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Partner Landscape
The Windows Media platform is a rich set of technologies that partners use to enable the distribution of high-quality audio and video content over the Internet, throughout the home, and onto consumer electronic devices. The wide range of scenarios supported by the Windows Media platform ensures that consumers can access and manage a huge selection of audio and video content. Supporting all of these scenarios requires the assistance of numerous partners. There are a number of ways for partners to support playback of Windows Media-based content or to work with applications that support Windows Media. Here are some examples:
Chip ManufacturersBy building in support for the Windows Media Format and/or Windows Media digital rights management (DRM), chip manufacturers can help device manufacturers save development time by eliminating the need to port Windows Media components onto the device. This native support in the chipset is advantageous for both playback of Windows Media-based content and decryption of content that is protected by Windows Media DRM.Playback (decode) of content in the Windows Media Format. Many chip manufacturers support the decoding of Windows Media codecs natively on their chips; see the Approved Porting Vendors Web page for a list of licensees. Chip manufacturers sign interim distribution licenses with Microsoft to license the porting kits and documentation needed to natively support Windows Media playback. Licensing details are available on this Web page. These chips are then integrated into devices by device manufacturers. Support for Windows Media-based DRM content. Decryption of protected content can be quite complex. Decrypting natively on the chip eases the burden for device manufacturers by eliminating the need to handle complex computations in the device software. Chip manufacturers sign interim distribution licenses with Microsoft to license the porting kits and documentation needed to natively support decryption of content that is protected with Windows Media DRM. Microsoft has released the Windows Media DRM 10 platform, which makes it possible for more content to be transferred to (or directly acquired by) devices, and which enables protected content to be streamed throughout a home network to connected devices such as digital audio receivers. Chip manufacturers can request a license for Windows Media DRM 10 by completing the License Request Form. For more information, see Licensing Information for Windows Media DRM.
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Device ManufacturersManufacturers of consumer electronic devices can support Windows Media playback in a number of ways.
Device manufacturers can work with a chipset that supports Windows Media codecs, or they can develop support for Windows Media by porting Windows Media components directly to their device. When porting Windows Media components, device manufacturers must sign the appropriate license agreement(s) and acquire a Format Components Source Development Kit (or porting kit) from this Web page. Similarly, device manufacturers can support playback of content protected with Windows Media DRM. After signing the appropriate license agreement, device partners receive the necessary porting kit and documentation that allow them to acquire and decrypt protected content offered through online content services. Additional information about consumer electronic devices that support Windows Media is available on this Web page. The list of devices supporting playback of Windows Media-based content is growing dramatically, and is available on the Cool Devices Web page.
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Independent Software VendorsIndependent software vendors (ISVs) who want to take advantage of the superior audio and video quality of Windows Media by creating applications that play back, transfer, or decrypt Windows Media-based content can do so by licensing the Windows Media Format SDK. The SDK components and licenses required depend on the applications being built. See this Web page for more information about Windows-based products or services that support Windows Media.
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Online Content ServicesOnline content services are a critical part of the Windows Media landscape. In some instances, these services, many of which qualify to participate in the Digital Media Mall that is part of Windows Media Player 10, use professional tools to encode and distribute content in the Windows Media Format, while others might simply license distribution rights to existing Windows Media-based content. Content distributors either distribute content and associated licenses themselves, or outsource the license delivery to a DRM service provider.
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