To understand how much television could soon change, it helps to visit an Intel Corp. division here that runs like a startup.
Erik Huggers, a Dutch-born former British Broadcasting Corp. executive, has assembled a 350-person team with talents beyond computer chips -- including programmers, industrial designers, artists and experts in fields like video encoding. They're creating a Web-based service that not only serves up on-demand programs but overhauls live TV.
overhaul：彻底检修，详细检查 sever farm：服务器群
Intel's plans include a server farm to record every piece of programming that is aired -- local, national and international -- and store it for at least three days in the 'cloud.' With an Intel-designed set-top box, people won't have to own DVRs or even plan to record programs.
Switch on the TV set in the middle of any show, and a viewer can simply go back to the beginning. 'This is live TV -- but you can rewind it,' Mr. Huggers says.
rewind：倒回，重绕
Intel is just one entry in the computer industry's growing land grab for the living room, one likely to bring voice activation, restyled remotes, new on-screen interfaces and other major changes in the way people interact with TV sets.
Other tech giants pushing TV advances include Apple Inc., Microsoft Corp., Sony Corp. and Google Inc., which last week announced a device called Chromecast that wirelessly transfers content from mobile devices to TVs. Google and Sony have also been working on Internet-based video-delivery services, people familiar with the matter have said.
Computer-industry players have been pushing new TV visions for 20 years, with decidedly mixed results. Cable- and satellite-TV providers have strong positions, with big players like Comcast Corp. preparing major upgrades of their own.
Negotiations with media companies for content rights could delay new services and limit some features, though Intel vows to enter some markets by the end of the year.
'I've never seen as much innovation in television as there is right now,' says Ulf Ewaldsson, chief technology officer at Swedish telecom-equipment giant Ericsson, which plans to step up its own TV efforts.
Propelling the activity are changes that have made the Internet a more viable delivery medium, including the growing proportion of customers with broadband service.
propelling：推动
Despite the developments, much is missing from Internet-based services. Popular programming, including live sports and news, is often limited to conventional carriers by licensing restrictions.
When large video libraries are available, finding specific programs can be cumbersome -- especially with conventional remotes. Most TV services also lag the Web and mobile apps in helping discover new content.
cumbersome：笨重的，累赘的
'The phone, the laptop and the tablet have advanced so dramatically,' says Tom Rogers, chief executive of TiVo Inc., the DVR pioneer. 'Television has been drastically left behind.'
drastically：彻底地，激烈地
Tech companies trying to change that include Apple. Since 2007, it has sold an add-on box called Apple TV for streaming content, but has been mum about new TV offerings. The company has tested designs for its own televisions, executives at Apple suppliers have said.
Apple has explored a number of new features for such a product, people familiar with the situation have said, including integrating DVR storage and its iCloud Internet syncing and data-storage service, and voice-interaction capabilities.
Microsoft is also promoting voice recognition as it positions its game consoles and companion Kinect controller for a broad role in home entertainment. The company's Xbox One, due out this fall, allows customers to navigate to programs by speaking commands such as 'Go to ESPN,' or 'I want to watch 'Breaking Bad.''
One basic challenge is simply managing the growing array of content options, including movies from Netflix, Web-originated fare like YouTube, conventional live TV and video consumers have recorded.
Comcast is promising search advances as well as personalization features in X2, the cable giant's name for a new entertainment operating system.
That software, which Comcast plans to begin rolling out by the end of the year, is designed to recommend content currently on live TV based on tracking a customer's past viewing habits as well as topics trending on Twitter and Facebook. Comcast says X2's interface can work on TVs, PCs and mobile devices, and supports voice searching capability.
One feature Intel has decided not to pursue for now is a camera equipped with facial-recognition software to help personalize offerings for each user in a household. Mr. Huggers says the technology didn't work well enough in the low lighting common when watching TV and raised privacy questions.