Microsoft unveiled Silverlight 3, the most powerful platform for delivering rich internet applications (RIAs) and media experiences on the Web. Silverlight 3 is packed with over 50 new features including: support for new application types and business models; dramatic video quality and performance improvements that raise the bar for creating rich Internet experiences; and new features that dramatically improve developer productivity such as .NET RIA Services. Today, over 6 million .NET developers worldwide can use Silverlight to create cutting-edge RIAs.
Silverlight 3 includes major media enhancements such as out of browser support allowing your web application to work on the desktop for the first time; major graphics improvements including 3D graphics support and GPU acceleration; H.264 video support; and, many features to improve RIA development productivity. Also, in order to fully integrate all the .NET developer tools, Visual Studio 2008, Visual Studio 2010 and Visual Web Developer Express will support a fully editable and interactive designer for Silverlight. Some highlights of the brand new features found in Silverlight 3 include:
Nothing. Silverlight 3 is a full superset of Silverlight 2. It is 100% compatible with Silverlight 2 applications and provides more powerful features and functionality. Silverlight 3 applications even benefit from improvements in media playback and performance characteristics of Silverlight 3 without any additional changes needed.
Yes.
In order to build Silverlight 3 content with Expression Blend, you should use Expression Blend 3 together with the Silverlight 3 SDK.
In order to build Silverlight 2 content with Visual Studio 2008, you should use Visual Studio 2008 SP1 together with the Microsoft Silverlight Tools for Visual Studio 2008 (which contains the Silverlight 2 SDK).
The Silverlight installer and tools for Designers and Developers can be found on the Tools page. The Silverlight community site is also a great resource for developers to find additional resources and get started.
Yes. The Macintosh version of Silverlight 2 has the same feature set found in the Windows version.
ASP.NET AJAX and Silverlight are designed to be complementary technologies. Because Silverlight can talk to any AJAX application, both client-side and server-side, customers can enhance existing ASP.NET or ASP.NET AJAX applications by integrating Silverlight media experiences and RIAs into their Web applications. Conversely, ASP.NET AJAX can additionally be used to control Silverlight-based visualization of data or the delivery of rich experiences.
Silverlight provides a rich set of controls which you can use in your SharePoint site – see http://www.codeplex.com/SL4SP. Over time, Microsoft will provide more advanced support for building SharePoint sites using Silverlight.
Silverlight is a cross-browser, cross-platform plug-in for delivering the next generation of media experiences and rich interactive applications (RIAs) for the Web. Examples include:
Microsoft recommends targeting the Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) when building rich, immersive applications and experiences that can take full advantage of the Windows platform, including hardware acceleration, peripheral access, etc. Silverlight is meant be used for broad reach, interactive media content and browser-based rich interactive and high-performance applications and experiences.
For Silverlight-related forums, blogs, and community resources visit the Silverlight Support and Community page
Silverlight supports playback of WMDRM 10 and PlayReady-encrypted content. For protecting live and on-demand IIS7 Smooth Streaming content, only PlayReady encryption is supported.
No. Silverlight will only decrypt content with licenses issued by the PlayReady Server SDK. To maximize performance – both over the network, and in terms of minimizing the size and complexity of the plug-in itself, Silverlight DRM only has support for processing the new PlayReady license format. A consequence of this is that a PlayReady license server is needed to deliver all licenses to the Silverlight plug-in regardless of whether the content is encrypted using WM DRM or PlayReady.
No, Silverlight will only support online-connected playback scenarios.
It is possible to use the same PlayReady server to issue licenses for both Silverlight clients on Windows or Mac operating systems, as well as for PlayReady mobile devices.
Yes, PlayReady supports real-time encryption for live streams that can be delivered through Windows Media Services and IIS7 Smooth Streaming
Silverlight supports both silent and non-silent license acquisition, enabling custom data from the application to be passed to the license server. However, the LUI_URL license field is not supported by Silverlight. Application Authentication scenarios should be developed using the LicenseAcquirer API provided by Silverlight to build your own Custom License Acquisition.
Failure to acquire or authenticate licenses will return errors to the Silverlight MediaElement object, as documented in the Silverlight SDK.
Silverlight DRM powered by PlayReady is available through licensing of the PlayReady Server SDK. The PlayReady Server SDK is used to build both content encryption and license servers for Silverlight DRM on Windows® Server 2003 and 2008 (which must be licensed separately). The fees associated with licensing the PlayReady Server SDK are: a.) $30,000 for development of PlayReady encryption and license servers, and b.) either $30,000 for each PlayReady license server CPU deployed (There is no limit on the number of cores. The first CPU deployed is free.) or $1.00 per 1,000 licenses issued. There is no fee for deployment of PlayReady encryption servers. Content distributors who contract with an approved ASP for all PlayReady DRM services are not subject to these licenses and fees.
Silverlight DRM also benefits from the established Microsoft DRM breach response process which includes dedicated monitoring for new breaches, guaranteed response times to breaches, and expedient renewability. If a Silverlight DRM plug-in is breached, Microsoft will update the Silverlight DRM plug-in to ensure content protection remains effective.
Silverlight is a cross-browser, cross-platform (Mac OS, Windows and Linux) and cross-device browser plug-in that helps companies design, develop and deliver applications and experiences on the Web. Installed as a free browser plug-in approximately 4MB in size, in less than 10 seconds, Silverlight enables a new class of rich, safe, secure and scalable cross-platform experiences.
Silverlight harnesses the power of .NET and includes over 100 controls, rich layout and styling, a powerful networking stack, data access, support for HD video, and much, much more.
Silverlight installation is fast and effortless for customers on both Mac OS, Linux and Windows platforms today.
Yes, Microsoft has made the Silverlight browser plug-in freely available for all supported platforms and browsers.
Silverlight offers a flexible programming model that supports AJAX, VB, C#, and IronPython, and integrates with existing Web applications. By using Expression Studio and Visual Studio, designers and developers can collaborate more effectively using the skills they have today to light up the Web of tomorrow. By leveraging Silverlight's support for .NET, High Definition video, cost-effective advanced streaming, unparalleled high-resolution interactivity with Deep Zoom technology, and controls, businesses can reach out to new markets across the Web, desktop, and devices.
Silverlight will support all major browsers on both Mac OS X, Linux and on Windows. Particular care is being taken to account for differences in platform and browser capabilities to ensure a consistent experience including experiences on Firefox, Safari, and Internet Explorer.
Microsoft designed Silverlight with the ability to deliver high-fidelity experiences on the broadest set of system configurations. Some features, such as HD video, may benefit from the power contained in newer personal computers.
Device support is coming soon.
Verify your installation by visiting the Silverlight installation page.
The Silverlight Deployment Guide thoroughly details all the steps for rolling out Silverlight on a corporate network.
The system requirements for Microsoft Silverlight and associated technologies are listed below.
As you review Microsoft Silverlight, please feel free to consult any of the many additional resources provided. More information can be found at the following locations: