Microsoft ends support for Legacy DRM on Windows Media Player, Windows 7 and 8, Silverlight

Microsoft has officially announced that it is killing support for legacy Windows Media DRM (WMDRM) in Windows Media Player, Windows 7, Windows 8, and Silverlight, which was introduced in 1999 with Windows 98. This means that these services will no longer be able to play back-protected content.

The announcement isn’t really a surprise, as Microsoft debuted its PlayReady DRM in 2007 as a replacement for WMDRM. PlayReady is widely used today, and Microsoft began deprecating PlayReady 2.1 and below last fall.

The legacy WMDRM services that Microsoft is killing include:

• The playback of protected content in the legacy Windows Media Player on Windows 7.
• The playback of protected content in a Silverlight client and Windows 8 clients.
• In-home streaming playback from a Silverlight client or Windows 8 client to an Xbox 360.
• The playback of protected content ripped from a personal CD on Windows 7 clients using Windows Media Player.
• Silverlight, a browser plug-in for multimedia content that Microsoft debuted in 2007, is also getting the axe. Microsoft announced in 2012 that it would phase out support for Silverlight and last year said it would end Silverlight updates in October 2021.

Microsoft promises to retire the WMDRM services and Silverlight support “in the coming months.” In the meantime, Microsoft doesn’t plan to offer any more PlayReady 2.1 or older licenses.

The Redmond-based tech giant recently caused controversy when it updated one of its support pages to hint that Control Panel would also be deprecated. However, Microsoft quickly backtracked on its statement, instead offering a more ambiguous note on it. Regarding Legacy DRM, however, it seems that its fate is sealed.

What do you think? Do you still use devices that rely on WMDRM or Silverlight? Let us know in the comments.