More Windows Media idiocy

shalmanesershalmaneser
Posted:
in Genius Bar edited January 2014
It's been a while since I've felt this naive.



I've just given myself a crash course in the history of the wmv3 codec on the Mac, and if I'm right, it means that Windows Media Player 9 for OS X... does not play back files encoded in Windows Media 9 Video.



Its own, modern, proprietary format.



It is therefore an ultra-up-to-date tool for playing a handful of obsolete proprietary formats. If I pay for content that happens to use Windows Media, I can't play it back using Microsoft's own tools.



MPlayer doesn't do it. VLC doesn't do it. If VLC doesn't do it, nothing can do it.



If I am right, then I'm just stunned afresh by the sheer, awesome stench of this bog-stain of a development history.



Can anyone shed some light on this?

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 10
    lucaluca Posts: 3,833member
    No, WMP 9 for Mac will certainly play back WMP 9 files. You might be confused because for a very long time, the Mac version stayed at version 7, and it was unable to play WMP 9 files. But WMP for Mac was updated a few months ago, and it can play WMP 9 format.
  • Reply 2 of 10
    shalmanesershalmaneser Posts: 44member
    Hi Luca. That isn't the problem - I was watching development of Windows Media and I did download the 9.0 version as soon as it became available (primarily to see if it would play back HD content).



    However, upon loading some files that are clearly .wmv in nature, the error "This file may not play back properly because it was compressed using a codec that was not supported" appears.



    Running them in VLC shows them to have the fourCC "WMV3" characteristic and that the video track has indeed been created in "Windows Media 9". Videolan has already stated that they don't support this particular encoding and are waiting for the FFmpeg team to try and help them out on it.



    Oddly enough other files with WMV3 encoding do appear to play, making this even more obtuse. Basically, it just looks like Windows will not support some of its own proprietary formats on its own, proprietary player. Just... a Spaceballs level of farce!
  • Reply 3 of 10
    chychchych Posts: 860member
    I'm pretty sure WMP9 on the Mac can't play some encodings of WMV9, it isn't as full featured as it should be.
  • Reply 4 of 10
    costiquecostique Posts: 1,084member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by chych

    I'm pretty sure WMP9 on the Mac can't play some encodings of WMV9, it isn't as full featured as it should be.



    Microsoft is, as usual, good at making one-legged software for one-armed hardware.
  • Reply 5 of 10
    shalmanesershalmaneser Posts: 44member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by costique

    Microsoft is, as usual, good at making one-legged software for one-armed hardware.



    Heheheheh. Mind if I spread that meme around a bit?
  • Reply 6 of 10
    costiquecostique Posts: 1,084member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Shalmaneser

    Heheheheh. Mind if I spread that meme around a bit?



    You're welcome, no credit needed. See how generous I am?
  • Reply 7 of 10
    tokentoken Posts: 142member
    It really is a crippled version.



    Here in Denmark our national TV, a socalled 'public service' content-provider (http://www.dr.dk) recently chose to use the wimp9 format for its online news broadcasting. its a smart tech that sense what connection you have and on basis on that determine which quality to stream the signal in (40-240kb)- but, in a typically Microsoft-move, the mac version of WIMP is apparently only able to receive the 40kb stream



    I am pissed!
  • Reply 8 of 10
    dstranathandstranathan Posts: 1,717member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by costique

    Microsoft is, as usual, good at making one-legged software for one-armed hardware.



    Amen. Look at Outlook. Look at Entourage. Crippled. Neutered. Castrated.
  • Reply 9 of 10
    shalmanesershalmaneser Posts: 44member
    Mostly I think it's hilariously funny that the definition of the word "computer" in 99% of people's minds includes spyware, driver conflicts, blue screens, a daily virus and a five second wait between click and response.



    Times like these, however, are when I think to myself that life under Microsoft is only marginally less evil than living under apartheid.



    I'd almost be an advocate of industrial sabotage to make sure their codecs get nowhere near the implementation of HD-DVD.



    (Costique, you da man.)
  • Reply 10 of 10
    karl kuehnkarl kuehn Posts: 756member
    WMP 9 for MacOS does play WMP 9 files, but it is missing a few codecs as opposed to it's Windows version. But the bigger problem you are probably running into is that it does not include any of the DRM that makes WM 9 worth using (for companies).



    There has been some rumor that this is being addressed, but I have not heard anything recently (last month).
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