Reported on the Neowin site, more proof that Microsoft wants to lock out 3rd party items in Windows 7.
The latest beta of Windows 7 blocks the usage of third party video decoders from Windows Media Player and MCE. Albain, a DirectShow (ffdshow) developer explains in his own words what he encountered when he was testing the multimedia pipeline of Windows 7 in the latest build 7057.
“Microsoft has locked mpeg4 and h264 codecs into Media Foundation, the replacer of DirectShow (even if directshow is still supported).There is no way to override those codecs, even if you develop a Media Foundation version of your decoder, because Microsoft maintains a list of preferred codecs (their codecs) into the registry (HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT and HKLM MediaFoundationTransformsPreferred), and this registry key cannot be modified, even in admin mode. Only TrustedInstaller user can modify it, which is FYI the user that protects system files, and it cannot be used. Microsoft brought those new codecs, but blocked the possibility to use alternate codecs in their applications.”
Windows Media Center and Windows Media Player users might need to worry whether things would still be the same in Windows 7 RC or whether it might change, even though there are alternative players options.
The E7 team revealed last month that in addition to built in DivX support, Windows Media Player will also natively support the .mov files.
I’m guessing that Microsoft thinks this will avoid any problems with bad code in the media player, but to the public it looks as though Microsoft is locking out developers from making additions to the operating system.
Just now I wonder what the European Union will think of this, not to mention Apple, as apparently QuckTime codecs will no longer work. Perhaps Microsoft will announce that Windows Media Player will also be removable from Windows 7.
The boys in Redmond better get these things very right, or else people will be complaining up and own about the lack of usability. Many videos need a codec that, up until now, Microsoft has not supplied.
Perhaps Microsoft is trying to get out of the utility business, which is just as well, because they don’t do it very well. The media player is not the best, the disk defragmenter is poor, and the Windows Defender has been screwed up since the days of when Microsoft bought it from Giant Software, and usually only defends against things that are wanted.
Will this be the end of the third party tools for Windows? I’m certain that users will do more complaining about loss of compatibility than the manufacturers of those products.
I’m sure that hackers will get around the ‘Trusted Installer’ garbage, with tools to modify the registry while the operating system is not up.
§
•
I was walking down Fifth Avenue today and I found a wallet, and I was gonna keep it, rather than return it, but I thought: well, if I lost a hundred and fifty dollars, how would I feel? And I realized I would want to be taught a lesson.
– Emo Philips
