Intel, Philips Team Up for Media Center

Intel and Philips have announced that they will work together to bring new entertainment systems to the market built on the chipmaker's platform. Intel will provide the software, processor and chipset for Philips devices that will allow the user to store and share multimedia content.

The units will run on Windows software and at first will closely resemble a standard PC. However, in an interview on Friday, Intel's Don MacDonald said the company expects that to change over time.

While Media Center PCs have seen lackluster sales since their debut, Intel believes that the time has come where sales of multimedia-capable entertainment systems will begin to take off.

Thus, the company launched VIIV, a chipset and software platform that is based on Microsoft's Windows Media Center Edition. Intel has high hopes that it will be able to break into the consumer electronics market with VIIV based systems.

Philips' version, called the Showline Media Center, will have the capability to let viewers watch two television programs at once, as well as perform DVR functions through a 250-gigabyte hard drive. The system would come with a DVD/CD burner as well.

No announcement was made as to when Philips plans to release the device.

The Vivid system and Friday's announcement are part of a gradual move by Intel into consumer electronics over the next 3 to 5 years. Chips that power consumer electronics make up a $70 billion per year business, or a third of overall processor sales.