WMA2 and WMV3 instead of WMV9 and WMA 9.1

[tominator]

I encode my movies in WMV9 and WMA 9.1, why does Media Info tell me it's WMV3 and WMA2?

[foxyshadis]

WM7 = WMV1
WM8 = WMV2
WM9 = WMV3 (among others)

They just chose to use a different fourcc versioning than they used for the package.

[Sirber]

same thing for RealVideo:

? = rv10
g8 = rv20
rv8 = rv30
rv9/10 = rv40

[tominator]

WM7 = WMV1
WM8 = WMV2
WM9 = WMV3 (among others)

They just chose to use a different fourcc versioning than they used for the package.

So WMV3 is the codec and WMV9 is the package? Correct?

What exactly is a package when talking in these terms?

[Sirber]

So WMV3 is the codec and WMV9 is the package? Correct?

What exactly is a package when talking in these terms?

WMV3 = FOURCC (4 char codec name that goes in the container)
WM9 = Codec name, Marketing name, etc

[zambelli]

Good question. Microsoft's versioning history for Windows Media is rather interesting, actually. Windows Media was started as a project of a different name, and as the product evolved and changed names, the versioning was never reset.

In the mid-1990s local playback and streaming playback were considered somewhat separate technologies. Microsoft had just developed DirectShow (aka Quartz, aka ActiveMovie) for local playback in Windows. The original product based on the new ASF format targeted at web streaming was called NetShow. The first versions included codecs such as MS MPEG-4, MP3, ACELP and Voxware. I forget how many versions of NetShow player, server and encoding tools were developed, but I think the last one might've been v3.0. Even though future products were released under a new naming scheme - Windows Media - the versions kept going forward. My memory is a bit hazy about the v4 and v5 of the product series, although I do remember WM Tools 4.1, which were the predecessor to Windows Media Encoder. Microsoft's first audio codecs, MSN Audio and WMA v1, were released around this time. Anyway, it was really in WMP 6.x that ASF and DShow technologies were united into a single player. WMP7 introduced a brand new WM Format SDK and Microsoft's first WM video codec - the marketing name was WMV v7 because of the player/SDK version, but the 4cc code was WMV1. And so 4cc WMV2 ended up being WMV v8, and 4cc WMV3 ended up being WMV v9 - to match the player/SDK versions. WM Audio had advanced up to WMA v2 (tag: 353), and although the codec spec remained the same - the marketing name changed anyway. WMA7, WMA8 and WMA9 were the same WMA v2 codec. v9 Series also introduced WMA Pro (tag: 354) and Lossless (tag: 355).

You'd think we'd just keep the codec and player/SDK versions in sync from that point on, but noooo... WMP10 had WMF SDK 9.5, which in turn had WMA 9.1. Go figure.

Confusing? You betcha. :) It's what happens when development and marketing collide.

[bond]

WMA9 = WMA2 = Divx Audio

(yeah, that format that never made it in the ripping world, because mp3 was much better)

[Sirber]

DivX Audio was at 64kbps, while MP3 was at 128kbps.
It been in the ripping world at the begining along with DIVX3.

Then I guess, video codec got better and MP3 started to be popular.

[zambelli]

WMA9 = WMA2 = Divx Audio
(yeah, that format that never made it in the ripping world, because mp3 was much better)
Actually, I think DivX ;-) Audio was WMA1. That's why some old DivX rips still trigger codec downloads in WMP.

[foxyshadis]

It also most definitely wasn't WMA9, it came along even before WMP7 existed. It was just a hack of the WMA v1 asf audio codec that went along with the hacked MP43 asf video codec.

I remember it being pretty popular in music videos and shorts, because it sounded less terrible at sub-128 bitrates than mp3 encoders at the time, even fhg, until lame, big hard drives, broadband started getting traction. And you could pick anything from 5 kbps (:D) to 500 or so.

[BlindWanderer]

zambelli you making me remember the good old days...

The tech was changing so fast (by MS standards) that it was possible to screw up your system (audio/video would stop working) if you mistakenly installed the older codecs & controls.

I distinctly remember ActiveMovie 1.0; which was replaced at some point by mplayer2. NetShow was for a long while getting kicked around at MSR. Setting codec priorities back then was a pain.

Microsoft is finally getting around to upgrading the a/v side of windows (in vista); about time I say. Now all they have left to do is Fonts (the import fonts dialog box hasn't changed since windows 3.0; 15 years ago).

On Topic:
Year, the naming can be a bit confusing. You get use to it.

[tchaikovsky]

Good question. Microsoft's versioning history for Windows Media is rather interesting, actually. Windows Media was started as a project of a different name, and as the product evolved and changed names, the versioning was never reset.

In the mid-1990s local playback and streaming playback were considered somewhat separate technologies. Microsoft had just developed DirectShow (aka Quartz, aka ActiveMovie) for local playback in Windows. The original product based on the new ASF format targeted at web streaming was called NetShow. The first versions included codecs such as MS MPEG-4, MP3, ACELP and Voxware. I forget how many versions of NetShow player, server and encoding tools were developed, but I think the last one might've been v3.0. Even though future products were released under a new naming scheme - Windows Media - the versions kept going forward. My memory is a bit hazy about the v4 and v5 of the product series, although I do remember WM Tools 4.1, which were the predecessor to Windows Media Encoder. Microsoft's first audio codecs, MSN Audio and WMA v1, were released around this time. Anyway, it was really in WMP 6.x that ASF and DShow technologies were united into a single player. WMP7 introduced a brand new WM Format SDK and Microsoft's first WM video codec - the marketing name was WMV v7 because of the player/SDK version, but the 4cc code was WMV1. And so 4cc WMV2 ended up being WMV v8, and 4cc WMV3 ended up being WMV v9 - to match the player/SDK versions. WM Audio had advanced up to WMA v2 (tag: 353), and although the codec spec remained the same - the marketing name changed anyway. WMA7, WMA8 and WMA9 were the same WMA v2 codec. v9 Series also introduced WMA Pro (tag: 354) and Lossless (tag: 355).

You'd think we'd just keep the codec and player/SDK versions in sync from that point on, but noooo... WMP10 had WMF SDK 9.5, which in turn had WMA 9.1. Go figure.

Confusing? You betcha. :) It's what happens when development and marketing collide.

confusing =_=!