mubs said:
I had the same question about WMV, but I guess it's been answered in the recent thread in the Pub on HD movie files with CityK, Merc, et. al. pitching in, so I'll stay away.
I suspect some further clarity is needed here - and I'm not necessarily the person to provide that, but I'll give it a go:
WMV is a bit confusing. Essentially its a codec, and one that employs a high degree of compression.
From versions 7 up to, but not including, version 9, MS molded wmv from its own non-standardized (aka bastardized) version of Mpeg 4 ASP. In terms of quality, well, lets say there are a lot better choices in codecs out there that can be made. An argument might also be raised against its use simply on the grounds of MS, once again, breaking the ranks of standardization and serving up its own propreitary agenda. Still, by casual observation, it is evident that wmv gained a fairly wide acceptance for web based distribution of video material ... probably most notably by the porn industry.
As an aside, the ASF or AVI container formats are usually used for encoded wmv content. ASF file formats can use either the .asf file extention or .wmv , with the latter seeming to be the overwhelming favourite.
Version nine (WMV9), to my understanding, saw the wmv codec completely rewriten from scratch. Quality improvements are self evident (I find the WMV HD showcase clips very pleasing, albeit a little soft...but then again, I find the existing Mpeg2 soft too). MS also decided to create a standardized codec franework, now before SMPTE review as VC-1 ... in this respect, WMV9 is an implementation of VC-1 (although in reality the VC-1 codec arose from WMV9). Anyone can make an implementation of VC-1.
Both of the next gen DVD formats (HD-DVD and Blu-ray) have made VC-1 a mandatory codec ... Mpeg 4 AVC/H.264 codec has also gained this same mandatory stauts. So, in many respects, VC-1 can be seen as an alternative to AVC ... nonetheless, make no mistake, AVC is the superior format.
Now to address the DRM side of the issue:
Both WMV (whether were talking VC-1 or pre-version 9) and MP4 (whether ASP and AVC) have provision for DRM. So if WMV is evil simply because it may contain DRM, well, then we'll have to include MP4 in that category too.
As to the particular DRM issues referred to in that other thread, they relate strictly to achieving accelerated decoding of WMV9 material -- in order to do so, MS requires you to install a DRM patch first before installing their WMV9 accelerating patch ... I'm not certain if the acceleration patch applies only to playback in Windows Media Player (which is evil
) or if other direct show based media players would be able to make use of it as well. Anyways, one certainly need not apply this carrot and stick patchwork in order to watch WMV9 material.
In similar fashion, it is likely that the forthcoming AVC acceleration support from ATI and nVidia will likely require use of their software.
