Today we announced plans to support Microsoft’s new cross-platform, cross-browser rich media client, Microsoft Silverlight. Formerly code named WPF/E, Silverlight lets you create rich media experiences that run in major browsers on Mac and Windows. It includes support for the VC-1 codec, which is an industry standard (STMPE) codec that plays WMV files. This means you can stream WMV 9 video directly into the browser in totally customized environments without needing to launch or embed the Windows Media Player. The final release of Siliverlight has not shipped yet, but there is a community preview available from Microsoft, which you can download to see how it works.
We are still deeply committed to Flash and Flash Video, and we plan to continue to offer strong support for Flash Video and the Flash platform at the same time that we add support for delivering VC-1 format video and Silverlight players. We have not announced when we will add the support for Sliverlight, but you should drop us a note if you are interested in being in the beta program.