Microsoft makes the case for Corona
eMediaLive | at | by Mike
Being Microsoft means never having to take no for an answer. Despite the DVD Forum's reluctance to embrace the new Windows Media technology (dubbed "Corona"), the folks in Redmond still think their new package of codecs, players, and tools has a big part to play in the future of DVD.
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.