By Terence Keegan
Microsoft’s forthcoming Windows 8 operating system will not feature built-in support for DVD playback, the company has revealed, in a decision that signals the increasing dominance of streaming and downloadable media formats in the home entertainment marketplace.
Windows 8 users who wish to play DVDs (or Blu-ray discs) on their PCs will have to purchase separate software from Microsoft or a third party. But the company contends that relatively few users will require such features.
The market shift from discs to digital formats has rendered the licensing costs of DVD decoding technology unjustifiable, Microsoft said in a corporate blog post Thursday. “Globally, DVD sales have declined significantly year over year and Blu-ray on PCs is losing momentum as well,” the company stated. Yet royalties for including optical media decoding technology in the Windows operating system have remained “significant.”
“Our partners have shared clear concerns over the costs associated with codec licensing for traditional media playback,” Microsoft said, “especially as Windows 8 enables an unprecedented variety of form factors.”....
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