Microsoft Edge is the first web browser to support Dolby Digital Plus

[blu4]

Yea, but no choice. They need the 'e' icon. Else people won't buy Windows 10, as they'll think you can't go on the web.

It is sad but very true.

I am playing with edge web browner in win10, and I like it a lot. The moment add-on support will come (Microsoft said it won't make it in time, but an update will be released soon after), I am switching to it.

Why not SpartEn? :

 

1. Windows 10 is fugly.

2. I'm too lazy to do a clean install.

3. Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Windows 10 ain't fugly- I can't wait for it. The productivity side of it will come so much handy at my workplace and the tablet mode? Perfect for remoting into my computer.

[Guest Kloaked]

So they're going with the name Edge for sure?

SUNDAY SUNDAY SUNDAY

YOU PAID FOR THE WHOLE SEAT, BUT YOU'LL ONLY NEED THE EDGE

[yoseipt]

ie or the new edge is far away from the bad thing it used to be. i mean i still use chrome daily, due to the lack of addons but i can't play 4k content in my q9450 in chrome but i can with IE...so i guess they are putting effort in this project

[mr moose]

ie or the new edge is far away from the bad thing it used to be. i mean i still use chrome daily, due to the lack of addons but i can't play 4k content in my q9450 in chrome but i can with IE...so i guess they are putting effort in this project

 

I don;t think IE was ever as bad as people make out, but you know what happens when one or two popular people on the internet suggest something is bad or make a joke about people using a product.  All of a sudden that product gets a bad reputation and everyone is too scared to admit they don't have an issue.  I call it the Jar Jar Binks effect. Until comedians started making jokes about jar jar binks, he was a popular character.

[flibberdipper]

Why not SpartEn? :

 

Windows 10 ain't fugly- I can't wait for it. The productivity side of it will come so much handy at my workplace and the tablet mode? Perfect for remoting into my computer.

I think it is. Windows 8.1 was nice looking. 10 is just too... Bland.

 

Blame mobile devices for the ugly and supposedly modern look. Aero apparently saps battery life, but considering it puts no strain on a Quadro NVS 110M which is weaker than the GPU's most mobile devices have, I'm calling BS. I'm going to be seeing if its possible to get a Win 7 theme for Win 10 as soon as I can get one.

Considering I saw 5 minutes less battery with Aero on Windows 7, I can consider that well within a margin of error, since I never do the same thing for more than a few minutes on the web (unless we're talking YouTube).

[blu4]

 

I think it is. Windows 8.1 was nice looking. 10 is just too... Bland.

 

Considering I saw 5 minutes less battery with Aero on Windows 7, I can consider that well within a margin of error, since I never do the same thing for more than a few minutes on the web (unless we're talking YouTube).

 

We still don't know if they will allow fully custom themes- something like Rainmeter.

[yoseipt]

I don;t think IE was ever as bad as people make out, but you know what happens when one or two popular people on the internet suggest something is bad or make a joke about people using a product.  All of a sudden that product gets a bad reputation and everyone is too scared to admit they don't have an issue.  I call it the Jar Jar Binks effect. Until comedians started making jokes about jar jar binks, he was a popular character.

well back in the ie 6/ 7 / 8 days it was...only when they refreshed ie in windows 7 it became better, i like the windows 8.1 version as well...just missing my chrome addons....but whoever has a old cpu like me should try to run a 4k youtube video with chrome and then with IE and be amazed

[LAwLz]

Since when is dolby non standard?  it's been like the goto standard for Audio since before cassette tapes.

I should have been more specific. It's not part of the web standards (as defined by IETF, W3C or other standard bodies).

Edge currently lacks support for a lot of widely used open formats and I think they should focus on them instead of proprietary ones like Dolby Digital Plus.

 

I don't even get why DD+ is even used anymore since we got royalty free (and open) formats which is far superior in lots of ways.

[GoodBytes]

I don't even get why DD+ is even used anymore since we got royalty free (and open) formats which is far superior in lots of ways.

Do these open formats support DRM?

[LAwLz]

Do these open formats support DRM?

Good question. I don't really know how the DRM for things like video streaming is implemented but it seems weird that it would be added to the codecs (pretty sure H.264 does not have a special DRM feature in the specs). If I had to guess I'd guess that it's the container that handles the encryption, not each individual stream inside it. Just imagine how much less efficient the encoder would be if it tried to encode encrypted data.

[Victorious Secret]

Since when is dolby non standard?  it's been like the goto standard for Audio since before cassette tapes.

 

 

Yea, my "bullshit flag" went right now. You have two "standards" as it were. Dolby or DTS. Both are very competent, they are roughly similar and most high end (read: not shitty) HT equipment plays nice with both standards. 

 

I myself don't care, since the sound difference is negligible. I really am looking forward to upgrading to a ATMOS capable receiver.

 

Dolby is as much a standard for sound as you'll find. Not including it before seemed stupid, this is a step in the right path especially if you want to seriously push the idea that you can stream your media content. If Netflix could host a DTS-HD version of Interstellar, I would be thrilled. 

 

 

Do these open formats support DRM?

 

Don't think so. DTS and DD play into HDCP protection as well. I've straight up had my sound output not work because HDCP failed in a weird way and required a restart of everything. But thats beyond the point. DTS and DD are industry standards for audio in movies, thats a huge thing for streaming services to be able to offer. 

 

What about THX?

 

THX is simply a certification standard. So you will have either a DTS or DD sound stream, THX simply calibrates it. Think of it as the counterpart to calibrating your TV or monitor. They just do it for sound and vet that a theatre or theatre design is properly arranged to give you the best kind of sound. 

 

DTS and DD are just...codecs. For a lack of a better term. Different way of encoding audio streams. Theatres then decide what they want to offer. YOU may have seen some theatres now offering Dolby Atmos, which is yet another more advanced system for mixing sound (its now available in home equipment as well). 

In essence, Edge offering DD Plus is a very good thing. 7.1 channel support means Netflix and others can actually integrate in better audio streams (with proper validation) so you actually can use Netflix as a physical media replacement. Let me tell you, a 7.1 mix of a movie is a great thing (if you have the speakers for it) and its one of the reasons I stick with BluRays even today. Good looking pictures are only half the equation. You need just as competent a sound system to back up said visuals and aide in the immersions. 

[mr moose]

I don't even get why DD+ is even used anymore since we got royalty free (and open) formats which is far superior in lots of ways.

 

Multi channel cd quality digital streaming standard.  Most (if not all) movies are already coded in it, and going into the future that is not likely to change. It makes sense to add multichannel audio that is already heavily supported.  May I ask what royalty free audio codecs are superior and why?

[YellowDragon]

1. Windows 10 is fugly.

2. I'm too lazy to do a clean install.

3. Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Windows is damn good about doing an upgrade installation....just clean out your drivers

[flibberdipper]

Windows is damn good about doing an upgrade installation....just clean out your drivers

I HATE upgrade installs. They always break.

[MattGameDev]

Yea, but no choice. They need the 'e' icon. Else people won't buy Windows 10, as they'll think you can't go on the web.

It is sad but very true.

I am playing with edge web browner in win10, and I like it a lot. The moment add-on support will come (Microsoft said it won't make it in time, but an update will be released soon after), I am switching to it.

 

As a person who is working retail, i can honestly say this is the truest statement ever.

[LAwLz]

Multi channel cd quality digital streaming standard.  Most (if not all) movies are already coded in it, and going into the future that is not likely to change. It makes sense to add multichannel audio that is already heavily supported.  May I ask what royalty free audio codecs are superior and why?

Yeah but why continue supporting a costy standard when there are free alternatives that are better? Opus and Vorbis can be multichannel as well (up to 255 channels instead of the "puny" 15 DD+ supports).

 

I think Opus is better.

Greater sample rate support, bit rate can be variable, lower latency, supports more channels and it is completely free. Vorbis has pretty much the same benefits (minus the latency).

The one thing DD+ has over it is the maximum bit rate supported (Opus tops out at 510Kbps while DD+ goes up to 6144) but if you want that high bit rate you can use FLAC or ALAC (which also supports multichannel audio).

 

It seems like the MP3 situation all over again (although less severe). It's a terrible standard where the alternatives are far better but it just won't go away because nobody wants to break the mold (and people are ignorant).

 

 

Don't think so. DTS and DD play into HDCP protection as well. I've straight up had my sound output not work because HDCP failed in a weird way and required a restart of everything. But thats beyond the point. DTS and DD are industry standards for audio in movies, thats a huge thing for streaming services to be able to offer.

From my understanding, the codecs do not have to support for example HDCP to use it. I don't think AAC has built in support for HDCP either but it still works, because HDCP takes the non-encrypted media stream and puts encryption over it. So it should work regardless of the codecs used.

 

 

I am not trying to say we shouldn't have good audio for movie streaming. What I am saying is we have other alternatives which would enable that to happen.

[mr moose]

Yeah but why continue supporting a costy standard when there are free alternatives that are better? Opus and Vorbis can be multichannel as well (up to 255 channels instead of the "puny" 15 DD+ supports).

 

I think Opus is better.

Greater sample rate support, bit rate can be variable, lower latency, supports more channels and it is completely free. Vorbis has pretty much the same benefits (minus the latency).

The one thing DD+ has over it is the maximum bit rate supported (Opus tops out at 510Kbps while DD+ goes up to 6144) but if you want that high bit rate you can use FLAC or ALAC (which also supports multichannel audio).

 

It seems like the MP3 situation all over again (although less severe). It's a terrible standard where the alternatives are far better but it just won't go away because nobody wants to break the mold (and people are ignorant).

 

 

From my understanding, the codecs do not have to support for example HDCP to use it. I don't think AAC has built in support for HDCP either but it still works, because HDCP takes the non-encrypted media stream and puts encryption over it. So it should work regardless of the codecs used.

 

 

I am not trying to say we shouldn't have good audio for movie streaming. What I am saying is we have other alternatives which would enable that to happen.

 

I get what you are saying, but bit rates over 510 don't really add noticeable quality in my opinion,  so I wouldn't say DD has an advantage there. I think the DD advantage is that so much of what will be streamed is already encoded in DD and nearly all Movies in the near future will be encoded in it anyway. 

 

Also I don't think it costs to encode into DD,  The cost is in decoding hardware. Which nearly (if not all) pc's already have. so it shouldn't actually add any cost for the end user. 

[LAwLz]

I get what you are saying, but bit rates over 510 don't really add noticeable quality in my opinion,  so I wouldn't say DD has an advantage there. I think the DD advantage is that so much of what will be streamed is already encoded in DD and nearly all Movies in the near future will be encoded in it anyway. 

 

Also I don't think it costs to encode into DD,  The cost is in decoding hardware. Which nearly (if not all) pc's already have. so it shouldn't actually add any cost for the end user. 

I tried to find pricing but DD keeps it a very well guarded secret. All I found was that in order to use DD (encode or decode) you have to apply for a license and then Dolby will contact you and you have to sign a contract. It does mention a licensing fee but it doesn't specify if a licensing fee apples to both encoders and decoders.

There are also some forum posts which indicates that it costs to encode but they didn't seem trustworthy.

 

From what I can tell, the wide use of it is DD's "strength", but that just leads to circular thinking. "We need to support it because it's widely used -> it's widely used because everyone supports it -> ...".

Only a big company like Microsoft has enough power to break the bad circular reasoning but they don't seen interested in doing so, despite it costing them hundreds of millions each yeah (an estimated 124 million dollars in 2011). I don't understand what they have against open and free standards.

[Techhog]

1. Windows 10 is fugly.

2. I'm too lazy to do a clean install.

3. Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

So, you're just literally going to stay on 7 forever? Also, I think you have to jump through hoops to clean install Windows 10, since the way it works is through Windows Update (which might also mean that you can't reinstall after that first year).

[GoodBytes]

So, you're just literally going to stay on 7 forever? Also, I think you have to jump through hoops to clean install Windows 10, since the way it works is through Windows Update (which might also mean that you can't reinstall after that first year).

It's ok. It's the problem that people have with Windows, since the dawn of time.

Even if Microsoft takes exactly the same Windows, and changes the default background, you'll still have people whining.

They eventually upgrade, and once they get used to it. "OMG... BEST... WINDOWS.... EVVVAARARRR", then a new version of Windows comes out, and the whole process repeat itself.

I have been on forums for very long time.

[Techhog]

It's ok. It's the problem that people have with Windows, since the dawn of time.

Even if Microsoft takes exactly the same Windows, and changes the default background, you'll still have people whining.

They eventually upgrade, and once they get used to it. "OMG... BEST... WINDOWS.... EVVVAARARRR", then a new version of Windows comes out, and the whole process repeat itself.

I have been on forums for very long time.

Well, remember that this is supposedly the "last" version of Windows.

[GoodBytes]

Well, remember that this is supposedly the "last" version of Windows.

Yea. Last Windows until Windows 11.

And the joke would be that yea, it can go up to 11!

[flibberdipper]

So, you're just literally going to stay on 7 forever? Also, I think you have to jump through hoops to clean install Windows 10, since the way it works is through Windows Update (which might also mean that you can't reinstall after that first year).

How am I supposed to know, exactly? If something happens to this install (which I'm beginning to doubt at this point) then I'll switch over to 8.1.

[Techhog]

How am I supposed to know, exactly? If something happens to this install (which I'm beginning to doubt at this point) then I'll switch over to 8.1.

But Windows 8.1 and Windows 10 look basically the same...

 

Some of you people here are weird.

[Victorious Secret]

I get what you are saying, but bit rates over 510 don't really add noticeable quality in my opinion,  so I wouldn't say DD has an advantage there. I think the DD advantage is that so much of what will be streamed is already encoded in DD and nearly all Movies in the near future will be encoded in it anyway. 

 

Also I don't think it costs to encode into DD,  The cost is in decoding hardware. Which nearly (if not all) pc's already have. so it shouldn't actually add any cost for the end user. 

 

The advantage is that Hollywood uses it. MS can support all the obscure formats it wants, it doesn't help when Interstellar has DD and DTS streams that your browser can't decode if Netflix supports such audio streams. So if anything, go take your "complaints" to Hollywood and ask them to adopt new codecs. But they won't, because proprietary works better for them and keeping their property their own. 

 

Not to mention that DTS and DD work alongside THX and the industry to refine their offerings for their specific use cases. So why would the industry as a whole just up and leave them for "open" standards? Open ≠ better. People need to get that through their heads.