Push for Windows Media as Standard

In an effort to increase the presence of the Windows Media Format in the professional video, broadcast, and consumer electronics markets, Microsoft has submitted the compression technology used in Windows Media 9 Series to an international standards body, the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE). However, the format is unlikely to achieve the same widespread support as MPEG because of resistance from consumer electronics companies.

Main Target: MPEG

MPEG-1 and MPEG-2, established in 1992 and 1994, respectively, are the most widely used standards for compressing combined audio and video information into a digital format. Today, MPEG and standards based on MPEG are used and supported by an enormous variety of products, including digital video creation and editing software, satellite and cable TV distribution and playback systems, and consumer electronics devices, such as DVD players and high-definition TVs. The popular MP3 audio format is also based on MPEG-2.

One of the reasons for MPEG’s ubiquity is the fact that it is an open set of standards owned by no single company. MPEG standards are governed by the Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG), a working group that is part of the International Standards Organization and International Electrotechnical Commission (ISO/IEC), although many private companies, including Microsoft, own patents used in those standards.