Microsoft releases DirectX 5.1 SDK

Microsoft on Monday released the DirectX Media 5.1 Software Development Kit(SDK), a set of programming interfaces for developers wishing to addmultimedia features to their Windows 95/NT 4.0 programs. The DirectX Media5.1 run-time libraries are already integrated into Internet Explorer 4.0and are scheduled to be included in Windows 98 and Windows NT 5.0, both duenext year.

The SDK includes the DirectShow, DirectAnimation, Direct3D, and DirectPlayAPIs.

"Microsoft DirectX Media 5.1 advances the multimedia developer communityfor Windows in two ways," said Eric Engstrom, general manager of DirectXMedia at Microsoft. "First, it delivers a high-performance SDK for creatingdynamic applications, tools and content. Second, it provides end users withoptimal performance of those applications and content, through theincorporation of DirectX 5.1 run times in Internet Explorer 4.0 andupcoming releases of Windows. This advance is significant because it meansthat developers don't have to spend valuable design time building their ownrun times, and end users don't have to download viewers just to display Webcontent. That's a huge benefit for Internet developers, and it goes a longway toward making the Internet a more enjoyable, user-friendly experiencefor end users."

The DirectX 5.1 SDK is available now on at Microsoft's DirectX Web site