Intel is working on a new processor architecture, codenamed Olo River.  It includes an XScale processor core capable of 1GHz.

So, what is it for?

Multimedia, essentially.  The new architecture is designed to be placed in virtually any piece of A/V hardware to enhance the abilities of that device.  For instance, next generation televisions can use the Olo River processor to develop a 3D or 2D interface for the user to navigate.  Or it could connect to the internet via your ethernet LAN to download content such as programming schedules.

It can also encode and decode audio and video codecs.  Imagine streaming MP3s or MP4s to your TV directly from your PC without having to have a box in-between, such as Apple’s forthcoming iTV.  Or even better, imagine plugging a USB hard drive into the back of your TV and voila!  Your TV is now a TiVo-like DVR!

As well, the possibilities for upgrades become limitless.  Some of you may have DVD players that also play MP3 CDs as well as divx-encoded videos burned onto DVD-R discs.  Well, with the Olo River processor in your DVD player, the newest codecs are but a download away.  Can’t play WMV files?  Just download a codec.  OGG?  Xvid?  Just download the codec.

As well, the possibilities for IPTV-style streaming content stretch toward the horizon.  No more trips to Blockbuster.  Simply navigate the menu, select the desired movie, and it begins streaming instantly.  Well, okay, maybe not instantly, but soon.

The best part of this whole idea is the mitigation of the worst part of media consumption: the **AAs.  The main reason that IPTV and other downloadable content isn’t mainstream yet is simple: the associations don’t want us pirating their content.  That’s another issue altogether, but the point is that the RIAA and the MPAA stifle all manner of new technology because it can be cracked.  But your TV and DVD player are a closed environment.  The associations can control how the content is used without enterprising young PC programmers cracking the DRM.  So, the hope here is that instead of this technology being stifled, as so many others have been, it will instead be embraced, leading to all manner of new ways for consumers to get their multimedia fix, with greater ease and flexibility.

I foresee, and hope, that this new direction Intel is taking will be a boon to all of us who enjoy TV, movies, music, and games.