in the games community, with hundreds of titles to date using the technology.
Microsoft plans to ship the next generation of TrueMotion video codec technology as part of DirectX media, which is available to developers now in beta 1.0 and is scheduled for release with DirectX version 5.0 this summer. DirectX-related information and services are
downloadable from http://www.microsoft.com/directX/ TrueMotion technologies and information are available by sending an e-mail request to [email protected] .
The Duck Corp., a pioneer in digital audio and video, was founded in 1992 to develop TV-quality video playback and interactivity on computer and video game platforms. The company’s core technologies, TrueMotion and Comprending, were designed to facilitate the use of interactive video in consumer titles, and multiple agreements with major content providers and game developers make Duck one of the leading providers of solutions for the computer entertainment industry. The company is based in New York City’s Tribeca Film Center and is privately held. More information on the company and its products can be found on Duck’s Web site (http://www.duck.com/) .
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (NASDAQ:
“MSFT”
) is the worldwide leader in software for personal computers. The company offers a wide range of products and services for business and personal use, each designed with the mission of making it easier and more enjoyable for people to take advantage of the full power of personal computing every day.
Microsoft, Windows and DirectX are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corp. in the United States and/or other countries.
TrueMotion is a registered trademark of The Duck Corp.
Other product and company names herein may be trademarks of their respective owners.
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