<s>
Portable	B-Operating_System
Media	I-Operating_System
Center	I-Operating_System
(	O
PMC	O
)	O
is	O
a	O
portable	O
media	B-Device
player	I-Device
(	O
PMP	O
)	O
platform	O
developed	O
by	O
Microsoft	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Announced	O
at	O
the	O
2003	O
Consumer	O
Electronics	O
Show	O
(	O
CES	O
)	O
,	O
and	O
released	O
in	O
early	O
2004	O
,	O
it	O
was	O
originally	O
positioned	O
as	O
a	O
competitor	O
to	O
Apple	O
's	O
iPod	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
All	O
its	O
hard	O
drive-based	O
players	O
use	O
a	O
graphical	B-Application
user	I-Application
interface	I-Application
(	O
GUI	B-Application
)	O
modeled	O
after	O
Media	B-Device
Center	I-Device
,	O
a	O
software	O
portal	O
bundled	O
with	O
Windows	B-Application
XP	I-Application
Media	I-Application
Center	I-Application
Edition	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Manufacturers	O
of	O
PMC	O
devices	O
included	O
Creative	O
,	O
Philips	O
,	O
iriver	O
,	O
Samsung	B-Application
,	O
and	O
Toshiba	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
platform	O
was	O
conceived	O
in	O
line	O
with	O
Microsoft	O
's	O
Windows	B-Device
Media	I-Device
Center	I-Device
strategy	O
,	O
where	O
the	O
idea	O
was	O
to	O
have	O
a	O
single	O
media	O
management	O
interface	O
that	O
would	O
be	O
used	O
on	O
both	O
PCs	O
and	O
in	O
consumer	O
devices	O
,	O
including	O
televisions	O
and	O
handhelds	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
strategy	O
was	O
developed	O
by	O
Microsoft	O
's	O
Windows	O
Embedded	O
group	O
in	O
partnership	O
with	O
the	O
eHome	O
Division	O
,	O
which	O
formed	O
in	O
February	O
2001	O
and	O
started	O
partnerships	O
with	O
companies	O
like	O
Samsung	B-Application
with	O
the	O
goal	O
to	O
"	O
develop	O
new	O
technologies	O
so	O
consumers	O
can	O
enjoy	O
whole-home	O
entertainment	O
,	O
communications	O
and	O
control	O
experiences	O
where	O
,	O
when	O
and	O
however	O
they	O
want	O
them	O
"	O
and	O
"	O
develop	O
an	O
entire	O
ecosystem	O
of	O
PCs	O
,	O
digital	O
devices	O
,	O
intelligent	O
home	O
appliances	O
and	O
services	O
that	O
will	O
easily	O
and	O
cost-effectively	O
transform	O
average	O
households	O
into	O
next-generation	O
digital	O
homes.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Windows	B-Device
Media	I-Device
Center	I-Device
name	O
was	O
created	O
with	O
the	O
release	O
of	O
a	O
Windows	O
XP	O
product	O
edition	O
,	O
Windows	B-Application
XP	I-Application
Media	I-Application
Center	I-Application
Edition	I-Application
,	O
geared	O
towards	O
this	O
ecosystem	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Codenamed	O
Media2Go	O
,	O
it	O
was	O
later	O
rebranded	O
as	O
Windows	B-Operating_System
Mobile	I-Operating_System
software	I-Operating_System
for	O
Portable	B-Operating_System
Media	I-Operating_System
Centers	I-Operating_System
,	O
before	O
being	O
named	O
Portable	B-Operating_System
Media	I-Operating_System
Center	I-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Portable	B-Operating_System
Media	I-Operating_System
Center	I-Operating_System
was	O
succeeded	O
by	O
Zune	B-Library
,	O
and	O
served	O
as	O
the	O
basis	O
for	O
its	O
software	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Zune	B-Library
had	O
similar	O
aims	O
to	O
provide	O
a	O
unifying	O
media	O
platform	O
across	O
PCs	O
,	O
devices	O
,	O
and	O
televisions	O
(	O
3-screen	O
strategy	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Its	O
operating	B-General_Concept
system	I-General_Concept
was	O
a	O
specialized	O
version	O
of	O
Windows	B-Operating_System
CE	I-Operating_System
,	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
All	O
PMCs	O
are	O
able	O
to	O
play	O
audio	O
files	O
in	O
MP3	B-Application
and	O
display	O
images	O
in	O
JPEG	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Also	O
,	O
they	O
support	O
Microsoft	O
's	O
proprietary	O
formats	O
:	O
Windows	B-Application
Media	I-Application
Audio	I-Application
(	O
WMA	B-Application
)	O
and	O
Windows	B-Device
Media	I-Device
Video	I-Device
(	O
WMV	B-Device
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Other	O
video	O
formats	O
will	O
either	O
be	O
supported	O
by	O
each	O
individual	O
PMC	O
,	O
or	O
transcoded	O
though	O
Windows	B-Device
Media	I-Device
Player	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Media	B-Protocol
Transfer	I-Protocol
Protocol	I-Protocol
(	O
MTP	O
)	O
is	O
used	O
for	O
transferring	O
data	O
.	O
</s>
