NetShow was Microsoft's original framework for Internet network broadcasting, intended to compete with

RealNetworks RealNetworks, Inc. is a provider of artificial intelligence and computer vision based products. RealNetworks was a pioneer in Internet streaming software and services. They are based in Seattle, Washington, United States. The company also pr ...

RealMedia RealMedia is a proprietary multimedia container format created by RealNetworks with the filename extension . RealMedia is generally used in conjunction with RealVideo and RealAudio, while also being used for streaming content over the Internet. ...

& Vivo (''acquired in 1998 by RealNetworks''). It was later renamed and marketed under the

Windows Media Windows Media is a discontinued multimedia framework for media creation and distribution for Microsoft Windows. It consists of a software development kit (SDK) with several application programming interfaces (API) and a number of prebuilt techn ...

umbrella. NetShow 1.0 came out in 1996. A newer version, 2.0, was included in

Windows NT 4.0 Windows NT 4.0 is a major release of the Windows NT operating system developed by Microsoft and oriented towards businesses. It is the direct successor to Windows NT 3.51, which was released to manufacturing on July 31, 1996, and then to retail ...

SP3 in 1997. Version 3.0 came out mid-1998. The whole product line was renamed ''Windows Media'' in October, 1999, four months before

Windows 2000 Windows 2000 is a major release of the Windows NT operating system developed by Microsoft and oriented towards businesses. It was the direct successor to Windows NT 4.0, and was released to manufacturing on December 15, 1999, and was offici ...

appeared. The NetShow name is still carried on in the

user-agent In computing, a user agent is any software, acting on behalf of a user, which "retrieves, renders and facilitates end-user interaction with Web content". A user agent is therefore a special kind of software agent. Some prominent examples of us ...

string in current versions of

Windows Media Player Windows Media Player (WMP) is the first media player and media library application that was developed by Microsoft for playing audio, video and viewing images on personal computers running the Microsoft Windows operating system, as well as ...

, which reports as "NSPlayer".

Components

NetShow Player 2.0 running in Windows XP *NetShow Player (version 2.0 was included with

Internet Explorer 4 Microsoft Internet Explorer 4 (IE4) is a graphical web browser that Microsoft unveiled in Spring of 1997, and released in September 1997, primarily for Microsoft Windows, but also with versions available for the classic Mac OS, Solaris, and H ...

March 10 1997, now incorporated into

) *NetShow Services (renamed

Windows Media Services __NOTOC__ Windows Media Services (WMS) is streaming media server software from Microsoft that allows a Windows Server administrator to generate streaming media (audio/video). Only Windows Media, JPEG, and MP3 formats are supported. WMS is the s ...

) It was eventually incorporated into the media server functionality of Microsoft Internet Information Services (IIS). Netshow server and encoder functionality was also integrated into PowerPoint as part of the Online Broadcast functionality in Microsoft Office 2000. * NetShow Encoder (renamed

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 ...

) * NetShow Real-Time Encoder * ASF Editor * NetShow Presenter * VIDTOASF * WAVTOASF * ASFCHOP tp://ftp.microsoft.com/services/technet/samples/ps/win98/Reskit/APPS/NETSHOW/download.htm Microsoft Net Show 2.0 FTP Archive/ref> * NetShow Channel (renamed

Windows Media Station 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 framework. ...

) * NetShow Server (also known as Theater Server): A high bitrate, full frame, on-demand streaming media solution for closed-circuit networks (such as airplanes or hotels).

Related technologies

*Active Streaming Format (ASF) (later renamed ''Advanced Streaming Format'', then to ''

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 framework. ...

'') *

Microsoft Media Server Microsoft Media Server (MMS), a Microsoft proprietary network-streaming protocol, serves to transfer unicast data in Windows Media Services (previously called NetShow Services). MMS can be transported via UDP or TCP. The MMS default port is UDP ...

(MMS)

References

Internet Explorer Microsoft Windows multimedia technology Windows communication and services {{microsoft-software-stub