August 20, 2008

Intel and Yahoo! preview plans for the Widget Channel

Intel Corporation and Yahoo! Inc. today previewed plans for the Widget Channel, a television (TV) application framework optimized for TV and related consumer electronics (CE) devices that use the Intel Architecture. The Widget Channel will allow consumers to enjoy rich Internet applications designed for the TV while watching their favorite TV programs.

The Widget Channel will be powered by the Yahoo! Widget Engine, a fifth-generation applications platform that will enable TV watchers to interact with and enjoy a rich set of “TV Widgets,” or small Internet applications designed to complement and enhance the traditional TV watching experience and bring content, information and community features available on the Internet within easy reach of the remote control. The Widget Channel will also allow developers to use JAVASCRIPT, XML, HTML and Adobe® Flash® technology to write TV applications for the platform, extending the power and compatibility of PC application developer programs to TV and related CE devices. In addition to supporting the Yahoo! Widget Engine, Yahoo! will also provide consumers Yahoo!-branded TV Widgets that are customized based on its category-leading Internet services.

TV Widgets will enable consumers to engage in a variety of experiences, such as watching videos, tracking their favorite stocks or sports teams, interacting with friends, or staying current on news and information. Viewers will be able to use TV Widgets to deepen their enjoyment of the programming they are watching, discover new content and services, or share their favorites with friends and family. TV Widgets can be personalized because they will be based upon popular Internet services such as Yahoo! Finance, Yahoo! Sports, Blockbuster® and eBay® that viewers have customized for use in their daily lives.

"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. Our close work has produced an exciting application framework upon which the industry can collaborate, innovate and differentiate. This effort is one of what we believe will be many exciting new ways to bring the Internet to the TV, and it really shows the potential of what consumers can look forward to."

"On the PC and mobile devices, Yahoo! is a leading starting point for millions of consumers around the world," said Marco Boerries, executive vice president, Connected Life, Yahoo! Inc. "Yahoo! aims to extend this leadership to the emerging world of Internet-connected TV, which we call the Cinematic Internet™. By partnering with leaders like Intel, we plan to combine the Internet benefits of open user choice, community, and personalization with the performance and scale embodied in the Intel Architecture to transform traditional TV into something bigger, better and more exciting than ever before. By using the popular Yahoo! Widget Engine to power the Widget Channel, we intend to provide an opportunity for all developers and publishers to create new experiences that can reach millions of TV viewers globally. Yahoo! plans to enable the Cinematic Internet™ ecosystem, which will benefit consumers, device makers, advertisers and publishers."

Widget Channel Framework and TV Widget Developers
Underlying the Widget Channel will be a powerful set of platform technologies, including the Yahoo! Widget Engine and core libraries that expose the powerful functions enabled by the Intel Architecture. The Widget Channel framework will use established Internet technologies to dramatically lower the barrier of entry for developing applications optimized for TV. To help create new TV Widgets for the Widget Channel, Intel and Yahoo! plan to make a development kit available to developers, including TV and other CE device makers, advertisers and publishers. The Widget Channel will also include a Widget Gallery, to which developers can publish their TV Widgets across multiple TV and related CE devices and through which consumers can view and select the TV Widgets they would like to use.

Intel and Yahoo! are working with a range of industry-leading companies that are planning on developing and deploying TV Widgets, including Blockbuster*, CBS Interactive*, CinemaNow*, Cinequest*, Comcast*, Disney-ABC Television Group*, eBay*, GE*, Group M*, Joost*, MTV*, Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.*, Schematic*, Showtime*, Toshiba* and Twitter*. These and other companies and individuals will be able to innovate, differentiate and deploy TV Widgets across multiple TV and related CE devices using the Widget Channel framework.

Intel Architecture

Intel Architecture (IA) is at the heart of millions of PC-, MID- and server-based Internet clients, which has helped enable the proliferation of Internet-based content and services while providing users with an uncompromised Internet experience. Accelerating the delivery of the Internet to the TV, Intel today extended performance, headroom and connectivity of IA into a new family of "purpose built" system-on-chip (SoC) media processors for Internet-connected CE devices, including optical media players, U.S. cable set-top-boxes, digital TVs and other connected audio visual products.

Intel's first CE IA-based SoC, the Intel® Media Processor CE 3100 (formerly "Canmore"), is a highly integrated chip which includes a high-performance IA core and other functional I/O blocks to enable high definition video decode and viewing, home-theater-quality audio, 3-D graphics, and the fusion of the Internet and TV experiences. The Widget Channel software framework is designed to work with a new generation of Internet-connected CE devices based on Intel's purpose built SoC. The hardware and software compatibility of IA also provides support for broadcast and Internet content.

Intel also plans to release the Intel Media Processor CE 3100-based hardware development system called the "Innovation Platform" which will provide the initial development and validation environment for developers of TV Widgets on the Widget Channel.

An Open Framework

Finally, Intel and Yahoo! are working with industry members to promote the development of open and consistent standards necessary to grow the TV Widget ecosystem. As part of their efforts, the companies are sharing an early version of a development kit for the Widget Channel with selected TV Widget developers now.



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