Microsoft Media Platform Overview

Introducing the Microsoft Media Platform

Complete. Powerful. Proven.

The Microsoft Media Platform is a complete set of technologies for digital media encoding, delivery, and playback for virtually any network-connected device. Whether you are a content creator, content owner, content distributor, or an enterprise, the Microsoft Media Platform enables you to address user and business needs through an integrated platform.

Built on the powerful foundations of Windows Media Server, IIS, Expression Encoder, and PlayReady, the Microsoft Media Platform provides functions for every stage of digital media processes and can be easily integrated into existing workflows and third-party services. The Microsoft Media Platform can be used to deliver content to a variety of client technologies including HTML5, Silverlight and native devices.

The Microsoft Media Platform has been proven for live events at a massive scale, and is used 24/7 by customers to power exciting video experiences, from video streaming in the enterprise to delivering premium content on demand.

Media Platform News
  • H2 2011 Product Update Roundup It’s been a while since I updated the blog, so I will take this opportunity to bring everyone up to speed on the more recent Microsoft Media Platform product updates: November 9, 2011 Player Framework version 1.0 for HTML5 is released to...
  • The Importance of the File Format for Adaptive Streaming When it comes to adaptive bitrate streaming over HTTP, file format really does matter. The fragmented MP4 (fMP4) file format, first used by Microsoft, is the basis of IIS Smooth Streaming, Adobe HTTP Dynamic Streaming, and two industry streaming...
  • Media Platform NAB Recap Our super busy NAB 2011 ended last week and we’ve mostly recovered! Our best laid plans of blogging from the show didn’t quite pan out since everyone was rushed off their feet the entire time. Perhaps this isn’t too surprising...
  • GPU ENCODING IN EXPRESSION ENCODER 4 PRO SP2 Introduction This document is to complement the original Expression Encoder 4 SP1 GPU Encoding white paper and discuss the changes that SP2 introduced on this subject. The latest service pack includes a major revision of the CUDA H.264 encoder as...
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  • Microsoft Media Platform Product News

    December 9, 2011

    Silverlight 5 is released to Microsoft Download Center. Download it here.

    New media features include GPU-accelerated H.264 video decoding, low-latency sound effects, variable speed playback (trick play) support, and remote control and media keys support. For a complete list of new Silverlight 5 features check out this blog, the official features document or the list of breaking changes.

    Silverlight 5 runtime is now also available as a native 64-bit plugin for 64-bit browsers on Windows and Mac operating systems.

     

    November 9, 2011

    Player Framework version 1.0 for HTML5 is released to Codeplex. Download it here.

    This new player framework implements basic video playback functionality using the HTML5 Video tag, and features JavaScript API and control UI consistent with the Silverlight version of the Player Framework. For a complete list of features visit http://playerframework.codeplex.com/wikipage?title=Features.

     

    November 8, 2011

    IIS Media Services version 4.1 is released to Microsoft Download Center. Install it via the Web Platform Installer, or download it separately for x86 and x64 platforms.

    This release adds support for REST services APIs for management of publishing points as well as performance improvements for both on demand and live scenarios. The recently released Expression Encoder 4 SP2 makes use of the new APIs so that one can easily manage publishing points directly from within Expression Encoder. For more information on the new features visit http://blogs.iis.net/akucer/archive/2011/11/09/iis-media-services-4-1-released.aspx.

     

    November 2, 2011

    Player Framework version 2.6 for Silverlight and Windows Phone is released to Codeplex. Download it here.

    This release includes significant performance improvements, updated support for WP 7.5 “Mango”, the latest version of the Smooth Streaming Media Element (SSME), and several new features and bug fixes.

     

    November 2, 2011

    Expression Encoder 4 Service Pack 2 (SP2) is released to Microsoft Download Center. Download it here.

    New features include support for Intel QSV GPU-accelerated encoding, 1 and 2-pass VBR H.264 encoding, more AAC audio options, SRS audio encoding, built-in management of IIS publishing points, live video cropping, live multi-bitrate Windows Media encoding, etc. SP2 also removes the screen capture limit in the free version of the Encoder. You can find a detailed list of features in this blog post.

    The Expression Encoder team has also updated their GPU encoding recommendations. Note that H.264 codec support is still only available in the commercial Pro edition of Expression Encoder.

     

    October 26, 2011

    Content Manager version 1.1 is released to Microsoft Download Center. Download it here.

    This release fixes compatibility issues with Windows Vista and Windows 7, and provides additional code samples.

    The open-source Microsoft Media Platform Content Manager pulls together an end-to-end video workflow that allows you to create live streaming events, transcode on-demand content, manage and publish video, edit video, and insert mid-roll advertisements. Watch the MIX11 session on Content Manager for an overview.

     

    October 17, 2011

    Enhanced Movies 1.0 Beta is the latest addition to the Microsoft Media Platform family of frameworks. Download it here.

    Microsoft Media Platform Enhanced Movies provides a framework for delivery of rich interactive movie experiences that go far beyond any streaming experience today. The “enhanced movies” feature set enables studios and distribution houses to package HD movies with special features, multiple languages, interactive games, social media, advertising and more — as complete, downloadable, rights-protected applications.

    The beta release provides a plug-in for the Player Framework which enables offline playback of video by implementing a media downloader and Smooth Streaming cache.

     

    October 6, 2011

    Video Editor (f.k.a. Silverlight Rough Cut Editor) version 2.0 is released to MSDN. Download it here.

    The new version requires Silverlight 5.

    New to MMP Video Editor? Take it for a test drive using our demo deployment hosted on Windows Azure:  http://videoeditor.cloudapp.net/

      

    April 11, 2011

    Player Framework version 2.5 for Silverlight and Windows Phone is released to Codeplex. Download it here.

    New features include support for stereoscopic 3D video and for advertising standards such as MAST, VAST 2.0 and VPAID 1.1. The framework includes a red-cyan anaglyph module for rendering of stereoscopic 3D content on legacy displays, while an NVIDIA 3D Vision module for use with active shutter glasses is available from NVIDIA.

     

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