MSN TV
The company WebTV Networks, Inc. offered the mid-1990s for a monthly fee of just $ 20 for an unlimited access to the Internet.
Included in the basic fees were five mailboxes for e -mail accounts of family members. Requirement was for a special set-top box, the Sony (Sony INT -W100 Sony Internet Terminal) and Philips ( Magnavox ) was offered, on the other hand, a conventional televisions; the Sony box cost just under 350 dollars, average price range on the order of a cheap video recorder; the monthly fees WebTV moved also in the context of the typical video rental budget.
For U.S. relations but monthly ISP cost of nearly $ 20 for Internet access via modem were very high because flat rates were widespread.
The company was acquired by Microsoft in 1997. Microsoft expected, according to a report by the news agency Bloomberg, by his own admission in the years between 1997 and 1999 with a billion dollar loss due to the commitment in the areas of Internet and messaging services. This strategy acquiesced in Microsoft's commitment in the field of multimedia reference books for the home studio ( 1994 /1995), the structure of one's own online service Microsoft Network ( MSN, 1995 ), the acquisition of numerous photo agencies ( from 1996: see Corbis ), as well as collaborations with NBC and ZDF seamlessly.
Technology
The set-top box contained a V.34bis modem, a CPU and a sound card. WebTV was operated via a wireless remote control. A wireless keyboard was also available as an option. The charges were billed on a smart card.
The set-top box had a built-in web browser that supported the common Internet standards such as HTTP, MIME and HTML. Besides surfing the web an e -mail function was provided.
Target group
WebTV peilte as a target group the typical passive viewers to which neither computer skills nor technical understanding has; WebTV was touted as a simple and " foolproof " solution; from advertising for WebTV: ". 're surfing the Web with a remote control in one hand and a handful of cheese puffs in the other Now that's progress" ( from an ad in Wired 12 (1996 ): pp. 210 f ). At the same time, however, claims that " WebTV It Is not the idiot box anymore. " (Ibid. ).
Competitors
Comparable products presented end of the 90 years before the company Samsung, Sony and Dual Technology; in the dual Mediabox of Dual Technology is like a WebTV set-top box that connects the TV to the ISDN telephone network. Samsung developed together with the company Diba a new line Internet -compatible TV with built-in modem.