IDF, Fall 2005: Intel gives us Viiv

 

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By Tim Danton in San Francisco. Photo by Wil Harris

Posted on 24 Aug 2005 at 23:52

It rhymes with five, spells 64 if you look at it as a Roman numeral, and if Intel has its way will become as ubiquitous on Media Center PCs as Centrino already is on wireless notebooks. Welcome to Viiv, announced at IDF, the brand for Intel's latest technology to 'enrich consumers' enjoyment of digital entertainment'.

Just as the Centrino badge can only be used on notebooks with Intel Pentium M processors, Intel chipsets and Intel wireless chips, the Viiv badge will only be available to use on PCs with an Intel dual-core processor, Intel chipset, Intel networking chips and - it seems likely - Intel audio chipsets. The only other confirmed component is Microsoft's Media Center operating system.

While Media Center PCs today are often just standalone devices, primarily aimed to replace the TV, Viiv PCs will be designed as part of a home network. 'We're taking connectivity to a new level,' said Don MacDonald, general manager of Intel Digital Home Group, as he revealed the brand.

MacDonald knows that the key to Viiv's success will be its ease of use and its ability to work with consumer electronics, and he confirmed that Intel was already talking to consumer electronics companies so that people would be able to move their files - in whatever format - from room to room and between various devices, including DVD players, TV sets and portable media players.

New content will also be vital. 'We intend to engage with the producers, the studios and the networks to get content to people,' said MacDonald. 'We are not getting into the services industry; we are a chip company. However, we will either acquire or licence technology, or co-market with companies, or we will fund companies to put solutions in place - the things Intel itself just doesn't do.' Already, Intel has partnered with Morgan Freeman's production company to simultaneously launch a movie on the Net with its launch in cinemas.

Despite this, the feeling among the delegates we spoke to was sceptical. In the UK, for instance, Intel will be up against some very tough opposition in the form of Sky - unless it can persuade Sky to become a partner - and it remains questionable whether the majority of consumers will be willing to spend around £1,000 for a Viiv PC.