Windows Media Technology
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Windows Media is a media technology by Microsoft.
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Overview
The basis of Windows Media Technology is the Windows Media Format that enables playback, streaming or storing of audio and video content. The format consists of a file container called ASF (Advanced Systems Format) and a number of audio & video codecs, such as Windows Media Video (WMV), Windows Media Audio (WMA) codecs or the ISO MPEG-4 video codec. Windows Media Encoder], [[[Windows Media Player]]] and Windows Media Video High Definition are also parts of the Windows Media technology.
Similarly to DirectShow, Microsoft provides an extensive SDK to work with the Windows Media Format. The capabilities of the Windows Media Format SDK and the DirectShow SDK, in some ways, overlap. However, depending on the goals and on the development environment, there are situations where one technology has to be preferred to the other.
