!Windows Media Codecs. Microsoft has developed a number of codecs, including:

!WMV7 and WMV8, which are early versions of the Microsoft video codec.

!WMV9, which is the current version of the Microsoft video codec.

!VC-1, which is the Advanced Profile of the WMV9 codec, and which is needed for support by both Blu-ray and HD-DVD players.

!WMA (Windows Media Audio), including WMA Pro, which is a multichannel audio codec.

!Dolby Digital. Also known as AC3, Dolby Digital forms the basis of multichannel audio coding in HDTV and DVD movies.

!DivX, Xvid. Popular video codecs based on the MPEG-4, part 2, video standard. DivX includes video codecs rev. 3, 4, 5, and 6.

Popular file containers

!AVI is a popular Audio/Video file format in PC systems. It supports multiple audio and video codecs, including DV, DivX, and MPEG-1/2/4.

!MP4 file format is based on the Apple QuickTime file format, but is part of the MPEG-4 standard (MPEG-4, part 14). MP4 files use the .mp4 extension and support a variety of codecs, including the AAC and MPEG-4 (part 2 or

part 10) codecs.

!WMV (Windows Media Video) or ASF (Advanced Streaming Format) are also popular Microsoft media file containers. They support mostly Microsoft-based codecs such as WMV7/8/9, WMA, and VC-1.

!DVR-MSis a Microsoft file container for storing broadcast TV programming that is recorded by Media Center PCs.

!DivX is a file container developed by the DivX Corporation. It supports the DivX video codecs (versions 3.0 to 6) that are based on the MPEG-4, part 2, video codec, and a variety of audio codecs, including MP2, MP3, Dolby Digital, and raw LPCM data. The divX file format can also support metadata, subtitle tracks, and DRM.

!QuickTime (.mov or .qt) is a file container developed by Apple. It provided the basis for the MP4 file format that is currently used by iTunes and other media service providers.

!MPG (.mpg) is the simplest possible file container for an MPEG video with associated audio. It usually supports MPEG-2 video (MP@ML or MP@HL) and MPEG-2, Layer II, or Dolby Digital audio.

!VOB (Video Object) (.vob) files are used in DVDs. They include audio, video, menu, and subtitle information. In most cases, renaming a

.vob file to an .mpg file is all that is needed to play the file by an MPEG-compliant decoder (without the menu or subtitle information, however).

Supported media

Your MediaSmart HDTV does not support all possible codecs. The table that follows provides details on the codecs and file containers that the MediaSmart HDTV supports.

!

This device supports the codec file formats listed herein, however HP cannot guarantee full compatibility or proper playback with all such codec files due to modifications and/or other variation that may occur with the end-user’s endcoded codec files.

The UPnP-compliant program you use to stream media to your TV can limit the files that you can stream. Windows Media Player 11 does not show media files that it does not support or that it does not recognize such as iTunes audio files in MP4 (AAC) format, photos in Bitmap format (.bmp) or Graphics Interchange Format (.gif).

For example, your MediaSmart HDTV supports the playback of .mp4 files, but Windows Media Player 11 may not. If you do not see your .mp4 files in the Windows Media Player Library, you may need to install the MediaSmart software from the Installation CD; see “Setting up the TV home network” on

page 27.

Specifications

Specifications 113