Updated: July 10, 2020 (January 10, 2005)
Charts & IllustrationsWindows Media Codecs
As of Dec. 2004, the Windows Media platform includes nine codecs. Most of these codecs were introduced as part of the Windows Media 9 Seriesa fall 2001 upgrade to the entire Windows Media platformand are supported by all Windows Media 9 or later products.
Despite their names, however, two of these codecs were released after the 9 Series: WMV 9 Professional and WMV 9 Image Version 2. Thus, even though they are “9” codecs, they may not be fully compatible with the “9” versions of other Windows Media tools. For example, to encode files in WMV 9 Professional, users need both the Windows Media Encoder 9 and Windows Media Player 10the Player installs the new codec, which then appears as an encoding option in the Encoder.
| Codec | Description | Main or Intended Uses |
| Windows Media Audio (WMA) 9 | Standard audio codec | Downloading or streaming music over an IP network (including the Internet); transferring music to portable devices |
| WMA 9 Professional | High-definition |
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