Intel and Yahoo are planning on breaking the boundaries
between TV and Internet with a new partnership that will blend a television framework
optimized for TV and related consumer electronics with the Intel Architecture
in what they called the Widget Channel.
Consumers will be able to enjoy rich Internet applications
designed for TV while watching their favorite TV programs. The Widget Channel
will be powered by Yahoo! Widget Engine, a fifth generation applications
platform that will enable TV watchers to interact with a set of “TV Widgets,” which
will enhance their traditional TV watching experience, Intel explained.
“TV will fundamentally change how we talk about, imagine and
experience the Internet,” said Eric Kim, Intel senior vice president and
general manager of the company’s Digital Home Group. “No longer just a passive
experience unless the viewer wants it that way, Intel and Yahoo are proposing a
way where the TV and Internet are as interactive, and seamless, as possible.”
The Widget Channel framework is based on established
Internet technologies to lower the barrier of entry for developing applications
optimized for TV, Intel explained during the its Developer Forum held this week
in San Francisco.
Intel and Yahoo are no working on a development kit for
developers, including TV and CE device makers, as well as advertisers and
publishers. The Widget Channel will include a Widget Gallery where developers
will be able to publish their widgets across TV and related CE devices, and
through which consumers can choose what TV widgets to use.
Among the companies planning on developing TV Widgets,
Blockbuster, CBS Interactive, CinemaNow, Cinequest, Comcast, Disney-ABC
Television Group, eBay, GE, Group M, Joost, MTV, Samsung Electronics,
Schematic, Showtime, Toshiba and Twitter have already announced their contribution.
During the same conference, Intel also delivered details on
its Intel Architecture (IA), whose performance and connectivity have been
extended into a new family of system-on-chip (SoC) media processors for
Internet CE devices, including optical media players, U.S. cable set-top-boxes,
digital TVs and other connected audio and visual products.
The Intel Media Processor CE 3100 (codenamed “Canmore”)
combines a high-performance IA core with functional I/O blocks, enabling
high-definition video decode and viewing, home-theater-quality audio, 3-D
graphics, and the fusion of the Internet and TV experiences.
Intel is also planning on releasing the Intel Media
Processor CE 3100-based hardware development system called the “Innovation
Platform,” which will provide the initial development and validation for
developers of TV Widgets on the Widget Channel.
The Intel Media Processor CE 3100 adds a 3-channel 800 MHz
DDR2 memory controller, dedicated multi-channel dual audio DSPs, a powerful 3-D
graphics engine enabling advanced UIs and EPGs, and support for multiple
peripherals, including USB 2.0 and PCI Express, Intel said.
With the help of Intel’s Media Play Technology, which
combines hardware-based decoding for broadcast TV and optical media playback
with software-based decode for Internet content, TV videos are routed to on-chip
hardware decoders. At the same time, the software automatically routes Internet
video content to a codec running on the IA processor core.
“As the Internet becomes more omnipresent, the ability to
decode multiple video and audio formats will provide the industry with greater
flexibility to evolving standards and technologies, and consumers with more
viewing experience,” Intel explained. The Intel Media Processor CE 3100 is
expected to ship to CE manufacturers such as Samsung Electronics and Toshiba.
