AMD Counters 'VIIV' With 'LIVE!'

AMD introduced its first media center enabled PCs on Wednesday, the Sunnyvale, Calif., company's next move in its ongoing battle with competitor Intel. The AMD LIVE! PCs, which are built on top of Athlon 64 X2 dual-core processors, will include a collection of services and applications designed for the platform.

Intel introduced its VIIV line of computers in August of last year. Features of VIIV will be quick on-and-off similar to current entertainment devices, 5.1 surround sound with optional 7.1 surround sound support, and automatic transcoding of media files to ensure compatibility

VIIV technology will be integrated into set-top boxes designed to match stereos and DVD players, as well as standard desktop PCs running Windows XP Media Center Edition.

AMD Live, on the other hand, seems to differ in that its focus is more on the applications. For example, a service called On Demand would assist in streaming live or pre-recorded media to various devices. LogMeIn, a PCAnywhere-like application, allows for remote access, and Media Vault is a service from AMD that provides up to 25GB of free storage for backups of media content.

Unlike VIIV's set of applications, AMD has made many of these available for free from the AMD Live Web site.

"With the AMD LIVE! PC, AMD begins delivering on its vision for merging broadcast TV content with interactive, personalized broadband applications and services, all without disrupting the devices already accepted and used by consumers in their homes today," said AMD desktop corporate vice president Bob Brewer.

Several manufacturers have signed on to build PCs based on the Live platform, including Acer, Alienware, Fujitsu, Gateway, and HP. The first PCs are expected to begin shipping sometime next month.