AMD takes fight to Intel with Live! brand release
Partners get on board as vendor responds to rival's Viiv technology with latest PC and notebook offering
AMD has finally come out with an answer to Intel’s Viiv technology for the digital home market, calling it AMD Live!
The new brand will comprise a series of AMD technologies and specifications designed to create a new breed of consumer-friendly multi-media PCs and notebooks. At the heart of the Live! brand will be AMD’s Athlon 64 x2 dual-core processors for PCs and its dual-core notebook processors. Systems using the new brand, which can include set-top boxes, are expected to appear in the middle of this year and initial partners include Microsoft, STMicro-electronics, VIA Technologies, Motorola, ATI, Alienware, nVidia, Broadcom and Nero.
AMD claimed that Live! will transform consumer PCs from “two-foot” PC experience into “10 foot” extended PCs, by making it easy to use, share, record and stream content between different devices.
“AMD is looking to change the way consumers experience digital entertainment in their home and on the go,” said Iain Morris, senior vice president of digital consumer media and pervasive computing at AMD.
“Our vision for digital media is grounded in using the strength and flexibility of the PC to empower consumers to enhance their entertainment experiences with personal, interactive applications, all without disrupting users’ TV viewing experience,” he added.
Ray Bontempi, vice-president of home mobility solutions at Motorola Connected Home Business, said: “As a leading manufacturer of digital video set-tops, Motorola believes a rich, seamless consumer experience in and around the home can only happen when different devices are connected and interoperable.”
Another key partner in AMD’s attempt to get Live! into the living room market is set-top-box-maker STMicroelectronics, which will
create a network-connected, high-definition ready box that incorporates AMD Live!
“Media applications running on the PC and delivered via the TV allow consumers to select the precise content that suits their mood using a traditional remote control,” said Christos Lagomichos, general manager of the home entertainment group at STMicroelectronics.
AMD’s announcement comes months after the launch of Viiv, Intel’s attempt to emulate the success of Centrino in the notebook market in the digital home arena. Viiv prescribes a set of technologies that partners must use in order to use the Viiv logo. The first Viiv systems are due out this month and Intel, unlike AMD, is expected to invest in excess of $100m into marketing the brand.