Windows98: Multimedia Features

This document contains information about features present in Windows 98 that may be of interest to graphics and multimedia oriented users.

Windows 98 is available at retail until Sept. 14th, 2000 for US$209 (US$99.95 upgrade).
We've seen the upgrade priced as low as $98 Canadian.
See http://www.microsoft.com/windows98/ for more info.

New Multimedia Features

Along with the integration of Internet Explorer 4.0, Windows 98 has gained a number of new multimedia features:
Key Features:

WebTV for Windows. This software allows Win98 and a suitable TV tuner card (e.g., ATI All in Wonder Pro) to decode closed captions and select and display standard TV broadcasts. The software downloads TV listings for your area and displays them in a searchable "TV Guide" format. What's more, if you look up, say, "Babylon 5" using the Search function, the system not only lists all the upcoming shows, but provides a built-in Internet Link feature that allows you to search the Web for more info pertaining to the shows of your choice -- cool!
In addition to the ability to play CD Audio, AVI, QuickTime, MPEG-1, DHTML, ShockWave, RealAudio/Video and VRML files (and many more multimedia formats, as well!), a TrueMotion 2 decoder is a standard part of Windows 98. See http://www.duck.com/ for details.
A DVD player is also standard. Note, however, that the built-in player supports only Toshiba Luxsonar and Quadrant drives. Other DVD add-ons, such as the Creative Labs Encore Dxr2, work under Win98, but only with their own DVD player software packages. ATI and other companies have developed software DVD drivers that can play back movies from DVD drives even if the computer is not equipped with a decoder card. Naturally this takes a fast computer (Pentium II/350 or better is recommended, although we played a DVD movie with only occasional glitches on a PII/233 with 64MB RAM); this development suggests to us that you might consider dropping a few extra dollars to get a DVD-capable drive instead of a standard CD-ROM. ATI says that, at least initially, it is making its DVD software available only to OEMs (Original Equipment Manufacturers).
The Windows 98 audio subsystem now has enhanced setup features, allowing you to define whether your system is mono, stereo, or quad-enhanced. Although Win98 was originally supposed to have software wavetable synthesis, the official release version does not include wavetable synthesis (nor does it include a "Print to Fax" feature that was part of Win95!). However, other software synths like the Roland VSC-55 or Yamaha Soft Synth work fine. DirectX6, expected later in 1998, is expected to include software wavetable support based on Roland instruments, and interactive music creation capabilities. See our DirectX report for details.
Support is provided for 3D accelerators from 3Dfx, 3D Labs, S3, ATI, Nvidia, Rendition, and many others. As usual, these manufacturers typically have newer drivers on their respective websites. Note that the ATI drivers included with Win98 do not support the video capture features of the All in Wonder (or AIW Pro). However, ATI has enhanced drivers (currently not publicly available) that address this issue. Although the Win95 drivers appear to work and live video plays correctly, the capture function only captures still frames. Without the Win98 driver update, motion video capture fails with an error message warning you to check your hardware settings. Check support.atitech.ca for the latest info.
Color matching support, plus built-in hardware support for FireWire, USB and (some) scanners and digital cameras. Microsoft is said to be offering cash incentives to hardware manufacturers who include TV boards or FireWire adapters in their systems, to jumpstart these markets.
Support for Microsoft's own Netshow (audio/video) ASF and Liquid Motion (2d/3d/audio) streaming formats is provided, as well as the 4.0 version of RealNetworks' "RealPlayer" (audio and video streaming technology). Not included on the CD, but also worth checking out, is Liquid Audio, a very good-sounding (CD-quality) audio technology with a twist: it is designed so that songs can be previewed and purchased online. Liquid Audio's Brady Lahr said the company "had to dance with the devil" in its efforts to get Liquid Audio on the Windows 98 CD, by agreeing to add Netshow codecs to the product. Find out more at www.liquidaudio.com
Matrox Rainbow Runner users, already frustrated by Win95 drivers that didn't work as expected didn't get any relief -- at least initially -- under Win98. Using the 2.00 drivers, the RR didn't work at all under Windows98! Fortunately, Matrox's website has updates.

Multimedia integration woven into nearly every aspect of the OS, from the Help system to the ability to preview GIFs, JPEGs, AVIs, MIDI files and other media types directly within any window. The Add/Remove Software panel's Windows Setup tab allows you to add TV Integration features to the system, too. WDM drivers for the ATI All-in-Wonder are included and work well (although, as noted above, you can't play or capture video unless you install ATI's Enhanced drivers), although some features originally planned, such as the ability to add a VCR or DVD player to your favorite channels list, were not functional in the 1650 beta and were unceremoniously removed (or hidden, such as the fax capabilities that are now in a directory called OLDWIN95!) from later builds. Note that Win95 drivers can almost always be used for other devices that do not have specific drivers for Win98. However, Win95 drivers may not support all of the capabilities of Win98 drivers (as the broken ATI video capture driver demonstrates). This is particularly true of display drivers. Win95 drivers do not support the multiple displays feature of Win98.

Multimedia Tips

Active Desktop: The active desktop can provide animated screen displays, by using an animated GIF or other scripted features on a web page defined as your window or screen background.

View as Web Page: Win98 remembers your view preferences for each window. If you want to see preview icons for GIFs, JPEGs, HTML pages, PowerPoint presentations and a few other file types, select "as Web Page" from the view menu.

Multiple Monitors: If you are lucky enough to have an extra video card and monitor, you can put them to good use in Win98, provided that you use Win98-native drivers. It supports as many monitors as you can connect to your system. Control them from the Settings tab in the Display panel. An ATI Technical Document describes how to resolve "remove EMM386 or other memory managers" error messages.

Smooth Screen Fonts, Show icons in all possible colors: These functions, previously part of the Plus! pack for Win95, are now standard. You can Show window contents while dragging, too. These options are all in the Effects tab of the Display panel.

Multiple MIDI drivers: If your have a software synth or external MIDI device installed, you can select it in the Multimedia control panel, using the MIDI tab. DirectX 5.0 adds 3D sound spatialization features to audio playback. However, MIDI developers and high-end sequencer users continue to lament Win98's inaccurate timing, which may lead to sloppy sequence playback (particularly on slower computers) in titles such as Cubase VST.

2GB limit: As far as we have been able to determine, Win98 does nothing to remove the 2GB maximum file size for AVI movies. This may be a significant limitation in some video-capture applications. See Microsoft's Hardware Development website for more info on this, and other technical issues.

Color Management
We've been testing the new color management capabilities of Windows 98 and the outlook is good if you own a SCSI-based HP scanner. We tested it successfully with a ScanJet IIcx model, but found that a Linotype CPS Jade 2 scanner didn't show up a supported device -- odd, considering that Microsoft licensed its color management software from Linotype. Other supported devices include recent color printers from Epson, HP, Tektronix, Kodak and other major vendors, and monitors from NEC, Sony and other well-known manufacturers.

Color printer support is greatly improved, too, with new drivers for HP Deskjet 660C, Epson Color Stylus (including the popular Photo, 600 and 800 models) and many others.

Optional Features
Microsoft offers a "Plus pack" for Win98, much as it did for Windows 95. This optional release is called Microsoft Plus 98 and includes the following features:

Easy to use Setup, McAfee VirusScan 3.1.6 (with 6 free updates), Lose Your Marbles, Microsoft Picture-It Express, Microsoft Deluxe CD Player (Web enabled), Added Cleaners to the Windows 98 Disk Clean-up program, New Branded and Non-Branded themes (Including Peanuts, Cathy, and Garfield), and new Active Desktop Themes.

Additional themes and other enhancements are freely downloadable from Microsoft's website(s), using the Windows Update feature. Although the package is priced at C$49, we've seen it selling for as little as C$29. Plus is best suited for families and those who enjoy the little extras that make a computer a bit more fun.

For Further Reading

PC Buyer's Guide's Win98 Orientation Guide
Windows 98 Tech Tips by Graeme Bennett.
DirectX and OpenGL info.
The latest Windows 98 info from Usenet.
An Installation Guide to Windows NT 4.0.
PC Magazine's Guide to Memphis - Installation tips and upgrade advice.
PC Week - ZAW and Windows 98.
ACPI
PC98
Device Bay
http://www.msolution.com/win98/ - an excellent, up-to-date page of Win98 "insider" info.
http://www.microsoft.com/hwdev/hwdev4.htm - In particular, the "Design Initiatives" section contains a number of interesting, albeit highly technical, articles.
Emergency Recovery Utility - This little gem is hidden on the Win95 CD. Really. It is a utility to copy all the needed files in case you have a crash and need to recover your setup.
Microsoft's Device Driver List: www.microsoft.com/hwtest/hcl

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