Microsoft gives sneak peek at Silverlight 4 RIA technology

From InfoWorld: Microsoft this week will shed some light on a planned upgrade to Silverlight, its browser-based rich Internet application technology, which will gain native multicast support capabilities as well as support for offline digital rights management.

Called Silverlight 4, the upgrade will be previewed at the International Broadcasting Conference, which begins Sept. 11 in Amsterdam. Microsoft, which shipped Silverlight 3 in July, has not revealed a ship date for Silverlight 4.

Multicast capabilities in version 4 will provide a way to stream video on bandwidth-constrained networks, thus reducing the burden on media servers while enabling broadcasters to reach more viewers, according to a Microsoft representative. Previously, a plug-in was required to enable this functionality.

Offline digital rights management in Silverlight 4 will be powered by Microsoft PlayReady technology. PlayReady is intended to enable the mobile industry to support online content services. With offline PlayReady DRM and out-of-browser capabilities in Silverlight 4, movie studios and retailers can offer the same rich interactive experiences via digital copy and Internet distribution as consumers get with DVD or Bluray, Microsoft said.

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