Microsoft PlaysForSure was a certification given by Microsoft to portable devices and content services that had been tested against several hundred compatibility and performance requirements. These requirements include codec support, Digital rights management support, UI responsiveness, device performance, compatibility with Windows Media Player, synchronization performance, and so on. PlaysForSure certification was available for portable media players, network-attached digital media receivers, and media-enabled mobile phones. The PlaysForSure logo was applied to device packaging as well as to online music stores and online video stores.
PlaysForSure was introduced in 2004.[1]
In 2007, Microsoft rebranded and scaled back "PlaysForSure"[2][3]
into the subset Certified for Windows Vista.[4]
Microsoft's Zune worked only with its own content service called Zune Marketplace, not PlaysForSure. The Zune and PlaysForSure music were both Certified for Windows Vista, yet the Zune could not play PlaysForSure music purchased from the MSN Music Store.[5]
Microsoft announced that as of August 31, 2008, PlaysForSure content from their retired MSN Music store would need to be licensed to play before this date[when?] or burned permanently to CD,[6]
although this decision was later reversed.[7]
With the exception of Windows Media Player, all of the PlaysForSure offerings were made or run by 3rd-party companies, while Microsoft's Entertainment and Devices Division developed and marketed the Zune.
^
Microsoft plans branding assault, CNET News
^
PlaysForSure Network Media Devices and Windows Vista (WinHEC 2007; 1.7 MB),
Slide 13, Retrieved 2007-12-14 from
Digital Media Devices and the Windows Logo Program: New Directions for PlaysForSure Testing.
^
PlaysForSure Portable Devices and Windows Vista (WinHEC 2007; 3.0 MB), Slide 32. Retrieved 2007-12-14 from
Digital Media Devices and the Windows Logo Program: New Directions for PlaysForSure Testing.
^
PlaysForSure is growing up!.
Retrieved 2007-12-14
^
"Technology | Zune problems for MSN customers". BBC News. 2006-11-06. Retrieved 2012-06-26.
^
Hutchinson, Lee (2008-04-22). "Microsoft to Discontinue PlaysForSure Support". Arstechnica.com. Retrieved 2012-06-26.
^
[1]
Archived January 24, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
and 27 Related for: Microsoft PlaysForSure information
MicrosoftPlaysForSure was a certification given by Microsoft to portable devices and content services that had been tested against several hundred compatibility...
follow-on to Microsoft's MSN Music service. MSN Music was created in 2004 to compete with Apple's iTunes services and used the MicrosoftPlaysForSure DRM protocol...
compatibility and performance requirements, is called MicrosoftPlaysForSure. PassAlong is PlaysForSure certified. Artist-rights, Rightsholder organizations...
Macromedia Flash, and/or BMP files. The company also supported MicrosoftPlaysForSure, which allowed some products to support subscription-based music...
Microsoft acquired PowerPoint for about $14 million three months after it appeared. This was Microsoft's first significant acquisition, and Microsoft...
mandatory video format for PlaysForSure-certified online stores and devices, as well as Portable Media Center devices. The Microsoft Zune, Xbox 360, Windows...
and above. PlaysForSure compliant devices won't playPlayReady-encrypted content. Microsoft Press Release Kim, Daniel (2019-08-30). "PlayReady DRM - 5...
The Microsoft Zune media management software supports most WMA codecs, but uses a variation of Windows Media DRM which is used by PlaysForSure. The FFmpeg...
players were its smaller physical size and firmware that achieved MicrosoftPlaysForSure certification. Since then, Dell has produced 15 GB, 20 GB and 30...
primarily the AV500s. There are 8 models in all. All players are MicrosoftPlaysForSure compatible. Archos employed a philosophy of producing a modular...
for portable media players and Mass Storage Compliant devices, MicrosoftPlaysForSure, and ActiveSync, and syncs unprotected music to the iPod. Media...
of a high-end model ("Anaconda") and a lower-end model ("Lockhart"). Microsoft teased Anaconda in June 2019 during E3 2019 and unveiled it as the Xbox...
was originally based upon. Comparison of PVR software packages MicrosoftPlaysForSure 2Wire MediaPortal List of codecs List of free television software...
gnutella. BearShareV6 and its successors offer paid music downloads in the PlaysForSure DRM controlled WMA format as well as free content in various formats...
Sansa as a regular flash drive. MTP is Media Transfer Protocol which is a Microsoft-specific mode invented to deal with media files that include Digital Rights...
for the service's songs, and all such files were encrypted with MicrosoftPlaysForSure DRM. This limited the playback of music to three authorized computers...
On January 18, 2022, Microsoft announced its intent to acquire Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion. The deal was concluded on October 13, 2023, with...
versions in the Creative ZEN line exclusively use Microsoft's Media Transfer Protocol (also known as PlaysForSure), and some legacy devices have been supplied...
Windows 10 is a major release of Microsoft's Windows NT operating system. It is the direct successor to Windows 8.1, which was released nearly two years...
developed by Microsoft. As the successor to the original Xbox, it is the second console in the Xbox series. It competed with Sony's PlayStation 3 and...
needed] and Windows Media PlaysForSure standards, so purchased music can be synchronized with the player. The Gmini XS 202 is Microsoft Windows and Apple Macintosh...
Windows 11 is the latest major release of Microsoft's Windows NT operating system, released on October 5, 2021. It succeeded Windows 10 (2015) and is...
The Xbox One is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. Announced in May 2013, it is the successor to Xbox 360 and the third console in the...
co-founding the software giant Microsoft, along with his childhood friend Paul Allen. During his career at Microsoft, Gates held the positions of chairman...
downloads free of DRM. Microsoft's media player Zune released in 2006 did not support content that used Microsoft'sPlaysForSure DRM scheme. Windows Media...
The player provides a 3D audio experience and has been given the MicrosoftPlaysForSure certification. File formats supported by the player include MP3...
library application that Microsoft developed to play audio and video on personal computers. It has been a component of the Microsoft Windows operating system...
Global Information