Aricent, a full-service, full-spectrum communications software company, announced that it has developed high-definition video and audio encoders and decoders for Texas Instruments' OMAP3430 processor-based mobile phones. Aricent's multimedia codecs were designed specifically for TI's OMAP3430 processor, the latest in a line of mobile platforms that combine PC- and consumer entertainment system-comparable performance with low power consumption.

    To be demonstrated for the first time today at Mobile World Congress, Barcelona, Aricent's high-definition software enables a new class of applications for the mobile consumer. The consumer will be able to use their mobile phone as a HD quality player and download high resolution HD content (720p) on their phone for playback on an HDTV screen or use the mobile phone as a DVD-quality camcorder recording in high resolution (720p).

    By decoding 720p MPEG-4 Simple Profile video in real-time, Aricent has become one of the first companies to offer DVD-quality record and playback capabilities for a range of mobile devices such as mobile handsets, portable media players and automotive entertainment systems. The Aricent MPEG4-SP 720p video and AAC audio codecs leverage the OMAP3430 processor capabilities to achieve encoding and decoding of video streams at unprecedented resolutions. Aricent's multimedia software on the OMAP3430 processor is designed for multiple mobile platforms like Linux, Symbian and Windows Mobile.

    "The next generation of mobile phones will support multimedia features previously available only with high-end consumer electronics," said Markus Tremmel, worldwide wireless ecosystem manager Texas Instruments. "Using the processing power of the OMAP3430 processor, for the first time companies like Aricent are delivering better-than DVD-quality record and playback capabilities for mobile handsets."

    The first device in TI's OMAP 3 architecture, the OMAP3430 multimedia applications processor delivers up to 3x gain in performance over ARM11-based processors, enabling laptop-like productivity and advanced entertainment in 3G handsets. The industry's first application processor to be designed in a 65-nanometer (nm) CMOS process, the OMAP3430 operates at a higher frequency than previous generation OMAP processors while lowering the core voltage and adding power reduction features.

    "The Aricent high-definition codecs for the OMAP3430 processor will drive a completely new class of mobile multimedia experience," stated Sajal Gupta, head of products, Aricent. "This software will allow consumers to record and play high-definition 720p video from their mobile phone, automotive entertainment system or personal media player."

    The OMAP3430 is the first applications processor in the industry to integrate the ARM Cortex-A8 superscalar microprocessor core. Combined with TI's technology in the OMAP3430, the ARM Cortex-A8 enables faster user interfaces, faster data access and boosts productivity and entertainment applications on the mobile phone, while maintaining power efficiencies expected in a handset.