Intel has recently entered the supposedly burgeoning home media circus with its new Viiv (rhymes with "hive"), supplanting (or supplementing, depending) Microsoft's lagging Media Center Edition Windows XP. This would be interesting news in the home media convergence arena, with the potential to combine TV, movies, music, pictures and games all in one device, networkable throughout the home in the ideal configuration. However, this entire movement is contingent upon two factors: One, that the targeted consumer segment has both the money to set this system up, and the free time (and inclination) to use all this functionality. Second, and I feel most importantly, this infrastructure is built upon the premise that the content delivered to this system is worth watching to begin with. With the troubles of piracy, DRM, and bandwidth issues, just getting the nightly local news channel requires digital acrobatics. True convergence would ideally involve being able to watch any channel from anywhere at any time--cable, satellite, internet, while checking email and instant messaging (IM), or any of the other functions of TV or internet. Unfortunately, the content available still feels like being force-fed Microsoft ads, with advertising accompanying every channel change, an annoyance that hopefully will be excised swiftly, lest the infection kill the host.
This is neat technology, to be sure, but until the bugs are worked out and everyone is working together (which should happen about the same time the sun burns out), it is effectively a lost cause. I've said it before and I'll say it again--when it becomes easier and cheaper to get a high-quality show or file or whatever, piracy and DRM become irrelevant, and technology like the Viiv or Media Center Edition XP will come into their own. We can hope, I guess...
