Windows Media Encoder 9 Series: Comparing 32-bit and 64-bit Versions

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Windows Media Encoder 9 Series

Comparing 32-bit and 64-bit Versions

You can encode audio and video content in Windows Media format using either the 32-bit version or the 64-bit version of Windows Media Encoder 9 Series. The version you choose will depend on your work environment and encoding scenarios.

The new Windows Media Encoder 9 Series x64 Edition contains the same feature set as the widely used 32-bit version of Windows Media Encoder 9 Series as well as the following updates:

64-bit Windows Media Format 9.5 Runtime components. When installed on Windows XP Professional x64 Edition or the x64-based versions of Windows Server 2003 operating systems, the setup package also installs 64-bit Windows Media Format 9.5 Runtime components that include an updated Windows Media Video 9 Advanced Profile encoder (FourCC “WVC1”), making it fully in conformance with SMPTE VC-1 Advanced Profile codec specification. When installed on 64-bit versions of Windows Vista, the setup package does not update any Windows Media Format Runtime components. Instead, Windows Media Encoder 9 Series x64 Edition utilizes the more recent Windows Media Format 11 Runtime natively available on Windows Vista operating systems.
Complete VC-1 support. Windows Media Video 9 is Microsoft’s implementation of VC-1, a SMPTE codec standard that delivers high-definition quality with highly efficient compression rates. The VC-1 standard defines three complexity profiles: Simple, Main, and Advanced. While Windows Media Video 9 has supported encoding to VC-1 Simple and Main profiles since its inception, Windows Media Encoder 9 Series x64 Edition also introduces support for the more recent Advanced Profile to all 64-bit platforms.
Windows Media Digital Rights Management (DRM). In contrast to the 32-bit version of Windows Media Encoder 9 Series, the 64-bit version includes a separate DRM Protect Utility that allows you to apply DRM protection to your content files after the encoding process is completed. The DRM Protect Utility uses the information in the DRM profile you select to encrypt your content with a key, and other digital rights management settings that are specific to that DRM profile.
The DRM Protect Utility is available only for the 64-bit version of the encoder and cannot be used with the 32-bit version. Additionally, the DRM encryption functionality in the 32-bit version of the encoder does not work with the 64-bit version.

When choosing between 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Windows Media Encoder 9 Series, consider the following factors:

Windows Media Format Runtime version. It is possible that on certain 64-bit platforms, such as Windows XP Professional x64 Edition, a more recent Windows Media Format Runtime may be available in 32-bit versions. In those cases, you might want to use the 32-bit version of Windows Media Encoder 9 Series (in WOW64 mode), which uses the more recent 32-bit Windows Media Format components.
Full 64-bit driver and codec availability. 64-bit applications can only use 64-bit drivers and 64-bit linked libraries. Common Windows Media Encoder 9 Series x64 Edition scenarios—such as live encoding from a camera device or transcoding from sources encoded with third-party codecs—require that 64-bit versions of those device drivers and codecs are installed. If those are not available, you might want to use the 32-bit version of Windows Media Encoder 9 Series.