The latest addition to Microsoft's arsenal of free Windows Media tools and the approval of Windows Media Video as a standard by the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE) could spur more content companies to use Microsoft's video format.

Windows Media Encoder Studio Edition, which will be released in beta in May 2006, is designed for video professionals to encode offline video—for example, to convert film or tape for shipment on optical media (e.g., high-definition DVDs) or delivery as video-on-demand programming—using the Windows Media Video 9 (WMV 9) family of codecs, which compress video for storage or transmission. Studio Edition builds on the standard Windows Media Encoder, adding features such as the ability to apply different quality settings to different segments within a single video file, support for hardware acceleration, and better quality video capture with smaller file sizes. However, Studio Edition supports a much narrower set of scenarios than the standard Encoder—for example, customers who want to capture, encode, and stream live video using the WMV 9 codecs must continue to use the standard Encoder.

The release of Studio Edition quickly follows the final standardization of WMV 9 as an SMPTE standard called VC-1—a process that has been under way since Oct. 2003. This standardization could increase the prominence of Windows Media content by allowing companies to license the technology through a widely trusted standards body rather than directly from Microsoft. Already, VC-1 is one of three video codecs for which support is mandatory in the two specifications for high-definition (HD) DVDs, HD DVD and Blu-ray, meaning that Microsoft will earn royalties from the sale of HD DVDs and playback equipment. (The other two mandatory codecs are MPEG-2, which is broadly used today and is the basis of standard DVD video, and H.264, which is based on MPEG-4, used by Apple's QuickTime video format.) In Apr. 2006, Universal Pictures said it would use VC-1 for all its initial HD DVD titles.

Combined with the SMPTE standardization, the new encoding tool could compel more content companies to use VC-1 on HD DVDs. In addition to providing royalties to Microsoft, the availability of content in the Windows Media format could help bolster Microsoft's overall home entertainment strategy, which envisions the Windows PC and other Microsoft devices (such as Xbox 360) using digital audio and video media from a wide variety of sources.

Information about the Windows Media Encoder Studio Edition is available at www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/forpros/encoderse/default.aspx. The product will be available as a free download from this site in May 2006.