According to Intel PR Manager, Dan Anderson, the launch will take place in March 2006 or even as late as April. At the recent CES Expo in Las Vegas, Intel unveiled the two newest planks of its strategy for consumer PCs along with partnerships with content providers such as The DirectTV Group, America Online and General Electric. The US NBC television network will also give Viiv users an opportunity to watch TV content they have missed on "free to air" TV on their new systems. None of those partners operate in Australia.
Dan Anderson said "We still have some work to do on the content side. We are currently talking to partners about content. As a result of this we have put the launch of Viiv on hold".
Intel President and Chief Executive Officer, Paul Otellini, used a keynote slot at CES to formally unveil notebooks based on the Centrino Duo, formerly known as Napa, and Viiv home entertainment PCs. When launched in Australia, PC makers will be able to take advantage of Intel marketing efforts behind the Viiv brand if they purchase a package of Intel silicon. This includes a dual-core processor, chipset, and networking chip, as well as software that allows users to share content around their home networks.
But what had been missing from the Viiv hype was the presence of major content providers. In Australia this is proving difficult for local technology companies such as Intel and Microsoft due to Australia being a small market and organisations such as free-to-air TV stations, and Foxtel refusing to grant access rights to content or services. What the local providers want is revenue from set-top box sales and the ability to continually interupt programs with advertising every few minutes. They also want to retain their monopoly over services and content. In Australia, consumers who buy a Microsoft Media Centre are denied access to an Electronic Program Guide Service and the ability to record Foxtel programs to a Media Centre hard drive.
