Section Two: Video Encoding Standards
Proprietary Formats

Microsoft ActiveMovie (aka Video for Windows), provides digital video technology, including encoding, file naming and playback, on a Windows platform. The file format is identified by the .avi (audio & video interleave) extension. Video and multimedia creation and editing packages for use on Windows platforms, such as Adobe Premierẻ must support the .avi file format.

Microsoft ASF (Advanced Streaming Format) is an open streaming format developed collaboratively by Microsoft, Progressive Networks, Inc., Intel Corp., AdobeSystems Inc. and Vivo Software Inc., as well as from the feedback and suggestions of other companies. It is currently available in beta in version 1.0 for use with Microsoft's NetShow streaming media client/server software and in version 2.0 as a preliminary developers' toolkit. The ASF format is intended for streaming synchronized audio, video and multimedia for use over the Internet.

Applications: American Film Institute

The American Film Institute (AFI) is the nation's preeminent arts organization dedicated to advancing and preserving the art of the moving image. AFI offers an MFA degree in digital media (and other areas as well), and through its Advanced Technology Program offers courses to the general public in digital technology. A number of non-streamed QuickTime video clips are available from the AFI website, including scenes from the 1912 version of Richard III, the oldest surviving American feature film. Also featured on their site are clips from all of the movies of Dustin Hoffman, the 1999 winner of the AFI Lifetime Achievement Award.