Download.it search icon

Water content available based on Silverlight in any browser as an alternative to Adobe Air

Water content available based on Silverlight in any browser as an alternative to Adobe Air

Vote: (261 votes)

Program license: Free

Developer: Microsoft Corporation

Version: 5.1.50918.0

Works under: Windows

Also available for Mac

Vote:

Program license

(261 votes)

Free

Developer

Version

Microsoft Corporation

5.1.50918.0

Works under:

Also available for

Windows

Mac

Pros

  • Supports HD-quality content
  • Out of browser capabilities
  • Lightweight plug-in

Cons

  • Crashes often
  • Starting new videos is slow
  • Fewer controls than competitors like Adobe Air

Microsoft Silverlight is an application framework that allows the running of Web 2.0 tools for interactive content on websites and mobile apps.

Brief History of Microsoft Silverlight

Microsoft Silverlight was first released back in 2007. It was intended to be a competitor to the Adobe Flash player. But later Silverlight morphed into a comprehensive platform to become a Web 2.0 product.

The platform had a hard time trying to compete with other Web 2.0 platforms like Adobe Air. Over its lifetime, five different versions of the platform were released. However, only a small percentage of websites were using Silverlight. In 2013, Microsoft announced that it was going to stop the development of new versions.

Features of Microsoft Silverlight

Microsoft Silverlight allows users to view content like videos and interactive images. Most web browsers like Internet Explorer, Firefox and Safari support the plugin.

Installation of Microsoft Silverlight is easy. Users can install and start playing Silverlight-based applications instantly. However, it’s recommended that users restart their web browsers after installation to avoid any crash issues.

The latest version of the Microsoft Silverlight was designed to deal with bandwidth issues. If the network bandwidth drops, then the plugin initiates the smooth video streaming option. It means users can watch uninterrupted video while the bandwidth is low. The smooth streaming feature is designed to balance the needs of real-time video streaming.

The new version of Microsoft Silverlight also provides DRM capabilities. Netflix, one of the biggest video streaming provider, was using Microsoft Silverlight due to its DRM capabilities. However, Netflix has decided to abandon Microsoft Silverlight for HTML5.

Microsoft Silverlight was designed for HD-quality video. Developers could use the Visual Studio ecosystem to create applications for the platform. Microsoft created a lot of control options to help the developers implement ideas. But the innovations weren’t enough to sustain the viability of the platform.

Conclusion

Initially, Microsoft Silverlight emerged as a frontrunner for the Web 2.0 race. Microsoft flexed its corporate muscles to get Silverlight into various applications. Even Netflix was using it for a while. But the performance wasn't good enough to compete with other plugins in the market. So Microsoft Silverlight lost the war of the Web 2.0.

Pros

  • Supports HD-quality content
  • Out of browser capabilities
  • Lightweight plug-in

Cons

  • Crashes often
  • Starting new videos is slow
  • Fewer controls than competitors like Adobe Air

Other software to consider