Windows 2008 and Windows 7 SP1 Public Beta end of July

Today at TechED 2010 Microsoft revealed its plans for Windows 7 service pack 1 (and Windows Server 2008 R2). Bob Muglia President of Microsoft server and tools division said that  SP1 will include previously released updates and  RemoteFX which provides which 3D experiences for Remote Desktop sessions.

Microsoft said a release of the beta is due in July and it will be interesting to see if the new RemoteFX framework will work for video playback, so you could use low power devices to render HD video from a media server?

What is Microsoft RemoteFX?

Microsoft RemoteFX is designed to introduce a new set of end user experience enhancements to remote desktop computing in Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 that enable a rich, local-like desktop environment over the network. With RemoteFX, connected knowledge and task workers can experience their workspace in full fidelity, improving end user productivity, while their applications and data are kept highly secure and centrally managed in the data center.

By leveraging the power of advanced codecs and virtualized graphics resources on the data center host, RemoteFX adds support for any application, including 3D, and rich media to a virtual desktop environment. In doing so, RemoteFX complements and extends the user experience enhancements of the Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) in Windows Server 2008 R2 Remote Desktop Services.

As an integral part of RDP, RemoteFX ensures continuity with existing RDP features while offering new and exciting capabilities for virtual or session-based desktops. For virtual desktops deployed on top of the Hyper-V virtualization platform in Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1, graphics hardware-assisted rendering of the screen content on the VDI host will ensure that even the most advanced applications today and tomorrow will “just work”.

RemoteFX allows for minimum hardware requirements on the end point device including a new class of extremely low-cost clients. As a result, RemoteFX extends the benefits of a rich remote desktop or application to a wide array of end point devices, from the most powerful PC to thin clients and other access devices, offering customers more choices for their centralized computing infrastructure.