12 February 2008 9:22 GMT / By Amy-Mae Elliott
Vmedia Research has unveiled an entirely new format in mobile entertainment media technology at the Mobile World Congress event.The "Vmedia" format is a miniature optical disc format "designed to bring the quality of a big screen experience and the simplicity of home entertainment to mobile consumer electronics".
A Vmedia disc is a new removable optical media for mobile devices, DVD-quality, and with the same price points and release dates, the discs are played in Vmedia optical drives – the world’s smallest blue laser optical drives.
A Vmedia optical disc is 32mm in diameter and able to hold complete feature-length movies at 576p resolution by combining blue laser technology with advanced video (H.264) and audio codecs (AAC).
The first generation single-layer Vmedia disc has 1GB of capacity which will hold the typical feature-length film plus extra features such as out-takes, mobile phone wallpapers and ringtones.
Vmedia disc capacity will increase to 2GB on dual layer discs which the company expects to ship in 2009. A recordable Vmedia disc is under development for future release.
The first generation Vmedia optical drive is currently shipping to mobile phone manufacturers in India this year, with a possible launch in the UK and US in 2009.
According to a spokesperson for the company, when the phone launches there will be over 1000 films available from big Hollywood and Bollywood studios. Names being touted include Warner Bros, and Sony BMG.
A second generation slim drive with a reduced height of 9.5mm will be shipping in the latter half of 2008.
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