MSN TV or WebTV as it was originally named, was bought up by Microsoft in 1997, and is a convergent product between computer and television. Microsoft and AOL failed miserably when they launched MSN TV in the late ‘90s as the number of subscribers was only said to be a little over one million (cnn.com, 2004), but Microsoft believes the market is ready for MSN TV2, which is more equipped with more features than the first version. MSN TV is a set-top box that is attached to the television, and enables the user to “surf the Web, display digital photos, watch downloaded video clips� (cnn.com, 2004), and access e-mail accounts using the television as monitor via wireless or wired connections. As the earlier version aimed for users with dial-up Internet access, the new version aims at users with high speed Internet connections and home networks. Subscribers of MSN TV can choose from hundreds of news, sports and entertainment video clips from NBC, the Discovery Channel, Fox Sports and other partners as well as 200 streaming radio stations (Microsoft, 2004). However, MSN TV contains no hard drive so the users have to download the material to their computers first, and then play it back on the television using the MSN TV set-top box. The key features of MSN TV is
The subscribers can only access content from MSN and its partners through the MSN TV, but the addition of Windows Media 10 and its digital rights-management system in early 2005 will facilitate subscribers with a far more flexibility in downloading digital content (Broadcasting & Cable, 2004). The challenge that faces MSN TV is to provide a product that is better than devices such as TiVo, Akimbo and traditional computer based services. Another challenge facing MSN TV is to attract a young, technology confident audience while simultaneously appeal to the older and less technology aware audience.
Simen Sjoelli 17:44, 27 Oct 2004 (EST)
