Intel CEO Barrett: Silicon And Wireless Innovation Bring New Ways To Enjoy Entertainment

January 6th, 2005

Intel Corporation CEO Craig Barrett said today that digital technology and innovation are providing consumers with the best of PCs and traditional consumer electronics devices. This trend, combined with the ability to communicate over wireless networks, is bringing consumers the new ability to enjoy multiple forms of entertainment in new and different ways, often simultaneously.
"Analog has gone digital and communications have gone wireless," Barrett said from the 2005 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES).

"Consumers worldwide are becoming more acquainted with the benefits of the combined experience of the Web and Wi-Fi, and the ability to access digital content anytime, anywhere on any device - an experience that's on the rise, especially in the home."

Barrett said silicon and wireless technology along with the spread of wireless networks in public and private spaces are making new forms of entertainment possible. These could include an individual PC user simultaneously streaming an Internet radio station while playing a graphics-rich game, or multiple users sharing a PC to send entertainment, information and communication throughout the house and beyond.

To make this experience more connected, simpler, smarter and more enjoyable, Intel will bring multi-core technology to its desktop, mobile and server silicon platforms this year. Multi-core processors contain two or more cores - or brains - in a single processor to enable digital devices to do more things at the same time and do them faster, allowing the ability to do things such as streaming multiple forms of entertainment throughout the home for one or more people to enjoy. As part of his keynote, Barrett demonstrated a dual-core-based prototype of a living room Entertainment PC.

Barrett said Intel will also integrate features from today's desktop and Entertainment PCs into notebooks. The upcoming generation of Intel Centrino mobile technology (code-named Sonoma) will support accelerated graphics for high-quality DVD video playback and gaming, theater-quality sound for MP3s and TV tuner ExpressCards*. The combination of entertainment, gaming and computing on all-in-one mobile devices with great battery life and sleek, light-weight designs will transform the notebook PC into an essential consumer lifestyle accessory.

As technology advances and wireless networks spread, Barrett said, the entertainment industry will respond with exciting new devices, capabilities and ways to deliver the entertainment experience.

To illustrate the point, Aerosmith lead singer Steven Tyler joined Barrett to demonstrate UmixIt* software developed in conjunction with Cakewalk. Available free as a bonus audio CD with Aerosmith's latest DVD, "You Gotta Move," UmixIt lets consumers lay down their own vocals and instrumentals on top of a selected track using either a desktop or notebook PC.

Independent filmmakers see an opportunity in technology innovation as well. Barrett and filmmaker Robert Redford disclosed that this month's Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah will be the scene of the first movie ever to be delivered to an audience over WiMAX*, an emerging high-speed, long-distance wireless technology. At the festival a highly anticipated film by a prominent director will be transmitted from a computer in Oregon to its Sundance premiere. Barrett noted that WiMAX could bring greater opportunities for the entertainment industry to create and distribute film in new ways while providing more choice and convenience to consumers.

"WiMAX will be the technology that envelops all other networks into one digital cloud," Barrett said. "Wherever you are, the network and all the entertainment and information it carries will be there, too."