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Intel's so-called Viiv technology is just another attempt to put the PC where it doesn't belong, argues Karl Wright.

Over the last five years, companies like Intel and Microsoft have tried to persuade us that a PC can be a better stereo than our stereo, a better VCR than our VCR and, well, you get the picture. Now they're at it again. Last month Intel ceremoniously launched its Viiv technology - a new standard designed for the enjoyment of digital entertainment.

Sounds interesting, so what is it? It's a PC. No, really - just a PC. In order to get a 'Viiv' sticker on the front, a computer needs to have an Intel Pentium D, Pentium E, or Core Duo processor; a motherboard with an Intel 945, 955, or 975 chipset and an Intel network card. Most of these parts are neither new nor exclusive to Viiv.

And that's the thing about living room PCs - they're just a way of getting you to buy for your living room the same overpriced hardware you decided against putting in your study. Don't believe us? Just look at what Intel claims Viiv will do - with a Viiv PC, you'll be able to listen in surround sound, you'll be able to share your 'digital

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media' (photos, music and video) and access lots of on-demand entertainment. In other words, everything that you can do with your PC, TV and DVD player already.

So what's the point? Well, you'll make Intel and Microsoft a lot richer. Doesn't that make you instantly happier?

Living rooms are already overflowing with electronics, so replacing umpteen boxes is a great idea, argues Julian Prokaza.

Televisions and computers have been on a collision course called 'convergence' for a number of years, but it's only recently that the two have started to mesh in a believable way. With games consoles and hard disk-based video recorders already in many homes, and both high-definition TV and movies-via-broadband on the horizon, it's inevitable that the stack of mains-powered boxes that sit under a typical TV will eventually be replaced by just one in the form of a PC.

The problem is that PC manufacturers have tried this before, but few people have been thrilled at the prospect of a beige tower case sat next to their ash-black home entertainment cabinet. With Viiv, however, manufacturers have both the justification and the technology to do something radically different and as you'll soon see, produce a PC that will blend invisibly into a living room.

Viiv is about more than just looks, of course. A DVD player can only play DVD movies and PVRs can only record programmes, but a PC can do this and more besides. It won't be too before we take such things as video-on-demand and the seamless integration of Internet content and TV programmes for granted, and we'll look back on today's simple Sky and Freeview set-top boxes with the same disdain as the three-channel black and white TV experience of yesteryear.