Windows Media Technologies 4 Unveiled; Cutting-Edge CD-Quality Audio
Microsoft Corp. announced the release of Microsoft(R) Windows Media(TM) Technologies 4. The new release includes what is said to be breakthrough audio technology, developed with Microsoft Research, that introduces a new standard for CD-quality audio on the Internet. Windows Media Technologies 4 comprises a range of multimedia tools including Windows Media Player, Windows Media Services, Windows Media Tools and Windows Media Audio SDK. ""Today's release of Windows Media Technologies 4 sets a new standard for audio and video quality on the Internet,"" said Bill Gates, chairman and CEO, Microsoft Corp. ""The delivery of Internet CD-quality audio with unprecedented compression accelerates the availability of a whole new class of applications and will usher in the next generation of digital media over the Internet."" Windows Media achieves what is said to CD-quality audio at half the size of competing formats and is preferred by users, according to an independent study conducted by National Software Testing Labs (http://www.nstl.com/html/windows_media.html). In addition to superior audio quality, Windows Media Technologies 4 offers zero-cost streaming for customers and content providers, near TV-quality video for improved image quality over both low and high speed connections, and a digital rights management solution. Windows Media has been adopted by Sony Music Entertainment Inc., jukebox software makers including Sonic Foundry Inc., MusicMatch Inc. and popular digital audio players like Nullsoft Inc.'s WinAmp and MediaScience Inc.'s Sonique (recently acquired by America Online Inc. and Lycos Inc., respectively). Windows Media Player is available immediately through Windows Update, the online extension of Windows, for users of Windows 95, Windows 98 and the Windows NT(R) operating systems. The complete Windows Media Technologies 4 is available for free download at http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/. Source: PRNewswire