Intel Viiv isn't just a platform for the entertainment PC. It is positioned to become the dominant consumer PC platform for the future, Merlin Kister, director of consumer client marketing said in an interview at the Intel Developer Conference in San Francisco.

"We hope that for the consumer PC in the home, Viiv will take over from the other brands. From a Pentium perspective, we will shift that all to Viiv technology," Kister said.

There will remain a market for non-Viiv PCs fro niche markets such as gaming enthusiasts, he added, or users looking for a basic low cost machine for basic tasks such as browsing or text editing.

The Viiv logo programme is similar to the Centrino marketing programme, which tells computer buyers that a computer system works with Wi-Fi wireless technology. It allows Intel to enforce strictly which technologies are supplied in entertainment PCs and thereby guarantee a minimum user experience.

Computer manufacturers are allowed to use the Viiv logo if their devices meet certain criteria. A computer requires an Intel dual core processor, remote control and has to run Windows Media Center Edition to qualify for the Viiv logo.

In addition to the logo, Viiv comes with a collection of special software and online services providing access to exclusive free and premium content.

Intel officially kicked off its Viiv initiative at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas earlier this year. Manufactures were quick to sign up. There currently are about 110 models for sale. The cheapest Viiv PC sells for $699.

For comparison, Dell on its website offers the e310 "entertainment PC" for $475. The system is powered by a single core Pentium 4 processor and runs Windows Media Center Edition.

The additional cost however are offset by the added functionalities that Viiv offers, Kister argued.

"If you are going to choose a PC, you should make it a Viiv PC. You get all that goodness and all that benefit for very little additional cost," Kister said.

The general public will notice little about Viiv until later this year or early next year, he added. Marketing until then will focus on "trendy users" and technology experts. As they start using the new entertainment PCs, Intel hopes that they will become advocates that educate their non-technical and non-trendy friends about the advantages of the platform.

Intel's intention to turn Viiv into the general consumer PC brand could bode badly for Linux' chances to penetrate the consumer market. To qualify for the Viiv label, manufacturers are required to install Windows Media Center Edition or the forthcoming Windows Vista Home Premium.

Kister said that the chipmaker has no plans to include Linux or Apple's OS X to the list of approved Viiv operating systems.

"If you look at the robust infrastructure that Microsoft has developed, it is virtually impossible to replicate that in a Linux environment. While we'd love to have Linux, and it's one of the things that we continue to look at for other types of options, Microsoft Media Center Edition's abilities are by far much more advanced then anybody else's in the market."

Major stumbling blocks include limited support in Linux for devices such as a remote controls and a lack of hookups such as the ones that Microsoft has build into Windows Media Center Edition that enable online services such as video on demand and video downloads .

The same goes for Apple, which for instance doesn't allow consumers to use the Apple remote control to access premium services such as Napster or Movielink where users can purchase movies or music.

"Apple has their vision for the digital home. They share a lot of elements with what Intel is doing, but they have a different approach."