Summary

Windows Media Services is a combination of server components and tools that help organizations go beyond text-based communications to include audio and video communications. Windows Media Services is a component that comes with Windows Server 2003 and can easily be enabled on a server system. However, the server component is predominantly a publishing and distribution functionit relies on add-ins such as the Windows Media Encoder to provide capture and conversion functionality.

Even with what Microsoft provides in the Windows Media Services server function and the Windows Media Encoder download tools, there's still a need for third-party editing and cropping tools. And with add-ons like Microsoft Producer, captured video and audio content can be integrated with Microsoft PowerPoint presentations.

Windows Media Services provides a new way for organizations to conduct employee training and broadcast live meetings, and integrate audio and video content into normal PowerPoint presentations.