Microsoft ships DirectX high level programming support for multimedia, including DVD, MPEG2, and AC3. Good work, Microsofties............
Microsoft Ships DirectX Media High-Level APIs for Windows
DirectX Media APIs Forge Powerful Synergy With Low-Level DirectX Foundation
APIs to Deliver First Unified Multimedia Solution for Developers;
Integration into Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.0 Delivers Broad Target
Audience of End Users
REDMOND, Wash., Dec. 1 /PRNewswire/ -- Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq: MSFT)
today released the Microsoft(R) DirectX(R) Media 5.1 Software Development Kit
(SDK), a set of high-level application programming interfaces (APIs) and run
times designed for the Intel architecture. The DirectX Media 5.1 SDK forms a
powerful synergy with low-level DirectX Foundation APIs, delivering the first
unified API set with advanced multimedia functionality from the chip level to
high-level run-time engines on the Windows(R) operating system. DirectX Media
5.1 will empower software tool and content developers to energize their
applications and Web pages with interactive 2-D and 3-D animation, streaming
video and audio, and the latest technology to take advantage of
next-generation digital devices.
The DirectX Media 5.1 SDK provides a solution for developing powerful
multimedia tools and applications for Web authoring, video and audio
postproduction, online games, multimedia content creation, and a variety of
consumer applications. DirectX Media 5.1 run times are integrated into
Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.0 software and are scheduled to be included in
the Windows 98 and Windows NT(R) 5.0 operating systems, providing developers
with a broad target audience that will experience the full impact of
multimedia capabilities and rich interactive features in applications powered
by DirectX Media 5.1.
Comprehensive Set of High-Level APIs
The DirectX Media 5.1 SDK contains a variety of high-level APIs and
run-time services for developers of multimedia applications, development tools
and Web content, including the following:
* DirectShow(TM) API is a universal media streaming architecture for
capture, processing and playback of streaming multimedia over the Internet,
within media authoring applications or from local consumer devices.
DirectShow includes DVD-specific APIs, support for the digital video (DV)
standard and support for third-party MPEG-2 and AC-3, delivering high-quality
video and audio including spatial effects. DirectShow supports most popular
formats, including Intel's Indeo Video Interactive, The Duck Corp.'s
TrueMotion 2.0 video codec, MPEG, AVI, WAV, AIFF, AU and Apple QuickTime
(MOV). DirectShow soon is scheduled to soon provide the universal playback
client for the Advanced Streaming Format (ASF), an open specification for
streaming data.
* DirectAnimation(TM) API is an advanced media integration and run-time
API that allows developers to easily inject highly interactive animation into
Web pages and multimedia applications. DirectAnimation provides a consistent
interface for dealing with and integrating 2-D vector graphics, sprites,
3-D geometry, Dynamic HTML, video and audio, along with a uniform time and
event model that enables unprecedented user interactivity and interaction
between different media types. DirectAnimation functionality can be accessed
using a variety of programming and scripting languages, including HTML, the
Visual Basic(R) development system Scripting Edition, JScript(TM) development
software, Java and the Microsoft Visual C++(R) development system. Various
ActiveX(TM) Controls are included for HTML environments, as well as a
COM-based animation library.
* Direct3D(R) API Retained Mode is a high-level 3-D scene graph manager
that allows developers to manipulate objects and manage complex 3-D scenes
without requiring low-level programming. Direct3D API Retained Mode animation
interpolators facilitate the blending of colors and smooth movement of
objects. Progressive meshes enable increasing refinement of coarse meshes
over time, streamlining progressive downloading from remote locations.
* DirectPlay(R) API is a high-level tool for creating multiplayer online
games for the Internet, intranets, LANs or modem links. DirectPlay provides a
standardized way for applications to communicate with each other, insulating
developers and applications from differing connectivity protocols and other
aspects of the underlying online infrastructure. DirectPlay simplifies game
management for online game service providers and makes it easy for game
players to locate partners and connect to multiplayer game sessions.
"Microsoft DirectX Media 5.1 advances the multimedia developer community
for Windows in two ways," said Eric Engstrom, general manager, DirectX Media
at Microsoft. "First, it delivers a high-performance SDK for creating dynamic
applications, tools and content. Second, it provides end users with optimal
performance of those applications and content, through the incorporation of
DirectX 5.1 run times in Internet Explorer 4.0 and upcoming releases of
Windows. This advance is significant because it means that developers don't
have to spend valuable design time building their own run times, and end users
don't have to download viewers just to display Web content. That's a huge
benefit for Internet developers, and it goes a long way toward making the
Internet a more enjoyable, user-friendly experience for end users."
Tight Integration With Low-Level DirectX Foundation Functionality
DirectX Media 5.1 services are accelerated in hardware and software by
DirectX Foundation APIs, which provide low-level, device-independent access to
video cards, sound cards and 3-D accelerators. Because DirectX Media and
DirectX Foundation are integrated internally, this acceleration of
higher-level services is automatic and requires no low-level programming by
the developer. As a result, developers can access full DirectX functionality
regardless of their programming skill level.
The DirectX Media 5.1 SDK frees developers from the system-level work and
enables them to focus on easier-to-use tools for a broader range of authoring
talent, including "prosumers" and consumers. With the launch of
DirectAnimation, the multi-industry adoption of DirectShow and run-time
support included in Internet Explorer software and future Windows 98 and
Windows NT 5.0 platforms, Microsoft puts a new era of multimedia technology
leadership and innovation into the hands of its developers.
Availability
The DirectX 5.1 SDK is available now on CD-ROM or at Microsoft's Web site
microsoft.com.
Founded in 1975, Microsoft is the worldwide leader in software for
personal computers. The company offers a wide range of products and services
for business and personal use, each designed with the mission of making it
easier and more enjoyable for people to take advantage of the full power of
personal computing every day.
NOTE: Microsoft, DirectX, Windows, Windows NT, DirectShow,
DirectAnimation, Visual Basic, JScript, Visual C++, ActiveX, Direct 3D and
DirectPlay are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corp.
in the United States and/or other countries. Other product and company names
herein may be trademarks of their respective owners.
SOURCE Microsoft Corp.
/NOTE TO EDITORS: If you are interested in viewing additional information
on Microsoft, check out the Microsoft Web page at
microsoft.com on Microsoft's corporate information pages./
/CONTACT: press only, Olivia Riley, of MacKenzie Kesselring,
503-225-0725, oliviar@mkinc.com, for Microsoft/
/Web site: microsoft.com
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