Microsoft latest entertainment technology named Corona has not been embraced by the DVD forum, but nevertheless Microsoft thinks the technology could play a big part in the future of the DVD.
Corona, which is a set of tools and codecs can be called the follow up of Windows Media and is more efficient then MPEG-2, the standard currently used on DVDs.
Corona's biggest bragging point is the efficiency of its video codec, which promises to deliver high-definition video compression (up to 720 lines per inch) at 1/2 to 1/3 the bandwidth required by MPEG-2, according to Michael Aldridge, lead product manager of Microsoft's Windows Digital Media Division. Though it's content-dependent (video with more action requires more bandwidth), Aldridge said it can deliver the DVD-standard 480 lines per inch (lpi) with ease, meaning that in hard storage (rather than streaming) applications, Corona would let DVD manufacturers put more movies at 480lpi on a single DVD, or put higher-definition movies on standard consumer DVDs all without switching to blue-laser technology. |
Therein lies the rub. Earlier this year, the DVD Forum agreed to pursue a blue-laser standard and continue using MPEG-2. While the forum'”of which Microsoft is a member'”hasn't rejected Corona outright, it hasn't exactly embraced it, either. "We've been developing a DVD-related format using MPEG-2 and some public open technology," said DVD Forum secretariat Hideyuki Irie. "Our policy is to keep standardization as open as possible. Currently, we don't have interest in adopting a new format other than the MPEG standard."
Microsoft however claims that their format could benefit the home consumer because their format is backwards compatible and doesn't need upgraded hardware in order to play new encoded movies.
As Microsoft is the biggest player in the digital world it will probably find a way to penetrate the market with Corona, read more about the issue here
Source: Emedialive.com
