Microsoft Expression Encoder Pro 4 Privacy Statement

Last Updated: March 2010

At Microsoft, we're working hard to protect your privacy, while delivering products that bring you the performance, power, and convenience that you desire in your personal computing. This privacy statement explains the data collection and use practices of the Microsoft Expression Encoder 4 (“Expression Encoder”) features listed below. It does not apply to data collected through other online or offline Microsoft sites, products, or services.

Expression Encoder enables users to edit audio-visual files and to add Microsoft Silverlight content to audio-visual files.

Collection and Use of Your Information

The information we collect from you will be used by Microsoft and its controlled subsidiaries and affiliates to enable the features you are using and provide the service(s) or carry out the transaction(s) you have requested or authorized. It may also be used to analyze and improve Microsoft products and services.

In order to offer you a more consistent and personalized experience in your interactions with Microsoft, information collected through one Microsoft service may be combined with information obtained through other Microsoft services. We may also supplement the information we collect with information obtained from other companies. For example, we may use services from other companies that enable us to derive a general geographic area based on your IP address in order to customize certain services to your geographic area.

Except as described in this statement, personal information you provide will not be transferred to third parties without your consent. We occasionally hire other companies to provide limited services on our behalf, such as packaging, sending and delivering purchases and other mailings, answering customer questions about products or services, processing event registration, or performing statistical analysis of our services. We will only provide those companies the personal information they need to deliver the service, and they are prohibited from using that information for any other purpose.

Microsoft may access or disclose information about you, including the content of your communications, in order to: (a) comply with the law or respond to lawful requests or legal process; (b) protect the rights or property of Microsoft or our customers, including the enforcement of our agreements or policies governing your use of the services; or (c) act on a good faith belief that such access or disclosure is necessary to protect the personal safety of Microsoft employees, customers, or the public. We may also disclose personal information as part of a corporate transaction such as a merger or sale of assets.

Information that is collected by or sent to Microsoft by Expression Encoder may be stored and processed in the United States or any other country in which Microsoft or its affiliates, subsidiaries, or service providers maintain facilities. Microsoft abides by the safe harbor framework as set forth by the U.S. Department of Commerce regarding the collection, use, and retention of data from the European Union, the European Economic Area, and Switzerland.

Collection and Use of Information about Your Computer

When you use software with Internet-enabled features, information about your computer ("standard computer information") is sent to the Web sites you visit and online services you use. Microsoft uses standard computer information to provide you Internet-enabled services, to help improve our products and services, and for statistical analysis. Standard computer information typically includes information such as your IP address, operating system version, browser version, and regional and language settings. In some cases, standard computer information may also include hardware ID, which indicates the device manufacturer, device name, and version. If a particular feature or service sends information to Microsoft, standard computer information will be sent as well.

The privacy details for each Expression Encoder feature, software or service listed in this privacy statement describe what additional information is collected and how it is used.

Security of Your Information

Microsoft is committed to helping protect the security of your information. We use a variety of security technologies and procedures to help protect your information from unauthorized access, use, or disclosure. For example, we store the information you provide on computer systems with limited access, which are located in controlled facilities.

Changes to This Privacy Statement

We will occasionally update this privacy statement to reflect changes in our products and services and customer feedback. When we post changes to this Statement, we will revise the "last updated" date at the top of this statement. If there are material changes to this statement or in how Microsoft will use your personal information, we will notify you either by prominently posting a notice of such changes prior to implementing the change or by directly sending you a notification. We encourage you to periodically review this statement to be informed of how Microsoft is protecting your information.

For More Information

Microsoft welcomes your comments regarding this privacy statement. If you believe that Microsoft has not adhered to this statement, please contact us at emepriv@microsoft.com, and we will use commercially reasonable efforts to promptly determine and remedy the problem.

Expression Encoder Privacy
Microsoft Corporation
One Microsoft Way
Redmond, WA 98052 USA

 

Specific Features

Microsoft Customer Experience Program

What This Feature Does:

The Customer Experience Improvement Program (“CEIP”) collects basic information about your hardware configuration and how you use our software and services, to identify trends and usage patterns. CEIP also collects the type and number of errors you encounter, software and hardware performance, and the speed of services. We will not collect your name, address, or other contact information.

Information Collected, Processed, or Transmitted:

For more information about the information that is collected, processed, or transmitted by CEIP, see the CEIP Privacy Statement.

Use of Information:

We use this information to improve the quality, reliability, and performance of Microsoft software and services.

Choice/Control:

When you edit files with Expression Encoder, you can view, modify or add to the metadata for the file. This information is not sent to Microsoft.

Metadata

What This Feature Does:

When you edit files with Expression Encoder, you can view, modify or add to the metadata for the file. This information is not sent to Microsoft.

Information Collected, Processed, or Transmitted:

Source files read by Expression Encoder, and output files written by Expression Encoder, may contain metadata. Metadata is information about the file or its content that may or may not be visible when a file is played. Examples of metadata include copyright notices and author information. Metadata may include personal information. Metadata is stored by Expression Encoder in XML format.

Use of Information:

If Expression Encoder detects metadata in a source file, it will be available for display in the Metadata panel. Only metadata in the source file accessible through Expression Encoder will be written to an Expression Encoder output file. If you do not delete metadata accessible through Expression Encoder, it will be written to the output file. Other applications that read your output file may choose to display the metadata to the user or viewer of the file. Unless you overwrite the source file, the metadata in the source file will not be changed.

You may also add metadata to streaming live media, making it visible to the recipients of the live stream.

Choice/Control

You can view and edit metadata using Expression Encoder. By default, the Metadata panel displays the Title, Author, Copyright, Rating, Credits, and Description boxes, but you can expand the list to reveal other metadata. You can also add any number of custom metadata fields, or decide which ones will show by default.

To view and enter metadata
  1. In the Media Content panel, select the files to which you want to add metadata.
  2. If the Metadata category is not visible, then, on the Window menu, select Metadata. If Metadata is selected on this menu, but is not showing, then, on the right side of the application, click the Metadata tab.
  3. Click the Show/Hide advanced properties icon to expand or collapse the list of metadata. The default list of Title, Author, Copyright, Rating, Credits, and Description boxes is always visible, unless you collapse the category.
  4. Click inside any box to type text.

DRM

What This Feature Does:

In Expression Encoder, you can add PlayReady encryption to your IIS Smooth Streaming output from the Security panel.

Information Collected, Processed, or Transmitted:

If you have a PlayReady license server or user a third party license server, they will provide you will a LicenseURL and a KeySeed. You will use these values on the Security panel of the Output tab along with a unique Key ID to generate the Content key to encrypt the content with.

Use of Information:

When you enter the DRM properties on the Security panel, the Encoder will use the KeyID and KeySeed to generate a ContentKey. This key will be used to encrypt the content to be used in the PlayReady ecosystem. The KeyID, LicenseURL and KeySeed will be written to the file header with the KeySeed encrypted. When the file is loaded, it will send the KeyID and KeySeed to the LicenseURL which will tell the server to regenerate the ContentKey and send it back to the client in a license to decrypt the content. This information will also be added to any Encoder job and preset files if you save them. The KeySeed will be encrypted in the job or preset when saved to prevent unauthorized use of the key to unlock the encrypted content.

Choice/Control

The Security panel can be found on the Output tab of all Encoder projects and will only be enabled if the IIS Smooth Streaming output format is selected.

To view and enter digital right management properties
  1. In the Media Content panel, select the files you want to add encryption.
  2. On the Encode category, select IIS Smooth Streaming from the Output Format drop down. If the Encode category is not visible, then, on the Window menu, select Encode.
  3. Select the Output category and check the ‘Use digital right management’ If the Output category is not visible, then, on the Window menu, select Output.
  4. Enter the parameters given by your PlayReady license server.