WMV HD

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Windows Media Video High Definition (WMV HD) is the marketing name for high definition videos encoded using Microsoft Windows Media Video 9 codecs. These low-complexity codecs make it possible to watch high definition movies in 1280x720 (720p) or 1920x1080 (1080p) resolutions on many modern personal computers running Microsoft Windows XP, although the hardware requirements are steep.

WMV HD is not a standalone video codec nor a special modification of the WMV9 codec. As of April 2006, all existing WMV HD titles are encoded using the VC-1 compliant Windows Media Video 9 (FourCC: WMV3) codec conforming to VC-1 Main Profile @ High Level specification. It is possible that in the future Microsoft will take advantage of the new VC-1 Advanced Profile codec dubbed Windows Media Video Advanced Profile (FourCC: WVC1) to encode WMV HD videos.

A number of WMV9-encoded high definition movie titles have been made commercially available on DVD-ROM discs, either as standalone discs or supplements to the regular DVD-Video titles. The technology was considered a stepping stone to true high definition optical disc formats (HD DVD and Blu-ray Disc) and Microsoft never intended the discs to be played on anything but personal computers. Most commercially sold WMV HD titles are copy protected using Microsoft Windows Media DRM technology. The licensing terms of DRM protected titles are determined by the content providers and not Microsoft Corporation. The soundtracks are commonly encoded using the Windows Media Audio Professional codec, often featuring 5.1 or 7.1 multichannel sound. The video and audio streams are encapsulated in Advanced Systems Format files. The future of the WMV HD DVD-ROM format is unclear as HD DVD and Blu-ray technology becomes available.

1 System Requirements
- 1.1 Minimum Configuration
- 1.2 Recommended Configuration
2 WMV HD Demos
3 Movies on WMV HD DVD-ROM
4 External links

[edit] System Requirements

[edit] Minimum Configuration

To play 720/24p video with stereo sound:

Windows XP
Windows Media Player 9 Series
2.4 GHz processor or equivalent
384 MB of RAM
64 MB video card
1024 x 768 screen resolution (4:3 screen) or 1280 x 720 (16:9 screen)
16-bit sound card

[edit] Recommended Configuration

To play 1080/24p video with 5.1 surround sound

Windows XP
Windows Media Player 9
DirectX 9.0
3.0 GHz processor or equivalent
512 MB of RAM
128 MB video card
1920 x 1440 screen resolution (4:3 screen) or 1920 x 1080 (16:9 screen)
24-bit 96 kHz multichannel sound card
5.1 surround sound speaker system

[edit] WMV HD Demos

WMV HD Content Showcase A number of WMV encoded high-definition movie trailers are available for free download on Microsoft's website. DRM protected titles might require an Internet connection for license download and verification.
mariposaHD The first original HDTV show made for the Internet. You can download free 1080i and 720p videos, in WMV HD format, using the BitTorrent protocol.