Windows Media High Definition Video (WMV HD) is the marketing name for high definition videos encoded using

Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology corporation producing computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at the Microsoft Redmond campus located in Redmond, Washing ...

Windows Media Video Windows Media Video (WMV) is a series of video codecs and their corresponding video coding formats developed by Microsoft. It is part of the Windows Media framework. WMV consists of three distinct codecs: The original video compression technology ...

codecs A codec is a device or computer program that encodes or decodes a data stream or signal. ''Codec'' is a portmanteau of coder/decoder. In electronic communications, an endec is a device that acts as both an encoder and a decoder on a signal or da ...

. These low-complexity codecs make it possible to watch high definition movies in 1280×720 (

720p 720p (1280×720 px; also called HD ready, standard HD or just HD) is a progressive HDTV signal format with 720 horizontal lines/1280 columns and an aspect ratio (AR) of 16:9, normally known as widescreen HDTV (1.78:1). All major HDTV broadcast ...

) or 1920×1080 (

1080p 1080p (1920×1080 progressively displayed pixels; also known as Full HD or FHD, and BT.709) is a set of HDTV high-definition video modes characterized by 1,920 pixels displayed across the screen horizontally and 1,080 pixels down the screen vert ...

) resolutions on many modern personal computers running

Microsoft Windows XP Windows XP is a major release of Microsoft's Windows NT operating system. It was released to manufacturing on August 24, 2001, and later to retail on October 25, 2001. It is a direct upgrade to its predecessors, Windows 2000 for high-end and ...

Windows Vista Windows Vista is a major release of the Windows NT operating system developed by Microsoft. It was the direct successor to Windows XP, which was released five years before, at the time being the longest time span between successive releases of ...

, although the hardware requirements are steep. Microsoft's

Xbox 360 The Xbox 360 is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. As the successor to the original Xbox, it is the second console in the Xbox series. It competed with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation ...

and Sony's

PlayStation 3 The PlayStation 3 (PS3) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment. The successor to the PlayStation 2, it is part of the PlayStation brand of consoles. It was first released on Novemb ...

video game consoles can also play WMV HD. WMV HD isn't 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 SMPTE 421, informally known as VC-1, is a video coding format. Most of it was initially developed as Microsoft's proprietary video format Windows Media Video 9 in 2003. With some enhancements including the development of a new Advanced Profile, ...

compliant Windows Media Video 9 (

FourCC A FourCC ("four-character code") is a sequence of four bytes (typically ASCII) used to uniquely identify data formats. It originated from the OSType or ResType metadata system used in classic Mac OS and was adopted for the Amiga/Electronic Arts I ...

: 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 HD DVD (short for High Definition Digital Versatile Disc) is an obsolete high-density optical disc format for storing data and playback of high-definition video. Supported principally by Toshiba, HD DVD was envisioned to be the successor to th ...

and

Blu-ray Disc The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a Digital media, digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and c ...

) 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 Windows Media DRM or WMDRM, is a Digital Rights Management service for the Windows Media platform. It is designed to provide delivery of audio or video content over an IP network to a PC or other playback device in such a way that the distributor ca ...

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 Windows Media Audio (WMA) is a series of audio codecs and their corresponding audio coding formats developed by Microsoft. It is a proprietary technology that forms part of the Windows Media framework. WMA consists of four distinct codecs. The or ...

Professional codec, often featuring 5.1 or 7.1 multichannel sound. The video and audio streams are encapsulated in

Advanced Systems Format Advanced Systems Format (formerly Advanced Streaming Format, Active Streaming Format) is Microsoft's proprietary digital audio/ digital video container format, especially meant for streaming media. ASF is part of the Media Foundation framewor ...

files.

Compatibility

WMV HD has been touted for its ease of use, since functionality to convert to WMV HD has been built into Windows Movie Maker, it has allowed people to convert their home videos to WMV HD as well as commercial releases they may have received. The file system will work on a PC with the settings listed above, as well as an

, at

1080i 1080i (also known as Full HD or BT.709) is a combination of frame resolution and scan type. 1080i is used in high-definition television (HDTV) and high-definition video. The number "1080" refers to the number of horizontal lines on the screen. ...

The future

With the advent of

as the optical HD-media format of choice, WMV HD is considered obsolete in its optical disc form.

Encoders

Windows Media Video HD can be encoded with a variety of programs such as

Windows Media Encoder Windows Media Encoder (WME) is a discontinued, freeware media encoder developed by Microsoft which enables content developers to convert or capture both live and prerecorded audio, video, and computer screen images to Windows Media formats for li ...

Windows Movie Maker Windows Movie Maker (known as Windows Live Movie Maker for the 2009 and 2011 releases) is a discontinued video editing software program by Microsoft. It was first included in Windows Me on September 14, 2000 and in Windows XP on October 25, 2001 ...

, and

Microsoft Expression Encoder Microsoft Expression Encoder (formerly Expression Media Encoder) is a transcoding and non-linear video editing software application for Microsoft Windows. It can create video streams for distribution via Microsoft Silverlight. This utility is cre ...

. When encoding, it has been recommended by these programs that you use the original file for best results, at times re-encoding an already coded movie can lead to sub par results.

Movies on WMV HD DVD-ROM

* '' Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room'' * '' One Last Thing...'' * ''

Standing in the Shadows of Motown ''Standing in the Shadows of Motown'' is a 2002 American documentary film directed by Paul Justman that recounts the story of The Funk Brothers, the uncredited and largely unheralded studio musicians who were the house band that Berry Gordy hand-pi ...

'' * '' Step Into Liquid'' (bonus disc) * ''

Speed_(1984_film) ''Speed'' is a 1984 documentary written and directed by Greg MacGillivray of MacGillivray Freeman Films which chronicles the development of human technology as part of our desire to go faster than before. It was originally produced for Six Fl ...

'' (bonus disc) * ''Terminator 2: Judgment Day'' - Extreme Edition (disc 2; theatrical version) * '' Total Recall'' (released in

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

and

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

* '' The War Within (film), The War Within'' * ''

Pirates Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and other valuable goods. Those who conduct acts of piracy are called pirates, v ...

'' (third disc) * '' Immortal ad Vitam'' (3-disc edition) * ''

Deep Red ''Deep Red'' ( it, Profondo rosso), also known as ''The Hatchet Murders'', is a 1975 Italian Thriller film, thriller- giallo film directed by Dario Argento and co-written by Argento and Bernardino Zapponi. It stars David Hemmings as a musician wh ...

'' (Italian Medusa 2-disc edition) *
Muffin Man HD Edition
' (2-disc edition) and more

Compatibility

The future

Encoders

Movies on WMV HD DVD-ROM

See also