VIIV IS STUPID and broken, a platform that will not only not live up to its promise, but will actively make your experience worse. If I had to design a way to make consumers hate a product, it would be hard to do a better job, I don't think Intel has quite come to terms with the enmity these doorstops will cause.
Let's start off with the stupid, the logo program. We told you about the sillyness that you need to get the logo. Basically you need Microsoft, and only MS Media Center Intel cut Linux out as they promised not to, an all Intel platform, chip, chipset, and drivers, and then get it certified. You will see the logo cropping up all over the place, Intel is putting a lot of money behind it.
The funny thing is that every 'Viiv ready' part sold right now can never be made into a Viiv ready PC, you simply can't do it yourself. As a good example, take a look at the Shuttle SD36G5 and note the prominent logo and blurb on the main product page. This is not a rant against Shuttle, it was more or less paid to put it there, and it is free money, I am using it as an example and it is an excellent box other than that. Notice the 'Viiv Technology Ready' part.
Here is where it gets funny, you can't buy Media Center without an OEM PC, or at least you can't buy it and stay in the licence terms. So, there goes the main pillar of the must haves for the platform, the loss of any of which is an instant no-logo situation. The hardware is all there, and the logo is paid for with the box, so you are set on that front.
So, you can't legally make this into a Viiv PC, but the logos are all there, and you are paying for the privilege. Brilliant, eh? So, what about the swarm of devices that will come out, all the DRM infected, right removing gizmos, and other shiny bread and circus items that are going to be released soon? They will be compatible, right?
Well, no. You can't roll your own without an OS, and the software stack kind of depends on the hamstringing that MCE05 binds you to, so there will be no VIIV here. When I was saying things like 'make your experience worse', this is one of the key bits.
Viiv is supposed to be, marketing aside, about making the MPC concept easy enough for the home user to do on their own. There is a huge but woefully co-opted software effort to make it plug and play. You simply look for the logo on a PC and one on a widget, plug them in, and voila! Joe Sixpack will love the ease and simplicity, right?
Well, now there are tons of these things out there that will never be compliant, and there is no way to legally bring them into compliance. Joe will see the logo on a box, plug in his DRM infected widget, and guess what, it won't work. Any thoughts on his reaction? How about the reaction of the OEM to the support phone calls? "I paid $1500 for this, and it doesn't work! The ads on my favorite reality TV show say it will do XYZ, and all my gizmos have the logo, so why does it not work?"
Try explaining to the person that they can not buy the OS, and they can not make it work without replacing the shiny new PC they bought three weeks ago. 'Tis to laugh unless you work in tech support, then your life sucks. Basically, Intel is seeding the market with things that will not and can not work as advertised.
On the up side though, you also can't get the crushing DRM that Viiv brings, so I suppose all is not wasted. You just get hit with a price premium and functionality that you are better off without. There has to be an upside to this somewhere, but unless you are in advertising, I can't for the life of me see it.
Source
You may also wanna check this out..
Intel's Viiv: The mystery is unveiled
Viiv continues to confound
Viiv 1.0 arrives with added subtracted functionality
Intel Viiv 1.5 and 2.0 revealed
Let's start off with the stupid, the logo program. We told you about the sillyness that you need to get the logo. Basically you need Microsoft, and only MS Media Center Intel cut Linux out as they promised not to, an all Intel platform, chip, chipset, and drivers, and then get it certified. You will see the logo cropping up all over the place, Intel is putting a lot of money behind it.
The funny thing is that every 'Viiv ready' part sold right now can never be made into a Viiv ready PC, you simply can't do it yourself. As a good example, take a look at the Shuttle SD36G5 and note the prominent logo and blurb on the main product page. This is not a rant against Shuttle, it was more or less paid to put it there, and it is free money, I am using it as an example and it is an excellent box other than that. Notice the 'Viiv Technology Ready' part.
Here is where it gets funny, you can't buy Media Center without an OEM PC, or at least you can't buy it and stay in the licence terms. So, there goes the main pillar of the must haves for the platform, the loss of any of which is an instant no-logo situation. The hardware is all there, and the logo is paid for with the box, so you are set on that front.
So, you can't legally make this into a Viiv PC, but the logos are all there, and you are paying for the privilege. Brilliant, eh? So, what about the swarm of devices that will come out, all the DRM infected, right removing gizmos, and other shiny bread and circus items that are going to be released soon? They will be compatible, right?
Well, no. You can't roll your own without an OS, and the software stack kind of depends on the hamstringing that MCE05 binds you to, so there will be no VIIV here. When I was saying things like 'make your experience worse', this is one of the key bits.
Viiv is supposed to be, marketing aside, about making the MPC concept easy enough for the home user to do on their own. There is a huge but woefully co-opted software effort to make it plug and play. You simply look for the logo on a PC and one on a widget, plug them in, and voila! Joe Sixpack will love the ease and simplicity, right?
Well, now there are tons of these things out there that will never be compliant, and there is no way to legally bring them into compliance. Joe will see the logo on a box, plug in his DRM infected widget, and guess what, it won't work. Any thoughts on his reaction? How about the reaction of the OEM to the support phone calls? "I paid $1500 for this, and it doesn't work! The ads on my favorite reality TV show say it will do XYZ, and all my gizmos have the logo, so why does it not work?"
Try explaining to the person that they can not buy the OS, and they can not make it work without replacing the shiny new PC they bought three weeks ago. 'Tis to laugh unless you work in tech support, then your life sucks. Basically, Intel is seeding the market with things that will not and can not work as advertised.
On the up side though, you also can't get the crushing DRM that Viiv brings, so I suppose all is not wasted. You just get hit with a price premium and functionality that you are better off without. There has to be an upside to this somewhere, but unless you are in advertising, I can't for the life of me see it.
Source
You may also wanna check this out..
Intel's Viiv: The mystery is unveiled
Viiv continues to confound
Viiv 1.0 arrives with added subtracted functionality
Intel Viiv 1.5 and 2.0 revealed