A Portable Media Center (PMC) is a hard drive-based portable media player device that can play digital video and audio files. A PMC can also be used to view JPEG image files. It runs on a specialized version of the Windows Mobile operating system and is currently produced by Creative Labs, iRiver and Samsung.
PMCs were introduced in the 2004 Consumer Electronics Show held in the United States. Creative worked in collaboration with Microsoft to come up with the design and concept of the initial product, but each vendor makes a slightly different version. The first company to launch the PMC was Creative, which launched its Creative Zen PMC in Comex Singapore on August 29 2004 before introducing it in the United States on September 2 2004.
For video files, only Windows Media Video files can be played; the user must convert his files to this format before he can play it.
Specifications
- LCD screen (3.5-3.8 inches wide)
- 20 gigabyte storage
- Replaceable Lithium ion battery
- FM tuner (iRiver only)
- Voice recorder (iRiver only)
Formats
- Video file format
- Windows Media Video (resolution 320x240, maximum bitrate of 800 kbps)