REDMOND, Wash., and LONDON, Oct. 11, 2000 — Microsoft Corp. today unveiled the beta version of Windows Media™
Player 7 for Mac, which offers Macintosh users improved functionality, Windows Media 7 audio and video playback, MP3 playback, greater ease of use, and access to audio and video content encoded with the latest versions of the industry-leading Windows Media Format codecs. The new player, announced today at Streaming Media Europe in London, will be available for download next Friday, Oct. 20, at http://windowsmedia.com/ .
The player responds to consumer demand for Windows Media content on the Macintosh platform and to the needs of content providers, allowing them to encode once to reach the broadest possible audience. The Microsoft® Windows Media Player 7 for Mac beta supports advanced digital rights management and the latest Windows Media codecs, released in July.
“The Windows Media Player 7 for Mac beta is a milestone in our efforts to provide the best possible digital media experience across platforms,”
said Dave Fester, general manager of marketing for the Digital Media Division at Microsoft.
“It opens up to the Mac community all the great content now being released in Windows Media Format, and it gives content providers a single solution for distributing streaming, downloads and protected content.”
The player sports a new, easy-to-use single interface for audio and video. Under the hood, the Windows Media Player 7 for Mac beta was rebuilt to provide greater reliability and support for version 7 Windows Media codecs, which provide near-DVD-quality video at 700Kbps, near-VHS-quality video at 300Kbps and CD-quality sound at half the file size of MP3.
The Windows Media Player 7 for Mac beta handles streamed or downloaded files, local playback and playback from the Internet. The player also supports advanced digital rights management rules using Windows Media Rights Manager technology, allowing Mac users to download songs for purchase or promotion. To accommodate music fans with legacy collections of digital music, Windows Media Player 7 for Mac beta also plays back MP3 files.
About Windows Media
Windows Media is the leading digital media platform, providing unmatched audio and video quality to consumers, content providers, solution providers, software developers and corporations. Windows Media offers the industry’s only integrated rights-management solution and the most scalable and reliable streaming technology tested by independent labs. Windows Media Technologies includes Windows Media Player for consumers, Windows Media Services for servers, Windows Media Tools for content creation, and the Windows Media Software Development Kit (SDK) for software developers. Windows Media Player, available in 26 languages, is the fastest-growing media player. More information about Windows Media can be found at http://www.microsoft.com/windowsmedia/ .
About Microsoft
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq
“MSFT”
) is the worldwide leader in software, services and Internet technologies for personal and business computing. The company offers a wide range of products and services designed to empower people through great software – any time, any place and on any device.
Microsoft and Windows Media are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corp. in the United States and/or other countries.
The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.
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