With the increasing trend of OS’s focusing on internet and trying to provide more inbuilt support for faster internet access Microsoft has released Silver Light 3 .Silverlight which was first launched in 2007  has come a long way and focusses on “Smooth Streaming” and “out of browser experiences”.
Microsoft Silverlight is a cross-browser, cross-platform, and cross-device plug-in for delivering the next generation of .NET based media experiences and rich interactive applications for the Web. By using Silverlight’s support for .NET, High Definition video, cost-effective advanced streaming, and unparalleled high-resolution interactivity with Deep Zoom technology, businesses can reach out to new markets across the Web, desktop, and devices.Microsoft has made the Silverlight browser plug-in freely available for all supported platforms and browsers.Silverlight offers a flexible programming model that supports AJAX, VB, C#, IronPython, and IronRuby, and integrates with existing Web applications. By using Expression Studio and Visual Studio, designers and developers can collaborate more effectively using the skills they have today to light up the Web of tomorrow.

By leveraging Silverlight’s support for .NET, High Definition video, cost-effective advanced streaming, unparalleled high-resolution interactivity with Deep Zoom technology, and controls, businesses can reach out to new markets across the Web, desktop, and devices.
Silver light would enable users with little or no streaming while watching the videos online(Smooth streaming allows you to watch 720P+ video instantly with almost no buffering),though this exists only for WMA,MPEG and MP3 file formats but as stated by microsoft they are developing codes to incorporate some other file formats as well.
Silverlight 3.0 has 3D support, GPU acceleration, H.264 video support and out of the browser experiences.
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