MSN TV - Exploring Microsoft's Old TV Platform!

[@MichaelMJD]

A couple of things worth mentioning as I'm seeing some repeat comments: DreamPi generates/simulates dial tone that the MSN TV/WebTV's modem listens for. A dedicated dial tone generator is not necessary to make this work. I didn't address this in the video so I figured I post here to clear things up. I am aware of the "wait for dial tone" option in the MSN TV 2's settings menu. I actually recorded turning this off and trying to connect a few times, but it didn't change anything because if the MSN TV can't pick up dial tone, it means that DreamPi isn't outputting it through its USB modem (thus meaning that it isn't working properly). In this case, that was the issue because I didn't have a compatible modem. I cut this from the video for brevity because I had determined that the lack of a compatible modem was the culprit. And as I had suspected, the MSN TV 2 just isn't compatible with these custom servers. Thanks to the members of the WebTV community for confirming this! I am currently on the lookout for some older WebTV stuff to feature in future videos. This definitely won't be the last time you hear me talk about this stuff!

[@hasankayra04]

Well, i have a idea. I am not expert at this stuff but i am hoping at least this could get you to reach to server. How about a local dns? If you can change the dns server of the msn tv then you can just create a local dns record for server the msn tv is trying to reach to. Pi-hole should do the trick, it might not be intended for this but since it has a web interface it's easy to manage. And also you can learn where msn tv is trying to go from query log.

[@JarHead3894]

@@hasankayra04 I've tried this with my MSN TV 2 already, the box tries to reach an HTTPS "headwaiter" server that is completely incompatible with WebTV, as WebTV's services use a custom protocol called WTVP, instead of the web APIs that MSN TV 2 uses

[@louism771]

In my experience with the dreampi it's very important which modem you use, because the pi's operating system must have drivers for its chipset. And there aren't many compatible ones out there. The Dell one is most referenced, but there's also a Lenovo modem with the exact same chipset. If it's recognized by the pi and the dreampi software is listening, then both LEDs on the modem will light up. Your line voltage inducer is right between the American and the European spec, but most modem hardware is pretty tolerant accepting anything between maybe 7V to 20V, so 15V should be totally alright, mine is 17V. If you get it to work and want to simplify the inducer then you can use a DC-DC step up module connected to one of the pi's 5V supplying ports supplying the voltage to the line, as there isn't much current involved. Then you might need the resistor+capacitor installed though.

[@naodwalk]

What resources did you use to connect to get the image to dial into those servers? I can't find anything online.

[@RealOscarMay]

Yes! I would love to see Webtv stuff

[@espresso8bp]

old tech videos are probably the most enjoyable thing on this channel for me right now

[@nikolan123]

Me too

[@aaronsells1690]

I still like retrospective vids a bit more

[@ttraynor10]

On this whole app honestly

[@imgladnotu9527]

os tans were funny imo

[@slasheffecttech]

same

[@zefievideo]

28:36 this is correct. My server (minisrv) is for the first generation of MSNTV boxes, MSNTV2 is much different, and was built on WinCE (some error dialogs would say "Tap OK to continue"). We do not have enough data on the service side to recreate it. If you get one of the original boxes, everything you tried should work, including the server. You were definitely on the right path, just using the wrong MSNTV box :) As for the MSNTV2 the best it can do nowadays is Linux. Good video none-the-less. Looking forward to seeing you play with the original boxes.

[@satoshiwasareptiloid3777]

What kind of data on the server/service side are you missing? If people have put Linux on it, I assume people have full access to the original software, so can't you just dump stuff in Ghidra to figure out the protocols and whatnot?

[@zefievideo]

@@satoshiwasareptiloid3777 Putting linux on it just exploits the bios to boot linux instead of a signed CE kernel. To replicate the actual service (it was a thin web client so most features were server side) we would need the server files, or better documentation of the proprietary headers and such. But there wasn't as much interest in the TV2 as the original, because by the time the TV2 came out, PCs were more affordable. So less people used it, thus less exploration and documentation.

[@411WebTV]

I'd also like to point out that according to another comment here and from doing some of my own research, MJD is most likely using a 2Wire PCP-1 DSL adapter for his DreamPi setup, which only supports 10 Mbps connections and definitely does not do dial-up. ~ wtv-411

[@411WebTV]

@@pizzadoge2958 What zefie literally said in his comment: "We do not have enough data on the service side to recreate it." Please pay attention when reading next time. ~ wtv-411

[@Sypaka]

@@zefievideo Is there a dump of the BIOS or at least a dump of the memory which has the setup files to config the box?

[@MarcoGPUtuber]

You wanna know something better than MSN TV? MJD TV.

[@MarcoGPUtuber]

@Flare I always view MJD on a TV. With my gaming desktop hooked up to a TV. It counts!

[@charlesdoesmore5488]

MJD TV - a 24/7 Live Channel broadcasting videos of Michael MJD, Including new videos on the same time as it got released!

[@lunarcrystal6219]

there’s something about these early 2000s tech products that just seem so futuristic. even though it’s been like 20 years later and we definitely have much better technology. i don’t know, it’s just so fascinating.

[@Dave102693]

Ikr?

[@NoahClevinger]

Anything that is MSN-related is so nostalgic for me. Thanks for covering this, Michael!

[@linuxstreamer8910]

this brings back memories of msn messenger

[@hypocritical7379]

Why?

[@linuxstreamer8910]

@@hypocritical7379 the logo of msm

[@Emayeah]

michael is the best :)

[@belstar1128]

Yea but while i miss the era i don't miss msn or other Microsoft related stuff from back then i mostly get nostalgic for the old msn page because it was always the first thing i saw when i went online in the 2000s before i discovered i could install better browsers in 2011 but the msn front page was really cheesy even back then with all the celebrity gossip and other stuff that i find so dull and a waste of space and then having to get to google not knowing i could just set google as my start page.

[@LSGSUZFE]

I've been preaching about WebTV so much recently. I was only 4-5 years old when my family owned one. Sitting on the floor staring at the city skyline as it loads forever. I always thought as a kid that you could reach the city. I messed with the WebTV all the time at that age. While I didn't understand a lot of the things I was navigating, I knew how to navigate it. I remember navigating and finding a picture of roses and excitedly pulled my mother over to tell her "I got you flowers." We ended up moving and honestly don't know what had happened to it. Such a nostalgic video, thank you.

[@TailRecursion]

Never had one of these, but I remember seeing them on display in Best Buy as a kid. Always thought the idea of using the internet on my TV was so cool.

[@n0madfernan257]

your tenacity to make these old devices work is golden

[@rabbyklinger]

You might need to try using a DTMF tone (dial tone) generator, so that the dialup connection from the msntv doesn't think the line is busy. Usually no tone on a phone line indicates either busy or no connection. (I am a former telecom systems engineer)

[@TFD500Official]

audacity does DTMF tones, right?

[@billhgong]

This is my theory as well. When I build my own dial server I have to use a hard modem (not a win modem with USB like in the video) on the server side and a analog adapter for line voltage and DTMF. Apparently most client modems out there needs a proper phone setup to even dial at all.

[@Anaerin]

The DreamPi software uses the VoiceMail functionality from some modems to play a fake "Dialtone" (and listen for the incoming DTMF number tones), so it pretends to be a working line. Evidently the modem Michael is using doesn't support that function.

[@samspin]

@@Anaerin Years ago before DreamPi I used to use a Skutch AS-26 Line simulator between a modem on my PC and my Dreamcast. The simulator waits until one end "takes the phone off the hook", emulates a dial tone for a set number of seconds and then sends a ringing signal to the other end. It was originally designed for telesales companies to do practice sales between two rooms without using the live phone network. It was enough to bridge the Dreamcast to my PC, as quite a few games don't support "blind dial" and insist on waiting for a dial tone. As traditional PSTN is being switched off in my country by 2025 I'm for keeping hold of it.

[@MichaelMJD]

DreamPi generates the dial tone that the MSN TV/WebTV listens for. The issue in this case is just that I didn't have a modem compatible with DreamPi. Plus (as I suspected) the MSN TV 2 just isn't compatible with these custom servers.

[@WedgeStratos]

It's definitely the USB modem you're using. DreamPi's Python scripts have only been written with the Lenovo/Dell modems that internally use a Conexant RD02-D400 chipset. The Dreamcast and WebTV/MSN TV communities have not found a USB modem alternative, which we have some concern about, seeing as these modems are becoming harder to find.

[@NormanF62]

The browser needs to be updated. Its broken. Microsoft today uses the Chromium-based Edge so replacing the proprietary browser on the WebTV/MSN TV 1st gen set top boxes is a lot of coding work! A thin client modern web browser set top box remains a dream.

[@kanpaifighto]

Oh man…I had the WebTV precursor to this back in ‘96/97…it was my first and only exposure to the net back then and it was life changing, despite being absolutely terrible in retrospect lol. I’m more just impressed they were still trying concepts like this by 2004.

[@acupuncturekid]

I had a web tv unit as well. People were home brewing their own word processor programs and kill codes and everything. IT was truly a unique experience.

[@southtexaspicker9394]

@@acupuncturekid I loved the chat rooms. I was on it about 1998ish to 2001.

[@djc604]

I was part of their Partner Support, doing tech support for this device back in 2007. Up until now, I never knew what this thing looked like. Thanks for showing me after all these years

[@crockstonyt]

Do you have any funny stories about your time in tech support?

[@TheGameDisplay]

Hearing 'MSN' is always such a blast from the past. You could be chatting on MSN Messenger while watching your MSN TV and reading the current happenings on MSN News. It felt like a friendlier time before the whole world was owned and run by Google. Thank you for the video.

[@Dave102693]

Or MSNBC

[@tjnucnuc]

Oh my god. Thank you so much for covering MSNTV. I was waiting for one of you guys to cover it and glad it was you. I grew up with a single mother and all we could afford was MSNTV 😂 I remember my mom ordering me a train set from it. The background music totally brings back memories and the speed was SO terribly slow. We really stepped up into the upper echelons when we upgraded to an eMachines desktop with XP 😅

[@meandmyEV]

Amazing video! My parents who were members of the "greatest generation" had a WebTV as their first internet device in the late 90s/early 2000s. They had never owned a computer. I remember it ran the MSN software after Microsoft bought out WebTV. They were able to watch my kids grow up by getting pictures via email and visiting a geocities website I created. My father also enjoyed reading history articles and information about the Korean War (in which he fought). It gave my parents great pleasure late in their lives. I have occasionally thought about WebTV and looked for videos about it from retro tech youtubers but there is not much out there. I am already a subscriber and I am so glad you gave me this trip down memory lane.

[@lolodachi]

Nice! That XP baseball player is back in the background! It's always gonna be a good video when it's about old and obscure tech, love discovering this kind of piece of technological history!

[@kbhasi]

I didn't expect you to make this video! Back in 2005, I wanted an MSN TV 2 after I randomly browsed MSN and came across the website for it, but I couldn't afford it at the time and I don't think it was even available outside of the US anyway, so I just dreamt about having one for a while, before I eventually discovered the next best thing, that being hooking up a PC (desktop or laptop) to the TV through the S-Video output of the GPU, which also allowed me to use full MSN Messenger and also use Firefox instead of Internet Explorer, as well as mIRC and all the other great stuff I could already use on Windows XP.

[@kantraa]

i'd like to see you do a video on the Netpliance i-Opener. it was simply yet another internet appliance on the surface, running QNX, but tinkerers quickly found a way to install Windows 98 on it and upgrade the chipset. a lot of people were using the i-Opener as their "backup computer" so to speak, and Netpliance actually welcomed these people for a short while before making getting their dialup service required to purchase the device and redirecting the tinkerers to their developer program.

[@MichaelMJD]

May or may not be a video in the works about this ; )

[@MitsubishiGTO]

@@MichaelMJD Do one on TiVo!

[@attack0nmem0ry]

Definitely looking forward to seeing more dives into ancient WebTV hardware. 🍻

[@PCWindowstechguy]

MSN in general is very nostalgic nowadays but I really didn't knew that Microsoft ,also made an MSN TV box. Anyways. I really enjoy it whenever you publish new and interesting videos. Keep up with the great work Michael MJD!

[@mind-of-neo]

That thing looks so "2000s futurism" i love it ❤️

[@DeLorean4]

The TV remote uses the same plastic injection molding tool as the one for the XBox DVD kit.

[@wolfetteplays8894]

Might as well, gotta be efficient

[@LondenTower]

Yeah, i noticed that too, LOL! 🤣

[@blu9821]

I was hoping that you get an actual MSN TV on your hands... I literally searched for MSN TV and had nice tunes on their era, it was so nostalgic even though I didn't have it on their time

[@woohoo2491]

Dude I miss XP-era design. Before Vista's Aero, after 9x's grey, there was XP's bright, happy, cheerful design scheme. It was all about bright colors, sunshine, with some nature shots mixed in for good measure. Everything MS related from 2001-2005 seemed to follow this.

[@juanignacioaschura9437]

With the cherry on top being the Blades Dashboard in the XBOX360, right at the end of that golden age.

[@VeritasVortex]

Yes! That was my favourite design of all time!

[@VeritasVortex]

@@juanignacioaschura9437 Yes!!! I miss the blades design. That was so cool!

[@misham6547]

I'm the opposite I always thought that era was a bit ugly, I prefer the look of pre XP windows and Vista onwards

[@leigel3]

@@misham6547 Same. I always thought it felt childish.

[@zonger420]

I had a Sony WebTv when they came out. I remember my friend and me was super happy to have it. It took forever to load even a text based website. Yet we sat for hours messing around with the early days of the web.

[@kyanoang3l0_old]

Never knew MSN TV was a thing till shortly before it was discontinued. Internet on TV never crossed our minds back in the early 2000s. The only TV stuff I knew from Microsoft was Windows Media Center on Windows Vista and 7, which I hope you'd cover in the future. I thought being able to watch cable TV on my PC was revolutionary back then.

[@JarHead3894]

I'm actually working on an original WebTV server based on minisrv, there's nothing quite like working with something to make you hate it

[@thexkey]

there is also eMac's server lol

[@JarHead3894]

@@thexkey There is, but it doesn't have features like Page Builder and Favorites

[@RaysGamingChannel2003]

@@JarHead3894 yeah

[@BilisNegra]

@@thexkey What do you mean by eMac server?

[@realraymondsp]

There are actually two things you can try with the modem you have. One is to simulate a dial tone with a 500 HZ tone. Or two increase the voltage. A standard POTS voltage was 48 volts before digital phone service became a thing.

[@aaronjamt]

I've been working on a project (unrelated to this) that communicates with an old device via dialup. I have a 24 (I also tried 36) volt DC signal from a bench power supply connected to the tip and ring lines and I have connected both a landline phone and the device to those lines. Would playing 500hz into the phone's microphone while off-hook make the other device think it's dialing? If so, how would I make it think that I picked up the other end of the phone? Just stop the 500hz after a few seconds?

[@gabenewelltheprotector3548]

Was watching an 11 hour X-play comp, and seen the ad. I'm so glad you had a video about this already!

[@ProjectNoiSsy]

Two quick thoughts on the issues: - POTS usually uses 48VDC - Modems usually don’t output a line-free dial tone on their own. Maybe there’s an AT command for your specific modem, or you might be able to pick up some used PBX (private branch exchange, i.e. a system from some defunct callcenter) since those definitely will produce appropriate voltages and DTMF signals. Really interesting video though, didn’t know anything about those boxes. Looking forward for a Part 2. 😄

[@ProjectNoiSsy]

Already figured the modem might be problematic, given it’s lack of response. Since not knowing anything else about these boxes, I wouldn’t be surprised to see at least some response if the „line“ matched what should be expected on regular POTS though.

[@Sypaka]

Is there a way to put a dialtone on the line? Some transistors or breadboard wiring scheme avail for that kind of thing?

[@ProjectNoiSsy]

If it’s pulse-tone modulation, a transistor might work since this scheme only uses „clicks“, which means some voltage pulses to sense line signals. On DTMF it’s certainly a little more complicated since frequency changes are used - but even Audacity offers such a generator, the audio just needs to be fed into the line then. There should also be documentation on DTMF line signals available - I would just have to check if I’ve still got my training manuals on it.

[@ifur]

Technically you should be able to setup a proxy server locally to direct requests from msntv2 box to your desired ip address. Webtv and msntv dont have an ethernet port it was dialup only so thats why the tutorials use a modem. If we can know the servers are the same then we can just forward requests directly from msntv2 to that ip address.

[@-ThePharaoh-]

Awesome.. Man you're so dedicated to your videos.. No matter the time it takes.... You just keep going till you get the video done......thanks very much for your hard work to entertain us for free.

[@RailroadedFilms]

I had both WebTV and MSN TV. I wanted the one that came with a a mouse, but never happened. My family couldn't afford a computer and I built websites using this thing for a good part of four years! My dad used his until around 2009! I'd obviously had moved on by then, but they were cool if you were poor.

[@xKB616]

That RCA remote. Not only was it packaged for this and their own stuff, there was the universal RCA remote that they sold, too. The OG Xbox dvd playback kit was this remote in the black color, but instead of the standard RCA button colors, they were Xbox green.

[@johnthefactfddict3281]

here's the think about "expiration" dates: in cases of food it basically never actually is an "expiration" it is more a "best before" date that after that date you CAN eat the food but it may be starting to taste weird but not actually harm you depending on the type of food and preservation method in cases of batteries it is a lie entirely, a primary non-lithium battery is a type of intentional corrosion cell(it extracts energy by corroding the shell) this means that barring ever so tiny leakage the cell will be fine, if a tad higher leakage risk when dead so those cells you see in that keyboard(or any case where there is a removable insulator that prevents external current flow) are likely fine now here is the rub, a cell that has been aged for >5 years (or "expired") will tend to have a tad less than 80% of the brand new energy(that is specifically how they set the "expired" date) but assuming it hasn't already leaked and still seems to power a device it should be fine(just remove it from the device the femtosecond it stops working to prevent leaks) ironically alkaline cells tend to leak more in general use but be less bad for contacts when they do leak(as long as you clean it up in a few months after first leak) and they tend to ONLY leak when you abuse their operational parameters(ie going under 0.8v per cell or pulling more than 0.25c from a cell(about 500ma from a aa cell)) so don't shy to use OG sealed ALKALINE cells that are still in a good state, just toss the "heavy duty" ones as they are worthless for both energy density and contact damage when they leak I actually bought a brand new AC as of may 2023 and they still include "heavy duty" (which I call "heavy duty device destruction") cells, they work fine but in a device meant to be a smart home appliance I might just remove them, use the cells in my roku remote instead(because when they stop working I will instantly remove them) but all that said, alkaline cells that are not leaking yet are still fine long after any date they have on them as long as they have energy to provide

[@defaultuser2206]

8:25 I think the design is also used from the dvd remote on the original xbox that was sold separately

[@regnt9044]

These old odd hidden gems never stop to surprising me... I mean, MSNTV2, Really!?!? I remember an episode of Computer Chronicles where they showed many different types of WebTVs from different brands and gonna admit they were cool but I never thought Microsoft had done anything like this. This is the first time watching one "in action/partially" and tbh is absolutely interesting.

[@haloschafer]

I’m here to install MSN TV. It’s internet, for your TV!

[@will0499]

This is so cool! I really love your videos. I haven’t seen many of them for a while, but I’m getting back into them.

[@mini_ika_musume]

When it was first released as WebTV in 1996, it was technically a weapon in the United States because it had an early form of cryptography, similar to SSL that we take for granted. So WebTV could not be exported even to "western" countries like Ireland and Japan. In 1998, they got a special licence, and then laws were changed to generally allow the export of cryptography.

[@ramcoonart]

Now everyone's using smart TVs... how times change. Great video, I hope you can get it working!

[@owenvogelgesang7314]

11:14 So, funnily enough, RCA actually does still have an office there, or at least their sign is still up. It's in a part of a Klipsch Audio building, you can see it from the street view off I465. They also had another building down at 465 and US 31, the gigantic checkerboard 90s green maroon and yellow building. Not that I think they'd accept your MSN TV warranty card anymore, lol

[@ChrissehCat]

Oh man, such a shame I threw out my old WebTV over a year ago. If I'd known there was a community for it, I might've held on to it. I've got some fun memories about that thing... had very old model (was already a few years old in 2000 when I used it) Trolls in TalkCity chatrooms could easily flood your IM and my whole machine would just shut down and I'd have to turn it on and dial in again. 😂

[@Andrew_G4CH]

Ooh! Can’t wait for the follow up. I used mum’s webtv when my windows machine died for a short bit of time years ago. Ton of nostalgia!

[@GilBatesLovesyou]

I used WebTV once in around 2003 on vacation at a timeshare that had it. My mom paid $10-15 to let me use it for an hour, and I used AIM Express and went on some anime forums I was on back then. It did work, but was very very clunky. Not much less clunky than using AIM on my Nokia non-smart phone then, I think it had no mouse and had trouble tabbing between windows. As a kid though, it was fun. As an adult now, for over a decade now I've just had my PC hooked to a TV as a monitor, going from 19, to 32, to 55 inches, and built my own sort of "WebTV" for myself as my bedroom setup, so I definitely was inspired a lot by the original WebTV, to create my own "smart TV" before they even really were a thing. Also what's interesting is we see a lot of things now like Smart TVs, smartphones, etc, that we think are all new things, but a lot is even in the consumer realm it's just about being an early vs late adopter. WebTV attempted to be a "Smart TV" but even with things like smartphones, I was using AIM on my Nokia dumb phones in 2002-2003, and could watch .3gp videos on my feature phones in 2004-2005, along with mp3s, etc, before the iPhone came out. Even Twitter started out as an SMS service for these early phones.

[@asanaya94]

Wow so many things that brought back so many memories!! Especially the 2WIRE DSL adapter!!

[@Masashi2012]

Oh my god I remember this thing. My family had one when I was super young and my parents used it to sell things on ebay. It took a litteral quarter day to connect.

[@nickjuly4A]

You could get an ATA device (like one of those Cisco SPA) devices and connect one line to the raspberry pi (via the modem) and one to the MSN 2 and configure the ATA to connect to the other line. This way will simulate a real working telephone line so it will work without the voltage inducer. I've done with with an old UFO Apple airport extreme as a dial-in server for an old laptop with only a modem.

[@suddenlyvlogs]

Holy nostalgia. We had WebTV back in the day (predecessor of MSNTV if I remember correctly, which is doubtful at best lol) and I remember instant messaging my aunt on it!

[@PardonJulianAssangeNow]

That remote is strikingly similar to the Microsoft Xbox DVD Remote Playback Kit.

[@dadoftwinsau]

How can you not love your choice of ‘outro music’?? ❤️😂

[@bluebugaboo3344]

4:41 What a nice coincidence that the hole in the letter P fits perfectly!

[@flyabusa]

I worked at an internet provider in the mid 90s to early 2000s. Every once in a blue moon I'd come across a customer or two running WebTV.

[@Caun-88]

Just seeing the early 2000s MSN butterfly again echoes the MSN Messenger sounds in my ears

[@dovix]

Damn, you dude show me tech I never even knew existed!

[@gabrielv.4358]

Amazing!!! I never seen that before, all the tech we didn't have in Brazil is insane.

[@Ribeanie]

It's crazy how cool that set top box looks, and the keyboard, I'd have that stuff today if it was internally modern. I love the branding too, I'd have wanted one of these had I known they were a thing when I was a kid growing up in the late 90s to 00s

[@gustavoceballos5327]

I think the reason why MSM tv didn’t work it’s because MSN tv closed it’s service down on September 30, 2013 for good

[@aolmsn]

it says "line in use" because the modem Michael is using is not a modem but a 2-wire pc port phone line adapter. If he had used a modem, we might have been able to get a little further (but still failing, as the servers are probably not compatible)

[@KJsGotGame]

Msntv was a great gateway for people who weren't tech savvy to connect online for the first time. My grandparents had it who would've never bothered using the internet otherwise.

[@maxtech66999]

I love your outro and intro.

[@CrS0CrashPL]

I guess it has to be the USB modem or the DreamPi config, as I've used a similar setup (but with that recommended Dell USB modem) to both play Dreamcast online and get other devices on the internet without any problems. However if you don't want to buy another modem, you can use any old notebook running lightweight Linux distro with an internal modem and ethernet/wireless (any from the XP era will work just fine - I'm more than sure you have a couple of them stashed away ;)) in a similar way. Before I had the DreamPi setup running, I used an old Dell Inspiron to get online on Dreamcast and it worked equally well.

[@ameenie]

I'm not old enough to feel nostalgic about msn, but damn isn't it interesting

[@Kyle-xv5kv]

Dude you need to find a "My MSN Companion" it would be amazing to see one of those things.

[@kyeongsushin3145]

Rocket is a Korean alkaline cell brand (which is still kinda alive, but not as popular nowadays). Didn't know that it was also available in other countries.

[@markrayers9675]

I've Been Watching Your Channel For Over A Year.

[@CubeAtlantic]

This video is legit boosting-up memories of MSM :D

[@royfugate]

My first one was a web TV plus with built in TV tuner. surf the web and read about a show, hit the button, and tune right to the channel. or be watching a show or movie, and during the commercials click links to get taken to the website for the products. i also still got my "whats on the web" guide book it came with, and about 120 vhs tapes of stuff (websites,pics,vid clips,chatroom's, etc) i recorded off of it.

[@CEO100able]

Wow, this vintage MSN TV product looks quite interesting. I wish the MSN TV service would have lasted much longer.

[@brodriguez11000]

It might have been a success if display technology was more capable.

[@Jalkoth]

It shut down in 2013 and was around for 18 years not bad for a niche service

[@willcartoons]

I had already moved on to the iMac by the time this came out. But I really enjoyed the trip back in time. Honestly, what Microsoft did with WebTV was really cool 🙂

[@Cyan476]

can you make a pt.2 of this video?

[@michaelbuehler3897]

I saw this in the latest Llama with Hats video and wanted to know what it was.

[@saturniidspectre]

Dude, same!

[@Zakko64]

I actually own a WebTV, to be exact a Philips Magnavox Internet TV Terminal Model MAT965KB. It’s cool that you made a video on WebTV/MSNTV, great video. 👍

[@datlaunchystark1385]

You might need to get like a POTS PBX or something that emulates a dial tone for it to work correctly. Even a Linksys PAP2T voip box might work as it emulate the dial tone.

[@datlaunchystark1385]

Or if the box has options to change the DNS or proxy, you might be able to connect to the server through the Ethernet.

[@kylekartgaming]

Ay the remote look similar to the Xbox remote! I have an Xbox with the Media kit thing.

[@topfacemod]

I got WebTV for Christmas 1998 at 14 yo. I was mesmerized by the world wide web. In Feb of 2002 I finally got my first PC...an HP with a CD-RW which was pretty damn cool at that time.

[@AaronEdwards]

This brings back memories. I actually focus grouped the first one. Bought U2 tickets with the stipend.

[@RobTheSquire]

That remote looks like the one for the xbox when it first came out around the time as that box. If only Microsoft also added these features to the xbox and give people more from the start.

[@bitwolfy]

As much as I love seeing communities come together to remake servers that in theory, can locally run and last forever, it pisses me off to no end that ever MSNTV 2 is now a paperweight because the service was shuttered. Imagine a multi hundred dollar device just not being usable when you wake up with your only hope being that someone is working on a way to re create it. It's just shameful that this does, and will continue to happen.

[@nosajgames]

Please do WebTV! Remember when my step dad brought this home and was blown away. Miss these times

[@frankzappa3834]

My grandma had one!! Blast from the past.

[@mattafaak]

The remote control is very reminiscent of the original Xbox DVD remote. As it turns out, the MSN TV 2 and OG Xbox both share the same type and speed of CPU.

[@maroon9273]

I'm surpise msn tv never made its way to the xbox.

[@1tristan247]

It should work if you turn off the wait for dial tone setting. And telephone lines usually operate at ~48 volts DC

[@MichaelMJD]

It didn’t. I tried that and ended up cutting it from the video.

[@healthyking9999]

It was either this or the AOL version, but when it was first introduced, I somehow managed to order one of these when I was a kid. It showed up at my mom’s house and she was PISSED!! Lol. The thing was equivalent to almost $500 now.

[@Match451]

That hand held remote looks very much like the Xbox remote that comes with the DVD kit.

[@RobertPendell]

I was a beta tester for MSN TV. Had a pre-release unit that they let us keep. No I don't have it anymore.

[@5argetech56]

PlutoTV is now the norm! I remember those days! Wished I could watch live TV on my mobile device (Toshiba E750 Pocket PC) Wow those were the days!

[@LemSportsinterviews]

back in 2007 i had a windows mobile phone (with a keyboard!) that had a live TV service on it through AT&T. it was the slickest thing on the block by a mile - "is that LIVE?" i'd get asked. insanely nostalgic; with the windows branding and slide-out keyboard, it really was like carrying a little PC in your pocket. i miss how 'gadget-like' mobile devices used to be so much!

[@belstar1128]

Yea back then it was epic to watch tv on the go now i don't want to watch tv at all just youtube and if you go back even further i remember old analogue hand held tvs too.

[@alexis_evo]

Clicked on this for WebTV nostalgia. Ended up getting hit with toc2rta nostalgia. Was an ircop there after talking Greg into linking the dashhacks server to it. That feels like three lifetimes ago...

[@belstar1128]

15:18 lmao my internet just went down when i was watching that part.

[@CoreyWilson]

Found one of these in box at savers and almost bought it. Glad I can watch this and actually check it out lol

[@CharlieRAnimaMX]

6:50 two quick facts. -According to the MSN TV labels, the device is Certified as NOM-NYCE (which means that it meets and passed the laboratory test for safety regulations for sale in Mexico, practically equivalent to the UL / CSA and FCC certification) . But as someone from Mexico City I never knew they existed or were sold here. (in fact, even myself, being an electrical engineer, believed that PC to TV streaming via LAN was something new). On the other hand, assuming the cost of subscription and connection, perhaps it was never sold in Mexico for that reason, since in that same period going to a cybercafe on average cost between 5 and 15 MXN (for the best ones) per hour [0.25-0.75 September 2022 USD, but in its early 2000 time much less at conversion] -at the time and until today a 5 mbps ADSL access in Mexico costs ~19.31 USD per month (the difference is that today for that same price now the country's main telephone company gives you 50mbps, optical fiber and almost ilimited local Phone calls+100 minute free long distance) 2- Rocket batteries are in fact a very low cost brand [commonly found in flea markets and discount stores] but relatively popular in Mexico, according to the cylinder their HQ is in a true building at L.A. California [however, although they have a website there is not one way to buy them or contact them, the batteries simply reach the retailers "by magic", they are almost a shell company] but batt's are manufactured in thailand and korea. However, in MX they only sell the Zinc-Carbon Rocket that are black with green on the negative (as an inverse duracell, and for some years (Approx 2008) they now have an astronaut as a logo next to the word rocket) [the alkaline ones didn't even know they existed until a few years ago] Because of their low cost are the basics for remote controls and wall clocks. [this since particularly between 90-2000 and even today]. brand name alkaline batteries remain prohibitively expensive. (where a single Duracell AA battery for example costs no less than 0.8 USD and you have to pay up to 5~8 USD for a pack of 4 brand AA's). VS Rocket where 4 AA's usually cost no more than 1.5 USD (perhaps it sounds ridiculous but when you base it on the fact that a Mexico City subway ticket costs ~0.25 USD. - 5 USD for 4 AA's is too much and with those 5 dollars you can pay what equivalent to approx 102 Kilowatt-hour of electricity.) so in Mexico things that work with batteries are relatively rare and since the rise of rechargeable Chinese things and that many of those objects that used batteries have been replaced by the cell phone . They are becoming even rarer to get. remote controls and wall clocks being precisely the few and those whose low consumption allows you to give them the luxury of putting discount batteries on them and only changing them at most 2 or 3 times a year as much even the xbox controllers are still more comfortable to use connected by USB or just some internet cafes that rent consoles to play or people who are really into wireless controllers commonly use them with rechargeable ones (because again, between how cheap the electricity rate and that ironically a good brand rechargeable pack comes out at the same price or cheaper sometimes than the alkaline ones is a decision that you do not think twice)

[@John_Locke_108]

MSNtv. I remember hearing about this and my mind just went crazy thinking about the possibilities. Never actually used one but based what I heard, I wasn't missing out.

[@XzTS-Roostro]

That remote design was also used for the OG XBox console for DVD playback

[@WrappedInPlasticine]

I'm surprised nobody has ever recognized that the original Xbox DVD playback kit was nothing more than an RCA DVD player remote. Back in the day, when the og Xbox was released, I was a rare RCA fanboy. My entire home theater was RCA brand, surround sound, DVD player, TV my learning universal remote, which really surprised me as I never had to program my remote to operate the Xbox. Ofc me being an RCA fanboy, I immediately noticed the likeness in the remotes but I didn't assume. Needless to say, I retired my DVD player in favor of the Xbox. This was the last time that RCA was a decent brand, I think it's thanks to the fact that Microsoft teamed up with Thompson (owner of RCA, GE and Proscan). Fun fact: a good portion of the OG Xboxes had Thompson DVD drives as well.

[@CanaryData]

Could you do Windows 11 develepment history please?

[@andrive]

Not yet, too soon

[@MichaelCH911]

the only development that MS did was changing the name from windows 10 to 11.

[@truegodaries]

The only public release build is 21H2 and 22H2

[@_lun4r_]

development*

[@andrive]

@@MichaelCH911 sorta, control panel still says windows 10 lol

[@cmheinrich1]

Man I remember that connecting to web TV screen. Saw that alot when I had on when I was in high school

[@jermoblaa6781]

I do have an older WebTV box, it's a Philips MAT972 that works AWESOME with the HackTV stuff. MattMan helped me out with getting connected and getting the right tools. I even did some testing with using an SD card as a replacement for the hard drive since mine was on its way out. The Dell Modem (if you can find it without the voltage inducer) is really the only one that works, I did the same thing trying different ones with no luck. I wanted to get the one from DreamPi since it had the voltage inducer built in, but it was usually out of stock when I'd try to order. It's a shame that the MSN TV 2 doesn't work, at least not yet.

[@hieuquocnguyen7645]

I remember msntv because Cartoon Network promoted this product many times in some of their early 2000's vintage clips

[@hieuquocnguyen7645]

@silvervine16 There should be having a video of their commercials around 2003-2004, you can find if there's any having the msntv commercial (which I remember watching it before)

[@Canleaf08]

There was a trend in 2005 or so with the Microsoft Windows XP Media Center Edition. I do not know any computer which was sold specifically as a living room PC with that OS...

[@DanielMcGuireStudiosOFFICIAL]

Attempt to reverse the RJ-22 cable, and if this does not resolve the problem, consider purchasing a new modem.