Qualcomm and Microsoft Corporation today announced that QUALCOMM will integrate the Windows Media Audio and Video codecs into Qualcomm's Qtv video decoder solution. Consumers will be able to play back and stream Windows Media Audio (WMA) and Windows Media Video (WMV) content on wireless devices integrated with QUALCOMM's Qtv solution.

"By enabling our Qtv solution to play content encoded with the high-quality compression efficiencies of Microsoft's Windows Media, we are providing operators with access to new revenue opportunities through the deployment of rich multimedia services and our manufacturing partners with fully tested, fully integrated, differentiated solutions," said Luis Pineda, vice president of marketing and product management for QUALCOMM CDMA Technologies. "QUALCOMM is fully committed to providing the industry with multimedia capabilities based on industry leading technologies such as Windows Media, and this agreement helps further that goal."

"The goal of this agreement between Microsoft and QUALCOMM is that high-quality video on mobile phones will soon provide the streaming video experience consumers get with their high-speed wired connections at home," said John Stratton, vice president and chief marketing officer for Verizon Wireless.

QUALCOMM's integrated Mobile Station Modem solutions will enable acceleration of Windows Media codecs to provide superior decoding performance and lower power consumption, resulting in an enhanced user experience. This agreement leverages the power of QUALCOMM's MSM chipsets with the flexibility of Microsoft's Windows Media codecs to provide faster time-to-market for multimedia-rich wireless handsets.