The company slogan change, from "Smarter Choice" to "The future is fusion" marked a major shift in core-Strategy for AMD. The company now focuses on delivering solutions, more so than mere products, with a solution comprising of several products working together to let the PC serve a purpose. One such solution is the AMD Maui entertainment platform. Maui platform makes AMD hardware work with AMD's own Live! Media Center software to deliver a complete home-theater PC solution.

On the hardware front, Maui includes a qualifying AMD Athlon X2 or Phenom series processor, a motherboard based on the AMD 7-series chipset with integrated graphics. Video is handled by the 7-series IGP, while audio is handled by a special audio component-riser card that has pre-amp circuitry onboard, which enables users to connect speakers in the 5.1 channel configuration directly to the motherboard. Future models would bring in 7.1 channel support. The first motherboard to use this design, is the MSI Media Live DIVA 5.1 780M.

Microsoft Corp., working with tuner manufacturer Hauppauge Computer Works Inc., today announced the launch of the first Freeview-certified, PC-based TV solution. With Windows Media Center, found on all PCs running Windows Vista Home Premium and Windows Vista Ultimate, and Windows Media Center TV Pack, Microsoft will now be able to offer U.K. consumers best-in-class interactive and enhanced TV paired with some of the best personal video recorder (PVR) features available on the market today.

Freeview support is one of the major Digital Video Broadcasting (DVB) enhancements of the Windows Media Center TV Pack, an update released to OEMs worldwide on July 16, 2008, with targeted optimizations for TV standards in Europe. Other enhancements of this update include support for Digital Video Broadcasting-Satellite (DVB-S), improved guide and playback experience, great PVR auto-extend support, and the flexibility of support for multiple TV standards.

"The launch of our Freeview-enabled solution is a great addition to Windows Media Center, allowing us to reach more users and add real value to TV consumers and broadcasters," said John Curran, director, Windows Client Group, Microsoft UK. "We are dedicated to improving Windows Media Center for customers worldwide, and this addition of Freeview as a platform and brand will offer a real benefit to our partners and consumers. We see this as a critical step to building awareness and setting a standard for great TV experiences on the PC."