AMD to Unveil Chip for Downloading Digital TV

Advanced Micro Devices Inc. this week will unveil a chip to let people download digital television programs from a set-top box to a portable media player, without a personal computer.

The strategy opposes Intel Corp.’s plan to pack the features into PCs that consumers would put in living rooms to replace digital video recorders, cable and satellite set-top TV boxes and other electronics. AMD, which also sells chips for media PCs, says consumers want the choice.

“If you can remove the PC from the necessary equation, all of a sudden your market potential goes up rapidly,” Dan Shine, director of the AMD unit working on the project, said. The Alchemy chip translates various file types into high-definition video, removing the need for a PC, he said.

PC sales growth has slowed to an average of 8% since 2000, from 21% from 1995 to 2000, researcher IDC says.

Advanced Micro, based in Sunnyvale, Calif., may be on the right path. Intel, Microsoft Corp. and PC makers such as Hewlett-Packard Co. have made few inroads in entertainment, said Richard Doherty, research director at consulting firm Envisioneering Group Inc.

“The race is on,” he said. “But while Microsoft and Intel are trying, right now they are being eclipsed by the consumer electronics guys.”

AMD shares fell 61 cents to $21.41 on the New York Stock Exchange.