Microsoft said the total number of consumer devices supporting Windows Media Series has now surpassed 400, double what was announced last January's Consumer Electronics Show (CES).
CE .NET insideAmong the devices showcased at CEATEC having Windows Media 9 Series support are the following two which are based on embedded Windows CE .NET 4.2 operating systems:
- NEC IP-TV set-top box -- NEC unveiled an Internet Protocol television (IPTV) set-top box built on Windows CE .NET 4.2 with Windows Media Video 9 playback at D1 quality at 1.5 Mbps.
- SANYO HDD Voice Recorder/AV Player -- SANYO gave a sneak peek of a new portable media player and digital recorder with a 20GB hard disk drive, built on Windows CE .NET 4.2. The device will support Windows Media Audio and Windows Media Video 9 playback as well as the transfer of media from a PC. A built-in USB hosting function enables saving photos from a USB Mass Storage Class digital camera and the ability to record pictures taken by a cellular phone via an SD card.
In the chipsChip announcements and demonstrations included the following two . . .
- Analog Devices demonstrated the first Windows Media Audio 9 Professional decoder chip, SHARC Melody Ultra, in conjunction with Pioneer Electronic's new VSA-AX10N-i AV amplifier.
- Hitachi announced that its BroadGear Digital Media Processor now supports Windows Media Video 9 encoding and decoding for implementation in digital television solutions, set-top boxes, video-editing equipment, and more.
