] DVD software firm InterVideo has scored a deal with
] Microsoft to port components of the
] Windows Media Format to run on Linux-based consumer
] devices.
]
] The deal illustrates the general shift in the digital
] media marketplace to open up codecs and formats to
] competing platforms. Rival RealNetworks
] has already gone the open-source route for its
] Helix platform. With the full-scale rollout of MPEG-4
] gaining momentum, Microsoft is clearly repositioning its
] digital media efforts by embracing Linux.
]
] The latest partnership calls for Fremont, Calif.-based
] InterVideo to take components of the Windows Media Format
] and port them over to Linux and provide them to consumer
] electronic device makers who use the Linux OS in their
] products. It clears the way for the new Windows Media 9
] series to find a home on Linux-based set-top boxes,
] personal video recorders and other hybrid multimedia
] devices.

The article later on states that Linux is becoming the platform of choice for embedded devices in consumer electronics.