MICROSOFT OPENS MORE WINDOWS MEDIA PLAYERS

At the Streaming Media East convention today, Microsoft Windows Digital Media VP Will Poole will demonstrate the next version of the Windows Media Technologies digital media platform, code-named "Corona" for its smooth, refreshing taste.

Corona has features such as “Fast Stream,” which reportedly eliminates that annoying “buffering” for broadband users viewing or listening to streaming media. According to the company, Corona makes home-theatre-like audio and video quality possible for broadband users via two new professional-level audio and video codecs, including one that enables web-based delivery of 5.1 surround-sound. Hooray for streaming porn in surround sound!

Microsoft will also unveil the beta of a new streaming media engine, Windows Media Services in Windows .NET, which will employ Fast Stream. And if all that weren’t enough to wake you up without coffee, Windows will be announcing that within the next year 90% of DVD players will support Windows Media audio and video, meaning you can cram 22 hours worth of music on one CD.

Said Poole: "For streaming on the Web to reach its full potential, it needs to break through today's limitations and provide a true broadcast-quality experience for broadband users who expect instant results and outstanding video quality. Windows Media Corona will deliver on this promise, and in so doing create profitable and cost-saving opportunities for companies looking to develop and deliver Web-based digital media services. It was given a code-name in order to make it seem much less geeky. Did it work?”