This lends a hand towards Microsoft’s goal of pushing its multimedia format beyond PCs and into a range of consumer devices, the companies announced yesterday. In a speech at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas yesterday evening, Microsoft boss Bill Gates showed how consumers can now burn a CD using WMA (Windows Media Audio) and play it back on a Panasonic DVD player. Some users like to play music CDs on their DVD players because they are often hooked up to hi-fi audio systems. Panasonic’s first player to support the Windows technology, the DVD-RV32, is slated to go on sale in the US next month for around £140 ex VAT. Panasonic will also support Microsoft’s audio format in its SV-SD80 digital music player and will make chips for its DVD and CD players that work with the Microsoft technology, Panasonic officials said.
