May 2, 2007 at 9:35 am · Filed under Video
WOW. I was very, very surprised by how high the quality of streamed video is that I’m seeing in Silverlight. I downloaded the latest plug-in (the 1.0, not the 1.1 Alpha) and navigated over to the FOX Video Browser example. The video quality is unbelievable. Go to the demo, install the plug-in (if you need to), start a video, and then double click in the video to go full-screen. It’s impressive.
I’ve also been using Joost for several weeks now, and have been giving the quality the benefit of the doubt because I felt it was reasonable that quality be constrained by bandwidth and codec limitations. Well, the Silverlight streaming example utilizing Microsoft’s codec is far better at this point.
Full disclosure: I am having a problem with the plug-in and Safari (I’m viewing the samples in Firefox). I’m not sure what the issue is and am going to see if anyone here from Microsoft can provide some advice.
Tags: Firefox, Joost, Microsoft, MIX Conference, Safari, Silverlight, Streaming Video, VideoShare This
April 16, 2007 at 11:19 am · Filed under RIA, Video, User Interface, User Experience
Microsoft announced the public release name for the technology/plug-in previously known by its code name “WPF/e” (Windows Presentation Foundation Everywhere) today as “Silverlight.” Although Microsoft has preferred that the technology not be compared with Adobe’s (formerly Macromedia) ubiquitous Flash plug-in, it’s hard not to make the comparison. Both plug-ins leverage vector based graphics and scripting languages to allow the delivery of richer-than-HTML multimedia experiences, and both have a focus on the delivery of video content.
I worked at Microsoft last year for a few months prior to returning to my post at Terralever. While there, I participated in a program in which Microsoft brought in multimedia designers to put Silverlight through its paces. They were working on a version of the plug-in that was still in development and were working without documentation. Even with those limitations, the resulting demos did show promise in the hands of the highly qualified multimedia designers.
But, who would consider Silverlight over Flash? Here’s some thoughts on Silverlight:
- For designer-developers who are more fluent in JavaScript (or AJAX) Silverlight may be easier to transition to than Flash
- For RIA’s (Rich Internet Applications) that involve communication between an HTML page and multimedia content housed within it, Silverlight may prove to be a more seamless solution as the Silverlight object is a part of the DOM
- This is a v1 product for Microsoft, who usually starts firing on all cylinders around v3, and, Microsoft seem serious about its movement into this space
- Video is the hot topic on the web right now. Flash is currently able to stream a maximum of 576 lines (per Ars Technica) whereas video encoded with Microsoft’s VC-1 codec can be streamed at 720 lines. Silverlight also handles scaling video while it is being viewed beautifully.
Silverlight’s biggest hurdle? Gaining the mind share of multimedia designers—and doing so with a PC-only development ecosystem (Microsoft Expression).
The cross-browser plug-in is currently available for both Internet Explorer and Firefox on the PC as well as Safari and Firefox on the Macintosh.
Tags: Adobe, AJAX, Expression Suite, Firefox, Flash, Internet Explorer, Macintosh, Microsoft, PC, RIA, Safari, Silverlight, Terralever, User Experience, User Interface, VC 1 codec, Video, WPFeShare This
