Texas Instruments is working with Microsoft on future versions of the Windows Mobile-based Portable Media Center Software Kit, enabling manufacturers to develop Portable Media Centers with TI hardware. TI provides an integrated, cost-effective solution to meet the growing hardware demands of these devices.
"Portable Media Centers have created new opportunities for people to take their entertainment -- video, photos and music -- with them anywhere, anytime," said John Pollard of Microsoft. "TI's Digital Media processors will help our Windows Mobile-based device manufacturers deliver more choices as the category continues to evolve and expand."
"This collaboration between leaders in portable media silicon, and PC and mobile software will accelerate the availability of highly optimized and affordable Portable Media Centers to consumers worldwide," said Chris Schairbaum of TI. "Since developing the first processor for portable audio/video players several years ago, TI has continued to provide foundational technology to our customers, enabling breakthrough consumer products for the home, the car, the office or anywhere in between."
This development is based on a TI system-on-a-chip (SOC), a highly integrated Digital Media processor targeted specifically for portable applications, capable of supporting QVGA resolution for Windows Media Video 9, as well as up to D1 resolution of other commonly used video formats. TI's Digital Media processor is a multi-core device, embedding a digital signal processor (DSP) and an ARM core. It has an integrated peripheral set, supporting the base Portable Media Center requirements, as well as many of the additional options available to Portable Media Center developers. It features an integrated video encoder, hardware video accelerators and USB host capabilities, offering superior performance over single-core PMC implementations, while minimizing power consumption. With a programmable architecture, the Digital Media processor can support Windows Media Audio (WMA), MP3, JPEG and all other major digital media formats, as well as offers encoding capabilities for OEMs that want to differentiate their Portable Media Center products.