MultiMediaCard (MMC) vs. xD-Picture Card
Comparing 2 standards across 13 specifications. 13 key differences identified.
MultiMediaCard (MMC) is a solid-state memory card standard introduced in 1997 by Siemens and SanDisk based on a 7-pin serial bus. Evolving into RS-MMC and MMCmobile, it formed the physical and protocol foundation of both the SD card and JEDEC eMMC (embedded MultiMediaCard), the ubiquitous internal storage standard for mobile devices, smart TVs, and single-board computers.
xD-Picture Card ('eXtreme Digital') is a proprietary flash memory card format developed by Olympus and Fujifilm in 2002 (manufactured by Toshiba and Samsung). Measuring 20.0 × 25.0 × 1.7 mm with 18 surface pads, it utilized a controllerless architecture where the host camera directly managed the raw NAND flash silicon, before being discontinued in 2010 in favor of SDHC.
Specification Comparison Table
13 Parameters| Parameter / Spec | ||
|---|---|---|
|
Introduction Year
|
1997 (Siemens & SanDisk) | 2002 (superseded SmartMedia) |
|
Governing Standards Bodies
|
MMCA (historically) / JEDEC (eMMC Standard JESD84-B51A) | — |
|
Physical Dimensions (Full MMC)
|
32.0 mm × 24.0 mm × 1.4 mm (7-pin interface) | — |
|
Reduced Size Formats
|
RS-MMC (24.0 × 18.0 × 1.4 mm), MMCmobile (dual voltage), MMCmicro (14.0 × 12.0 × 1.1 mm) | — |
|
Embedded Evolution
|
eMMC (eMMC 4.5, 5.0, 5.1 delivering up to 400 MB/s via 8-bit parallel bus in BGA packaging) | — |
|
Bus Widths
|
1-bit (legacy MMC), 4-bit (MMC Plus), 8-bit (eMMC HS400) | — |
|
Operating Voltages
|
3.3V (standard) / 1.8V (dual voltage / eMMC) | — |
|
Governing Manufacturers
|
— | Olympus Corporation & Fujifilm (manufactured by Toshiba/Samsung) |
|
Physical Dimensions
|
— | 20.0 mm × 25.0 mm × 1.7 mm (Weight: ~2.8 g) |
|
Pad Configuration
|
— | 18 gold-plated contact pads (bottom surface) |
|
Controller Architecture
|
— | Controllerless (Host camera CPU directly controls raw NAND flash) |
|
Variants & Capacities
|
— | Standard (16–512MB SLC), Type M (256MB–2GB MLC), Type H (256MB–2GB High Speed), Type M+ (up to 2GB) |
|
Nominal Operating Voltage
|
— | 3.3V nominal |