MPEG-4 mobile media collaboration launched

Philips are set to unveil their mobile multimedia delivery which combines MPEG-4, Java and Linux platforms.
Philips have collaborated with Sun Microsystems to demonstrate the seamless integration of Philips' new MPEG-4-based Platform4 Multimedia Player with a prototype version of the new Mobile Media API (MMAPI) for the Java 2 Platform Micro Edition (J2ME). The product will feature high-quality 3GPP MPEG-4 video content streamed and played back on a PDA running Linux.
Philips' Platform4 offers a fully scalable architecture for wireless network operators to store and distribute premium content such as high-quality video and audio entertainment, multimedia messaging and graphics-heavy games applications over GPRS and 3G networks.
Built around open world standards including ISO-compliant MPEG-4, 3GPP, Java and others, it provides a robust and secure solution for media compression, management, delivery and playback.
Platform4 also includes optimised mechanisms, including network adaptation, error resilience and error concealment, to guard against interruptions and instability in mobile multimedia content delivery. Operators will gain significant advantage from the higher service quality offered by this technology, ensuring a more satisfying user experience and, in the process, reducing subscriber turnover.
J2ME was created by Sun Microsystems to enable device manufacturers and service providers alike to create compelling, attractive products and applications for the next generation of networked consumer devices. In particular, J2ME provides a consistent development environment based on the Java programming language, to offer upward scalability with other Java-based platforms in use by networks. In this context, multimedia support within the J2ME framework is of prime importance, Philips has been working to develop and validate the MMAPI optional package for the J2ME platform.
Shailendra Jain, Chief Operating Officer of the MP4Net business within Philips Digital Networks, said: "This demonstrates a wonderful opportunity for Philips and Sun to show the respective benefits of Platform4 and J2ME for delivering high-quality standards-based multimedia technology to next generation mobile wireless devices."
Philips, www.news.philips.com
Sun Microsystems, www.sun.com
(GMcG)