Intel Viiv vs. AMD Live! – Comparing the HTPC Standards

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Intel is a marketing machine!

Intel is a dominant force in the PC industry. Just last year they were losing ground to AMD and looked set to continue this trend. Surprisingly for most of us except a very few hardened enthusiasts they managed to turn this around and now look set to gain lost ground and more unless AMD does something quick.

Part of Intel’s strategy to gain the market share back was to introduce the Viiv concept. It was a massively hyped marketing campaign designed to keep people’s eye off the CPU race, while at the same time offering something unique and entertaining.

Intel describes the digital home as containing these following items:

Intel® Viiv™ technology

New Intel® Platforms Drive Innovation for the Home and Office

Content protection

Voice and converged communications

Broadband wireless technology

Ultra-Wideband (UWB) technology

Universal Serial Bus (USB) technology

UPnP* technology

Each factor is a digital solution set to replace some or all of the components you already own in your digitally patchy home. Essentially these are Intel’s answer to your cluttered and complicated network of digital appliances and computers.

Let’s take a closer look at what the Viiv promise is, and how it can make your life better:

Intel’s website states that “A new kind of personal computer will premiere in homes early in 2006 when Intel introduces Intel Viiv technology, designed to enrich consumers' enjoyment of digital entertainment”