ATLANTA, Oct. 21, 1998 — Today at Networld+Interop (N+I), Microsoft Corp. demonstrated the Microsoft® Windows® Media Technologies streaming media platform delivering live software video encoding at data rates exceeding 3.5 Mbps. The high data rate performance was achieved on a Compaq Professional Workstation AP500, using dual Intel® Pentium® II processors at 450 MHz for multithreaded scalable performance. The Windows Media Technologies platform delivers extremely high levels of performance and scalability for live and on-demand streaming media content from low-bandwidth Internet applications to high-bandwidth corporate and broadband applications. This platform enables customers to reduce administrative and management costs by deploying a single streaming media architecture across all network infrastructures.
Customers are demanding the highest-quality audio and video for their Internet and intranet streaming media applications. The Windows Media Technologies, released in July 1998, established a new bar for audio and video quality. Together with the latest hardware from Compaq, based on Intel processors, the Windows Media Technologies offer customers the headroom to achieve a broad range of quality levels in their streaming media applications.
“The Windows Media Technologies scale to meet the needs of customers using low-speed dial-up to the Internet, high-speed LANs within corporations, and even new high-speed broadband connections to the Internet,”
said Jim Allchin, senior vice president of the personal and business systems group at Microsoft.
“Together with Compaq’s hardware and Intel’s processors, we have pushed the scalability of streaming media solutions to new levels for live video encoding.”
The NetShow
™
Encoder within the Windows Media Technologies offers customers a wide range of live video encoding, at data rates ranging from 8 Kbps to over 3.5 Mbps. Smooth video at 30 frames per second video can be produced at data rates as low as 16 Kbps. At data rates over 1 Mbps, quality equivalent to a television broadcast can be easily achieved. In the future, the Windows Media Technologies will be optimized for next-generation processors from Intel, enabling even higher-quality video on high-performance desktop systems.
In the Microsoft booth at Networld+Interop in Atlanta (Booth #5515), a Compaq Professional Workstation AP500 using dual Intel Pentium II processors at 450 MHz was used to encode live video at over 3.5 Mbps. The multithreading architecture of the Windows Media Technologies scales up to four processors and deliver improved performance for multiprocessor workstations and servers. A wide range of Compaq workstation and server products are available to enable customers to deploy streaming media solutions across all network infrastructures.
“Customers streaming high-quality live and on-demand video rely on Compaq hardware solutions for their scalability and reliability,”
said David Parsons, director of workstation marketing, North America, Compaq Computer Corp.
“High data rate encoding results, such as those obtained today with Microsoft and Intel, foreshadow a future where high-quality digital video is the centerpoint of rich business and entertainment applications”
In addition to a scalability demonstration at Networld+Interop, Microsoft also will show the Windows Media Technologies delivering up to 30 frames per second of high-quality audio
and video at bandwidths up to 500 Kbps on the Internet. This demonstration, which includes footage from CNN fn and MSNBC, is available at http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/
techshowcase/hbv/default.asp
The Microsoft Windows Media Technologies – including the Windows Media Player, the Windows NT® Server NetShow Services and NetShow Theater Server – provide corporate, education and Internet customers with a platform for developing richer business and entertainment solutions using streaming media. More information can be found at http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/ . The Windows Media Player is available for free download (connect-time charges may apply) at http://www.microsoft.com/windows/mediaplayer /download/default.asp .
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, NetShow and Windows NT are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corp. in the United States and/or other countries.
Other product and company names herein may be trademarks of their respective owners.
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