Microsoft, Panasonic extend spec to DVDs
C|Net | at | by Mike
Microsoft and Panasonic announced on Wednesday that their media access technology known as HighMAT will soon work with DVDs. The companies said they would extend support in their High-performance Media Access Technology (HighMAT) specification to DVD-RAM and other major recordable DVD formats by the end of the year. Currently, the technology, which is included in Windows Media Player 9 and Windows Movie Maker 2 for XP, only supports CDs.
HighMAT, developed jointly by Microsoft and Panasonic, is designed to let consumers easily sort through photos, songs and other digital files contained on a disc, whether they're using a PC or a consumer-electronics gadget such as a CD or DVD player. At the moment, consumer-electronics devices use a variety of different methods to read digital material that's been created using a PC, meaning they can botch music playlists or fail to capture certain features included on a DVD.