Microsoft Corp. unveiled Microsoft® Silverlight™, a new cross-browser, cross-platform plug-in for delivering the next generation of media experiences and rich interactive applications (RIAs) for the Web. Early supporters of the new platform include AudioVideoweb.com LLC. Delivered to end users through a seamless, fast installation.
Silverlight offers consistent experiences to both Macintosh and Windows users on a variety of browsers including Internet Explorer®, Firefox and Safari.

Silverlight uses Windows Media Video (WMV), Microsoft’s implementation of the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE) VC-1 video standard, enabling immediate compatibility with the millions of hours of content already available on the Web, and adds support for interactive video experiences that scale from full-screen high-definition (HD) to mobile scenarios.

Compelling cross-platform user experiences:

• Deliver media experiences and rich interactive applications (RIA) for the Web that incorporate video, animation, interactivity, and stunning user interfaces.
  
  
• Seamless, fast installation for users, thanks to a small, on-demand, easy-to-install plug-in that is less than 2 megabyte (MB) and works with all leading browsers.
  
  
• Consistent experiences between Macintosh computers and Windows-based personal computers without any additional installation requirements.
  
  
• Create richer, more compelling Web experiences that take greater advantage of the client for increased performance.
  
  
• Stunning vector-based graphics, media, text, animation, and overlays enable seamless integration of graphics and effects into any existing Web application.
  
  
• Enhance existing standards/AJAX-based applications with richer graphics and media, and improve their performance and capabilities by using Silverlight.
  

Flexible programming model with collaborative tools:

• Based on the Microsoft .NET Framework, Silverlight enables developers and designers to easily use existing skills and tools to deliver media experiences and rich interactive applications (RIAs) for the Web.
  
  
• Simple integration with existing Web technologies and assets means Silverlight works with any back-end Web environment or technology. No “rip and replace” required. Silverlight integrates with your existing infrastructure and applications, including Apache, PHP, as well as JavaScript and XHTML on the client.
  
  
• Role-specific tools for both designers and developers that take advantage of Web standards and the breadth of Microsoft .NET–connected software features.
  
  For designers: Microsoft Expression Studio for creating interactive user interfaces and media rich experiences, preparing media for encoding and distribution, and creating World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) standards-compliant sites that use XHTML, XML, XSLT, CSS, and ASP.NET.
  
  For developers: Microsoft Visual Studio for developing client and server code with full Microsoft IntelliSense, powerful debugging, rich language support, and more.
  
  
• Consistent presentation model by using XAML, the declarative presentation language used in Windows Vista–based applications. Controls, visual designs, media, and other elements can be presented with full design fidelity in both Silverlight and Windows-based applications.
  
  
• Dramatically improved performance for AJAX-enabled Web sites with the power, performance, and flexibility of Silverlight and Microsoft .NET–connected software.
  

Efficient, lower cost of delivery, and more capable media solution:

• Unified media format that scales from high density (HD) to mobile with Windows Media Video (WMV), the Microsoft implementation of the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE) VC-1 video standard, as well as support for Windows Media Audio (WMA) and MP3 audio.
  
  
• Add vector-based graphics and overlays to media with support for integration of graphics that scale to any size and broadcast-style overlays for tickers and closed captioning.
  
  
• Flexible ad-insertion solutions with video and animation, including the ability to deliver fluid, broadcast-style video or animated advertisements without loss of visual fidelity or motion quality.
  
  
• Lower-cost media streaming with Emmy Award–winning Windows Media technologies that can lower the cost of streaming delivery by up to 46% and enjoy the flexibility to work with your existing Windows Media streaming deployments. Even further cost reductions are possible with the upcoming Microsoft Internet Information Services (IIS) Media Pack for Windows Server Code Name “Longhorn.”
  
  
• Broad ecosystem of media tools, servers, and solutions compatible with the Windows Media operating system.
  
  
• Microsoft PlayReady content-access technology delivers a single solution for digital rights management support on both Windows-based computers and Macintosh computers for content providers (coming in Fall 2007).
  
  
• Powerful encoding tools for live and on-demand publishing of media experiences with Microsoft Expression Media Encoder, including hardware-accelerated encoding of WMV and VC-1 at up to 15 times the performance of software alone when paired with a Tarari Encoder Accelerator board.
  

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