K.C. Krishnadas

EE Times

(08/25/2005 11:23 AM EDT)

BANGALORE, India — India-based Ittiam Systems will work with Microsoft to develop video solutions for the latter`s Windows Mobile-based portable media center devices.

Both companies have worked on a set of codecs and functions to be delivered to OEMs to take the devices to market, including hardware reference platforms and board support packages.

“All industry standard video decoders are now available for the next generation device manufacturers, and so are a variety of audio encoders and decoders,” said Shantanu Jha, vice president, media processing, Ittiam Systems Pvt. Ltd, in a statement.

Microsoft has selected Ittiam as a preferred supplier for these codecs and Windows Media Video 9 that is shipped with the portable media centers kits. Ittiam has developed the solutions around Texas Instruments` digital media processors and the devices are expected to hit the market by Christmas next year.

The devices enable easy storing and playing of recorded digital TV, movies, home videos, music and photos transferred from a PC with Windows XP. The platform, which lets video content providers develop new business models allowing legal access to movies, TV shows and short clips, continues to expand as over 20 companies have made content available for viewing on these devices.

“Working closely with Ittiam on developing codecs for our next iteration of the portable media centers software will help our device manufacturers free up resources that can be used to differentiate themselves by providing people a wider selection of devices,” said Brett Bentsen, product unit manager, Windows Mobile Media, Microsoft Corp., in a statement.