Wednesday, November 14, 2007
WMV: You Are Dead To Me
Posted by Jason Dunn in "THOUGHT" @ 11:00 AM
I response to my post about the cruel world of video editing, Digital Media Thoughts reader BugDude10 asked me a question, and I thought my response might make for some good front page discussion on the subject.
"Jason: I think this is the second or third time you've mentioned .WMV being "abandoned" by Microsoft -- is this some formal development from MS, or is it just your interpretation that crappy support from MS means that they've given up on it? (It seems like the apps I use still have .WMV as an option, but they're not this year's versions, so I might be a bit behind the curve on this development.)"
Just looking at history. The 9 Series products came out in 2002 - that's five years ago. They haven't released anything new since then - the professional encoder doesn't really count because it's more focused on VC1 - and they've let for WMV format languish. Formats like DivX and Xvid have flourished, h.264 is now mainstream. There are all sorts of fantastic tools for encoding content to those formats - WMV encoding is always an afterthought. Sure, there are some dedicated tools for Pocket PCs created by Pocket PC developers, but look at all the mainstrem rippers out there: CloneDVD Mobile, Intervideo iVideoToGo, Nero Recode - most lack WMV encoding support, or if they have it, it's shoddy at best.
You wouldn't believe the lengths I've gone to over the years to encourage developers to add WMV support - and I've heard story after story about how hard it is to implement WMV support because the Windows Media Enoder is such a buggy piece of software. Where's the wicked easy drag and drop transcoding tool like Divx has?
Where are the useful profiles for modern devices (Zune, Windows Mobile 6 smartphones, etc.) in Windows Movie Maker to make it easier for us to output compliant WMV files? Why isn't there a way to specify a custom WMV export profile in Windows Movie Maker? I've tried creating custom profiles in Windows Media Encoder and exporting them, but it's an exercise in frustration every time. I've tried using my contacts at Microsoft to get some movement on this issue, but it's like a ghost town over there - their digital media devision has all but vanished as far as I can tell.
All the momentum is behind h.264 and Divx/Xvid. The devices, the software tools, the players, etc. WMV is an afterthought, and it's all because Microsoft stopped caring about the format. Even the programs that do come with WMV export support are using profiles from 2002.
This is a great article from last year that sums up my feelings nicely. Since the author wrote that in 2006, Microsoft has added h.264 support to the Xbox, and Divx is rumoured to be coming next. The Zune now supports h.264 and MPEG4 natively. The writing is on the wall: these teams know that WMV support isn't enough, because it's just too damn hard to get content, and find content, in WMV format.
WMV as a codec is solid. The support from Microsoft for it is not. I've given up on WMV.
"Jason: I think this is the second or third time you've mentioned .WMV being "abandoned" by Microsoft -- is this some formal development from MS, or is it just your interpretation that crappy support from MS means that they've given up on it? (It seems like the apps I use still have .WMV as an option, but they're not this year's versions, so I might be a bit behind the curve on this development.)"
Just looking at history. The 9 Series products came out in 2002 - that's five years ago. They haven't released anything new since then - the professional encoder doesn't really count because it's more focused on VC1 - and they've let for WMV format languish. Formats like DivX and Xvid have flourished, h.264 is now mainstream. There are all sorts of fantastic tools for encoding content to those formats - WMV encoding is always an afterthought. Sure, there are some dedicated tools for Pocket PCs created by Pocket PC developers, but look at all the mainstrem rippers out there: CloneDVD Mobile, Intervideo iVideoToGo, Nero Recode - most lack WMV encoding support, or if they have it, it's shoddy at best.
You wouldn't believe the lengths I've gone to over the years to encourage developers to add WMV support - and I've heard story after story about how hard it is to implement WMV support because the Windows Media Enoder is such a buggy piece of software. Where's the wicked easy drag and drop transcoding tool like Divx has?
Where are the useful profiles for modern devices (Zune, Windows Mobile 6 smartphones, etc.) in Windows Movie Maker to make it easier for us to output compliant WMV files? Why isn't there a way to specify a custom WMV export profile in Windows Movie Maker? I've tried creating custom profiles in Windows Media Encoder and exporting them, but it's an exercise in frustration every time. I've tried using my contacts at Microsoft to get some movement on this issue, but it's like a ghost town over there - their digital media devision has all but vanished as far as I can tell.
All the momentum is behind h.264 and Divx/Xvid. The devices, the software tools, the players, etc. WMV is an afterthought, and it's all because Microsoft stopped caring about the format. Even the programs that do come with WMV export support are using profiles from 2002.
This is a great article from last year that sums up my feelings nicely. Since the author wrote that in 2006, Microsoft has added h.264 support to the Xbox, and Divx is rumoured to be coming next. The Zune now supports h.264 and MPEG4 natively. The writing is on the wall: these teams know that WMV support isn't enough, because it's just too damn hard to get content, and find content, in WMV format.
WMV as a codec is solid. The support from Microsoft for it is not. I've given up on WMV.
