Anythink new on the horizon concerning Expression Encoder, e.g. Expression Encoder 5?

Question

Hello!

Should we begin to look forwared for something new, interesting and valuable, for instance in scope of Expression Encoder 5 (Expression Encoder 4 seems to have quite some age on it)?

Will the forthcoming version have (significant) more use of the GPU (so the TESLA server we're using will be able to really make Expression Encoder to fly)?

The best would obvioiusly be if encoding could be done real time from the source instead of forcing it to be a separate preparatory step.

Best regards,

Henrik Dahl

Answer 1

Hi Henrik: 

Agreed. It would be nice if we could get an update on the status of an Encoder 5 release. I recall that this was usually announced around now (at the defunct Microsoft Mix). I know that features are not usually discussed until a release (fine as that builds anticipation!), but perhaps we might be able to get a rough ETA from the Expression Team. 

Jeremy

www.unitecast.com

 

Answer 2

Hi Henrik. 

Very bad news. Not even a nibble :((

Is there still an Expression Team member around to address this question. Please prove me wrong! Is this forum dead? It doesn't look like anyone has visited the site from MS in a while except Eric , who indicated that he is not with Expression any more. I hear TAPS playing. 

Jeremy

www.unitecast.com

Answer 3

Hello!

Is there any news in this interesting field?

Best regards,

Henrik Dahl

Answer 4

I believe Expression is now and End-of-life product.

Answer 5

Hi Lou:

I'm not sure what the MS strategy is here but it would be really nice to know! This situation begs the question, what tool would you use if you want to webcast an event? Looks like Flash Media Encoder or something that uses that an HLS/DASH/H.264 engine is going to be about it. But, if that is the option then why not go with Linux/Wowza/Red5 etc. and save on Windows Server licensing. I'm now thinking back to the "good old days" when there was NBC Olympics and Silverlight; exciting times those were! The really sad thing is that Expression Encoder has great potential and so did Silverlight for that matter. As soon as there was a bump (i.e. it didn't make MS rich, couldn't dominate the marketplace, team too busy working on Windows 8, who knows) the road MS is abandons (or atleast appears to to abandon their developer community? That should be a lesson for everyone to stick to open source options. 

 If the decision is to give up on live streaming (with an SDK please) then this is catastrophically moronic move. Perhaps there is something in the works; JS+HTML would still be ok for the player, but if MS has no methodology to stream then I don't need them and they don't want me. How difficult can that be to implement. Man, I miss Windows Media Encoder!!!!!

Jeremy

LEAD - New Media Support
Ryerson Unversity.  

Answer 6

I think it’s very sad that EE is apparently being retired.

The SDK adds great value to the windows platform, and helps sells more Windows licences. (Even if it does not necessarily sell EE pro licences)

I did a quick search, and could not see if Windows 8 and the EE 4 SDK are supported together.  

Answer 7

Hi Eric:

I did test EE4  with Windows 8 beta and it worked perfectly (well my app with EE4 did, millage may vary!). How can EE4 be retired. I guess MS is getting out of the streaming business? Does this mean live smooth streaming is on life support as well? Way to go!

Jeremy

 

Answer 8

Addendum:

IMO the reason EE4 Pro sold poorly was the package was too damn expensive. I got told off  for saying that in the past, but it was clearly the case. $199 US/$280 Cdn for an encoder was simply more than the market was willing to bear. And who can blame them when FMLE is FREE!. The pricing made distributing SDK based apps impossible. Moreover, the price went from $89 to $300 overnight.  Info on device compatibility was very restricted (MS seemed to think device compatibility was a low priority - WRONG!). EE4 could never match the level of device support of Windows Media Encoder. Doomed from that start unfortunately.

Jeremy

Answer 9

Via Microsoft Download Notifications I've just noticed that IIS Transform Manager 1.1 (RTW) - 64-bit has become available for download: http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=29889. There's also a 32-bit edition available for those who prefer that.

I've also noticed that for Windows 8 there's Smooth Streaming Client SDK: http://visualstudiogallery.msdn.microsoft.com/04423d13-3b3e-4741-a01c-1ae29e84fea6?SRC=Home

I could imagine, that Windows Azure Media Services is rather the direction in which Microsoft is developing: http://weblogs.asp.net/scottgu/archive/2012/04/16/announcing-windows-azure-media-services.aspx

Best regards,

Henrik Dahl

Answer 10

Thanks Henrik, that's interesting: 

Does the introduction of Azure Media Service mean the end of the option of having a local streaming server option?  Also, is there any info on how the encoding process would be implemented. 

Jeremy

Answer 11

Hello!

It seems like http://www.microsoft.com/expression/ clarifies everything now.

Best regards,

Henrik Dahl

Answer 12

From what I can tell the retirement of Expression Encoder kills of its SDK.

So the ‘replacement’ as far as encoding video with Visual Studio is Windows Azure Media Services.

Azure does not look to support any live encoding or capturing at this time.

So the replacement whilst more cloud friendly is currently useless when it comes to developing application that use live device sources?

Answer 13

Hi Eric: 

Useless...Exactly. I'm not sure what Azure is going to bring to the table but it does not appear to have an SDK or live streaming (perhaps someone from MS can answer this). The really big issues IMO are: 

1) If Azure dosen't support live streaming then MS is essentially out of the streaming market. It's obvious that some form of H.264/DASH with HTML5 will be the way forward. So, why bother with ISML/ISMV, LSS or Azure for that matter.  In some respects Microsoft has made the platform decision much easier.  

2) The SDK allowed developers to address limitations inherent in Expression Encoder. I was able to integrate a solution based on the SDK that
went beyond what was possible in Expression Encoder. See for yourself (www.unitecast.com). There's no way that any single solution can address every need. I'm wondering how companies like MediaSite are reacting to the situation. I am going to re-engineer my app (it is possible using Wowza etc.) but WHY! Expression's SDK was very open to custom solutions. 

3) Expression enabled local recording (with or without Internet). I used this capability all the time. There's no way I can be 100% dependent on a NET connection. Too risky.

What really irks me is that Expression Encoder held great promise. It wasn't perfect but the weaknesses were addressable. I'm not sure who made the decision to kill off this product, but they have demonstrated that by lumping EE4 in with the other applications (that were pretty weak IMO) that MS has no forward momentum in the webcasting marketplace. Someone at MS really should look at the REAL cost of this decision (i.e. how it impact server sales, developer trust etc. etc.)

Jeremy