Updated: July 12, 2020 (October 7, 2002)
Charts & IllustrationsWindows Media Technology Guide
This chart lists the technologies, applications, and SDKs that comprise the Windows Media platform, and explains where they’re used or how to get them. Most of these components are being updated with the Windows Media 9 Series, which entered its final beta in Sept. 2002.
| Item | Description | How to Get It |
| Technologies | ||
| Windows Media Format (WMF) | Proprietary Microsoft file format for digital audio and video. Introduced as ActiveX streaming format (ASF) in 1996. | All files created with Microsoft digital media applications are WMF files. |
| Windows Media Codecs | Compress raw digital media into WMF files, and decompress these files for playback. Different codecs offer different levels of compression and quality. | Built into all Microsoft digital media applications. |
| Windows Media Digital Rights Management (DRM) | Allows creators of a WMF file to define attributes such as how many times it can be played or whether it can be copied, then enforces these | |
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