Someone reviewed v on Jul 5, 2022

Pros: 555

Cons: 555

Bottom Line: 555

Zootopia3001 reviewed v5.1.40620.0 on Jul 2, 2015

Went to having it installed again after Hotmail(which Silverlight broke) went to Outlook. However, if you update, best to uninstall old version first, otherwise you are left with TONS of old version multi-language pack reference entries in your registry, and they can really pile up after a few updates.

ShahinD reviewed v5.1.20125.0 on May 13, 2013

No Problem

Zootopia3001 reviewed v5.1.20125.0 on Mar 12, 2013

Got rid of Silverlight because it was breaking the 'Insert' functions of Hotmail. Who woulda thunk that an MS product would break another MS product. Way to go Microsoft. Keep up the good work. Other than that and the prior gripe I mentioned about the Silverlight, it does do better than Adobe Flash IMO, but just ain't catching on. I doubt it will be around much longer. There's only one site in the past year I came across that required it, and that was a car dealership, so I moved on elsewhere.
Now 2 stars for breaking Hotmail. Don't know if this version resolves that problem, but I just don't care enough to have it installed anymore.

Zootopia3001 reviewed v5.0 on Mar 17, 2012

Can only give it three stars due to TONS of multilanguage entries left behind in registry with EACH security update. Took forever to delete them all. Hey Microsoft, give the option to do either English or Multilanguage install like SUN Java does. Me, I went back to Siverlight 4.0.60831.0 and won't update to version 5 unless forced to do so.

FatBastard reviewed v4.0.60129.0 on Feb 18, 2011

This thing is actually pretty good. It uses less CPU than Adobe Flash.

anomoly reviewed v4.0.51204 on Dec 16, 2010

I only use it for web radio but if you disable it along with the wmp plugin, IE9 actually starts like a normal browser instead of like a gaming software. This wasn't working in anything but IE before this latest update.

rodgerballard reviewed v4.0.51204 on Dec 16, 2010

@soldier1st: not entirely true ...

http://msdn.microsoft.co.../bb404700(v=VS.95).aspx

"It is a cross-browser, cross-platform technology. It runs in all popular Web browsers, including Microsoft Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, and Apple Safari, Google Chrome, and on Microsoft Windows and Apple Mac OS X."

For the Linux crowd there is (with limitations in regard to protection):

http://www.mono-project.com/Moonlight

As to it being good or bad. My opinion is it gets the job done. I would rather see more standards based approaches when and where possible using technologies like these only when appropriate but I felt the need to provide accurate info.

soldier1st reviewed v4.0.50917.0 on Oct 2, 2010

Silverlight is alright but not the greatest as it is a Windows only, i would rather have something in a better language like Java or something else that is cross platform.

mfarmilo reviewed v4.0.50826.0 Final on Sep 1, 2010

Like AlphaBetaGamma said, this link still downloads the old version, so someone's screwed up somewhere. Clicking on the link to the Silverlight page, then the download link, gets the stated version.

AlphaBetaGamma reviewed v4.0.50826.0 Final on Sep 1, 2010

This is still the 4.0.50524 version.

JethroB reviewed v4.0.50524.0 Final on Jun 4, 2010

This latest version still breaks NetFlix instant view with DRM error on XP-SP3

Zoroaster reviewed v4.0.50524.0 Final on Jun 3, 2010

The link provided at this time is that of Microsoft Silverlight version 4.0.50401 and not 4.0.50524 as mentioned.

JethroB reviewed v4.0.50401.0 on Apr 25, 2010

Broke my NetFlix instant viewing (DRM error) uninstalled and installed Silverlight 3 to get my NetFlix working again.

uberfly reviewed v4.0.50401.0 on Apr 16, 2010

After deving with it for a bit now, this is heads over flash. Some quality abilities and features, great video being just one of them.

bopb99 reviewed v4.0.50401.0 on Apr 16, 2010

Dear Silverlight, please die!

I hate this stupid framework.
It's a resource hog/monster.
It is NOT cross platform.
Because the API's and other stuff it uses are heavily patent-encumber t.
Also it's MS product, with all the typical stuff: slow+bloated+lock-in-to-other MS-products.

Everybody, if you feel frustrated blog about Silverlights deficiencies. It deserves it. Because it's everybody's business. (MS slogan)

TomA102210 reviewed v4.0.50303.0 RC on Mar 17, 2010

CyberDoc999 said:

Reviewing 4.0.41108 Beta (Nov 25, 2009)

just one more way for a virus to get into your computer... thanks MS
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Poppy c***!

CyberDoc999 reviewed v4.0.41108 Beta on Nov 25, 2009

just one more way for a virus to get into your computer... thanks MS

sst reviewed v3.0.40818.0 on Sep 2, 2009

May be good for complex code, but does Not seem to help with the simple stuff.
Checked Silverlight home page -
View/TextSize (largest -> smallest) doesn't affect display.
Part of page text sized to screensize, graphic sized to opening window ( doesn't resize).
If the people promoting Silverlight can't do a 'correct' page, ...
I opted for a three, they can't figure it out, but some of it may be useful.

mjm01010101 reviewed v3.0.40818.0 on Sep 2, 2009

Silverlight 3 supports H.264 and AAC. MS was part of H.264 standardization, btw.

Silverlight is fine, I guess, it's natural for MS to half-ass it this far. They are losing badly and watch for them to give up on it quite soon, like Windows Mobile.

UniversityofKentucky reviewed v3.0.40818.0 on Sep 2, 2009

I installed, the uninstalled Silverlight. It's an Adobe Flash wanna be. It doesn't support H.264 vid codec, browser only and development must take place on MS Windows. Mac users might have a problem with that.

preinterpost reviewed v3.0.40818.0 on Sep 2, 2009

Silverlight is a top notch RIA platform. For your dancing monkeys stick with Flash. Otherwise move aside...

SoundMix reviewed v3.0.40818.0 on Sep 2, 2009

Much better than flash for video. Also, can self check for updates.

Lsavagejt reviewed v3.0.40818.0 on Sep 2, 2009

i still don't know what this is. why do i need this....?

Jambon reviewed v3.0.40818.0 on Sep 1, 2009

I'm begging for a replacement for the crap Flash, but please! don't let it be this one !

mjm01010101 reviewed v3.0.40723.0 on Jul 30, 2009

yeah silverlight.msp is compressed from 14.9 MB to 4.52 MB.

Way to piggyback on open source Microsoft. You're getting it now.

cekicen reviewed v3.0.40624.0 on Jul 12, 2009

I extracted silverlight.exe and saw silverlight.7z. Wow microsoft is using open source 7zip format.

anonymouscowturd reviewed v3.0.40624.0 on Jul 9, 2009

Way more capable than flash i think. But totally missed the boat. Shame really.

mjm01010101 reviewed v3.0.40624.0 on Jul 9, 2009

It entered the market, looked like it had some hope, but has been a pretty big dud since. Now we have to support it for legacy reasons in perpetuity.

I'm sick of non-open standards in plug-in formats from MS and Adobe. Help us Obi One, you're our only hope!

GrailKnight reviewed v3.0 Beta on Mar 19, 2009

Works fine when viewing Netflix movies and much better then flash in this aspect. Hopefully Silverlight will catch on as I believe it beats flash hands down.

Bonobi reviewed v3.0 Beta on Mar 19, 2009

I liked the last version; seems to still run well and maybe slightly loads faster than the last. That's all I've noticed so far. Great though, in the least.

treworld reviewed v3.0 Beta on Mar 18, 2009

Anybody tried versions 1 and 2 yet?

Skyfrog reviewed v2.0 on Oct 15, 2008

Works fine on the few sites that use it, but they are very few right now. However I predict since it is made by Microsoft there will be a lot of trolls bashing it and giving it low ratings, even though they've never even tried it.

See sajjansinghania for example. Post says nothing at all about the product, nothing constructive, it is just stupid. What an idiot.

TechRon reviewed v2.0 on Oct 14, 2008

Still doesn't support 64-bit browser versions. (But then, neither does Flash...) At this stage, I find that inexcusable for both companies. That is simply LAZY programmers.

sajjansinghania reviewed v2.0 on Oct 14, 2008

Thank god they started seeing real face of Microsoft.

Not much time left for Microsoft to go out of business.

CyberDoc999 reviewed v2.0 RC0 on Oct 3, 2008

It's trying be Flash but it's still about 5 years behind!
Microsoft can't do anything right!

Banquo reviewed v2.0 RC0 on Sep 29, 2008

Seems to work well enough, will be interesting to see if they can beat Flash.

Off topic but Copenhaus, you only have to install .NET framwork 3.5 and nothing more. It includes support all the way back to 2.0. As for 1.0 it's obsolete and any programs that require it should have been updated, otherwise they're probably not worth using.

copenhaus reviewed v2.0 RC0 on Sep 29, 2008

are we having to install v1.0, then v2.0 and so on...sort of like .Net Framework engine?

....

rodneyr reviewed v2.0 Beta 2 on Jun 9, 2008

Here are a couple of blogs that list the changes between beta1 and beta2:

Scott Gu's blog:
http://weblogs.asp.net/s...t-2-beta2-released.aspx

theADOguy:
http://adoguy.com/2008/0...lverlight_2_Beta_2.aspx

ars technica:
http://arstechnica.com/j...s-on-time-available-now

http://blogs.msdn.com/si...lverlight-2-beta-2.aspx

Also of note and not listed on betanews is the june 08 update to Deep Zoom Composer (4.4mb)

http://www.microsoft.com...-4bda-87a3-fa8a4673f8bf

update to Blend 2.5 preview (32mb):
http://www.microsoft.com...-4955-bc9f-cfba49273c7c

update to Silverlight 2 SDK/docs: (56.1mb):
http://www.microsoft.com...-4955-bc9f-cfba49273c7c

update to tools for vs2008: (84.3mb):
https://www.microsoft.co...-4521-b7d7-c0dba8866434

----
I really wanted to feed the FUD trolls on this one - but why bother? you're either going to install it or you're not going to.

Paradise-FH- reviewed v2.0 Beta 2 on Jun 8, 2008

Ah, Betanews, source of wordy news articles and reviewers who have no idea what they're talking about.

First off Silverlight is nearly 3x the download size of Flash player.

How exactly is Silverlight an "advanced alternative" to Flash? It's not. It's trying to move into the same area as Flash but it's still about 4 years behind in that there are fewer components/assets, no MovieClip equivalent [you have to dump everything on the main canvas making a royal mess], video and animation causes anything slower than a core duo to drop frames, no motion paths, no filters (drop shadows, blur, glow, etc.) and probably more stuff I can't remember atm. Then there's Expression Studio which feels like it's about 8 behind Adobe's Creative Suite but that's a whole other story.

It certainly doesn't seem to be easier to code than Flash. Let's see, in Flash we have Actionscript but in Silverlight we have XAML and then either C# or VB.NET. How is knowing two easier than one? It's not.

There are a plethora of amazing RIAs out there for Flash compared to the few that are Silverlight. You will not see photo editing and word processing in Silverlight in the near future. Silverlight isn't some magic bullet that can do anything and why in the world would you want it to either? How about a clever or RIA that helps me prepare for retirement like E*TRADE has (which is built with Flex btw)?

I digress though, Silverlight is good for quickly dumping a skin over some video using Encoder. It's Deep Zoom shows promise.

Do you need it now? No. Will you need it in the future? Maybe.

darkxiiindp reviewed v2.0 Beta 2 on Jun 6, 2008

Silverlight is the future of Rich Internet Application (RIA). Its designed from grow up to make application unlike Flash/Flex strong about animation but weak and hard to programing.

From very near future you may see some photo editing, document editing... using silverlight on web.

Edit: On designer view. Flash win. Expression Blend, Design far behind to Adobe CS.

On Programer view. Silverlight win. Actionscript, Flex Builder far behind C#, Visual Studio.

That why Im said silverlight great with RIA.

Zulithe reviewed v2.0 Beta 2 on Jun 6, 2008

beta 2 now works in firefox 3. For all you firefox 3 users, a must upgrade.

echohead reviewed v2.0 Beta 2 on Jun 6, 2008

silverlight is unnecessary and brings nothing new to the table. all MS did is reverse-engineer existing technologies, and use .NET and proprietary API's to wrap it all up in a nice inefficient package.

yes, MS feels google and adobe tightening the stranglehold on its market share, but it it really too much to ask that they come up with something that doesnt exi?t already.

ninjeratu reviewed v2.0 Beta 2 on Jun 6, 2008

People complain that Micrsoft do stuff.
People complain that Microsoft don't do stuff.
Silverlight is an - in some ways - advanced alternative to Flash. That doesn't prove anything. Silverlight is pretty light-weight and focuses on stuff that Flash isn't very good at.
Anything that makes Flash based webpages go away is good in my book.
My only concern with this Beta is security. 1.0 had some serious issues, and I'm not convinced 2.0 betas are better.

phenomnaruto reviewed v2.0 Beta 2 on Jun 6, 2008

Works great with all the computers I installed it on, I look forward to using this to watch the Olympics in the summer.

craigun reviewed v2.0 Beta 1 on Mar 23, 2008

I don't dislike it, but why do I need it again?

siberian2005 reviewed v2.0 Beta 1 on Mar 22, 2008

Downloaded the plug-in...had no choice because it wasn't a flash download and surprise surprise all my sound was messed up and it blocked flashplayer so i couldn't continue working on website designs.

Another Microsoft product that we don't need! same as Windows Vista..most of the components crash eachother and the whole system is totally unstable! Silverlight...silvers**te more like

madmike007 reviewed v2.0 Beta 1 on Mar 6, 2008

This could be a disaster waiting to happen for MS, on the surface, its like Flash and adobe - tied product. Unless MS make this moreflexiable its a non starter. Tying it to MS stuff would be a disaster , aka Frontpage with its (dont work anywhere else) extensions.

Lots of potential, but needs to be more universally useable.

nils9000 reviewed v2.0 Beta 1 on Mar 5, 2008

@Netean, so why did you even bother writing a review, if you can call it that, even you don't even get the point??? Why do the bashers come out of the woodwork whenever the word Microsoft comes up?

To counter your lame review, I give it a 5. It works! It's very interactive for the user. I like where this is going.

terminalx reviewed v2.0 Beta 1 on Mar 5, 2008

To the idiot below, if you don't know what the product is and what it does, why are you rating it such a low rate, nay why are you rating it at all?

I so far really have really liked what has been done with this program, it feels like it could be even better then flash, only time will tell though...

netean reviewed v2.0 Beta 1 on Mar 5, 2008

maybe I just don't know enough. But I really don't see the point of silverlight. Don't know what I'd care it's reached beta 2, nor why I'd care enough to want it.

lucianct reviewed v1.0 on Sep 5, 2007

yeah, i get errors on firefox & ie too when i'm visiting their site! and the beta version was working fine... they messed up the things :))

Silverlight Error:

Error Type: DownloadError
Error Message: AG_E_NETWORK_ERROR
Error Code: 4001

flash can do everything silverlight does (except errors, of course), and works smoothly.

castiglione reviewed v1.1 Alpha Refresh (Sep 07) on Sep 5, 2007

Paul, Microsoft always had V1.1 of Silverlight available since they were doing V1.0 beta. V1.1 is an Alpha, so, since MS was starting the Silverlight project, they had both versions available.

Paul Skinner reviewed v1.1 Alpha Refresh (Sep 07) on Sep 5, 2007

Crikey. That's quick development for a Microsoft product.

Version 1 out today and already a 1.1 alpha.

Metshrine reviewed v1.0 on Sep 5, 2007

To the user below, it appears you arent rating the product now are you? You are rating its comparability to flash, not how it functions. Oh wait, you must know this.

This could be a good product if it continues to be added to and expanded. Right now, its got some lacking functions I need as a developer, but other than that, it appears to be a well thought out program.

mjm01010101 reviewed v1.0 on Sep 5, 2007

In both Firefox and IE I get errors popping up on Microsoft's silverlight page.

Terrible. Typical MS 1.0 product.

dougau reviewed v1.0 on Sep 5, 2007

to quote bourgeoisdude's original post; "Since I'm rating the product itself (not the company or its marketing like other users do),"

I don't see a need for it as Flash already does everything needed. Hopefully this will go over as well as Microsoft Chrome or Bob.

Oh wait!! is this really Chrome 2.0?

Being from Microsoft is reason enough to approach Silverlight with a bit of caution and wounder what total computer, office, and Internet software dominance will cost consumers in the long run?

bourgeoisdude reviewed v1.0 on Sep 5, 2007

As far as installation goes, it installs without a hitch on IE7 and on IE6 as well. Haven't checked the FF version yet but it doesn't appear to be a problem for anyone else thus far.

Also much easier to download as a redist. network install package than Adobe's flash player. As far as functionality, hard to tell thus far with the lack of abundant Silverlight websites so far, but just by looking at it, the features appear to match and perhaps even beat that of the current Flash Player's capabilities.

I know Flash and Silverlight aren't the same exact technologies but Flash is "the product" to compare it to currently. Forgive me for over-simplifying for comparative purposes.

Only time will tell if this will catch on as quickley as (formerly) Macromedia's Flash Player did.

jemts reviewed v1.0 on Sep 5, 2007

Silverlight is still very young but it is an interesting way to combine and streamline online and offline app development with a common toolset. I think once 1.1 goes final with support for .NET languages we will really see what this is capable of.

terminalx reviewed v1.0 on Sep 5, 2007

The product is quite nice and would be a welcome change to flash.

Not sure if the guy below is trolling or not but when this was first announced it worked in firefox with no problems, it has a mac version and the oss community was embracing it as well.

I think maybe MS should not put their name in front of it and just release it anonymously, 10-1 the same people who go on and on about how bad MS is would actually have to use the product to determine its worthiness.

Tafiti is pretty nice in showing off what silverlight will offer.

kronix2 reviewed v1.0 Beta on May 1, 2007

This is cool, but we won't know what its performance truly is until somebody makes something comparable to a complicated Flash file which uses vectors, set on high quality. The demo on the Silverlight site is just a video, but there are a few more examples in their gallery: http://silverlight.net/t...allerydetail.aspx?cat=1

tannman1 reviewed v1.0 Beta on Apr 30, 2007

From what In saw at the Silverlight website this technology will be awesome. Excellent quality

gate1975mlm reviewed v1.0 Beta on Apr 30, 2007

Looks great! Can't wait to more sites start using it.

billweh reviewed v1.0 Beta on Apr 30, 2007

This is awesome! It runs with a heck of a lot less CPU than Flash ever did. Half the time when I go to Adobe's site - my browser goes nuts because Flash just sucks up 100% of CPU while trying to render their top banner.

Watching a Silverlight program run - my CPU barely flickered.

If MS makes the dev tools available free of charge or so low cost that anyone can afford it (unlike Flash) - then I think we'll see this beat flash in no time.

alphatrigon reviewed v1.0 CTP (Feb 2007) on Apr 18, 2007

Great tech, with greater integration and functionality. If this is given the same attention as many of Microsofts other development platforms, from Visual Basic to Office, it will be a good thing.

ModderXManiac reviewed v1.0 CTP (Feb 2007) on Apr 17, 2007

It'll take years for M$ to ever catch up with the 10+years Macromedia(now Adobe)has spent building up the flash platform, and it will never be as popular.

Only a matter of time before they integrate DRM into it...I wish Microsuck luck; if they aren't attempting to make money off of this, then Steve Ballmer will see to it that they do.