Intel Lifts Veil of Secrecy from VIIV
If Intel has its way, consumers will soon be asking if their home entertainment PC has "VIIV" (rhymes with "five") inside.
In his keynote address at the Intel Developer Forum in San Francisco, Intel Digital Home Group general manager Don MacDonald unveiled the new technology, which combines Intel's in-house software, processor and chipset to enable a system to perform entertainment tasks with ease.
VIIV is certainly an unusual name. Some had speculated when the filings for VIIV trademarks were first uncovered in January that the name meant 64-bit processors, or that it may stand for a dual-core Pentium 5 processor.
However, neither assumption seems to be correct. The processors will be mixed 32- and 64-bit, and no announcement has been made on a Pentium 5 brand. Also, Intel said the brand name is meant to communicate "the excitement, vibrancy and vividness" of technology designed for home entertainment by the company.
Features of VIIV-enabled computers 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.
"As we focus on making digital entertainment easier to access and view on different devices throughout the home, a vast number of companies have an enormous opportunity to provide a wider variety of innovative devices, content and software than ever before," MacDonald told attendees. "Intel Viiv technology exemplifies this objective."
VIIV will launch in the first quarter of 2006.