Microsoft Expression Studio

Microsoft Expression Studio is a suite of tools for designing and building web and Windows client applications and rich digital media contents.

Overview
Microsoft introduced Microsoft Expression on September 16, 2005 at Microsoft's Professional Developers Conference in Los Angeles. Microsoft Expression Encoder was introduced at NAB 2007. Microsoft Expression Studio was released to manufacturing on April 30, 2007. The RTM news was announced at Microsoft's MIX 07 conference for web developers and designers.

Microsoft Expression Studio 2 was released on May 1, 2008, which also included a graphical makeover for the suite to an inverse of the previous a white on black theme. This release brings all products in the suite to version 2, and now also includes Visual Studio Standard 2008. Microsoft Expression Studio is also available to students as downloads via Microsoft's DreamSpark program.

Microsoft Expression Studio 3 was released on July 22, 2009, This release brings all products in the suite to version 3, with significant improvements especially targeting Silverlight 3. Expression Media is no longer a part of package, while all other products have been significantly improved and enriched.

On June 7, 2010, Expression Studio 4 was released. Expression Studio 4 is a free upgrade for licensed Expression Studio 3 users, but only for retail copies.

Applications
The suite consists of:
 * Microsoft Expression Web: Website designer and HTML editor.
 * Microsoft Expression Blend + SketchFlow: Visual user interface builder for Windows Presentation Foundation and Silverlight applications.
 * Microsoft Expression Design: Raster and vector graphics editor.
 * Microsoft Expression Encoder: Digital video encoder for authoring VC-1 and H.264/MPEG-4 AVC contents.

Formerly included:
 * Microsoft Expression Media: Digital asset management application (Included until Expression Studio 3).

Limitations
The version of Expression Encoder Pro available as part of Expression Studio in programs like DreamSpark, BizSpark, WebsiteSpark and through MSDN Ultimate does not include royalty incurring codec and standards support for exporting in MP4 format (H.264 video and AAC audio). It also does not include import filters for TS, M2TS, AVCHD, MPEG-2, and AC-3 although if third party DirectShow filters are installed, it is able to import these formats as is the free version. Expression Encoder Pro version available in retail does not have these limitations. The free version available to everyone and included in MSDN Premium lacks IIS Live Smooth Streaming and unlimited screen capture.

With the release of Expression Studio 4, three editions of Expression Studio were introduced: Expression Studio 4 Web Professional (includes Expression Encoder, Design and Web), Expression Studio 4 Premium (adds Blend to the suite) and Expression Studio 4 Ultimate (adds SketchFlow). MSDN subscribers receive only the SKU of Expression Studio 4 that corresponds to their Visual Studio 2010 license. As such, MSDN Premium users do not get SketchFlow.

Some editions of Expression Studio also include product activation.