WebTV is the world's first high-quality Internet solution for television. Last fall their licensees, Sony Electronics, Inc. and Philips Electronics, introduced a plug-and-play set-top box that enables Internet browsing.

The WebTV set-top box sits on top of (or next to) your TV. It connects to the telephone line and hence the Internet. It comes with a remote control and optionally a remote keyboard. You don't need a computer and there's no software to load. With the WebTV Network Service you can explore the Internet in your living room using a remote control.

Features

• 33.6 Kbps internal modem.
• Expansion port for future accessories.
• Easy connection using TV and telephone connections.
• Hand-held remote control for single-button Internet surfing.
• Email access with 5 individual mailboxes and a message waiting light.

Optional accessories include a wireless keyboard, and an RF modulator for connection to a TV. You can enter text (e.g. URLs or form data) using the on-screen keyboard, but power-users will find this a living nightmare. Buy the keyboard.

The box is in effect a stripped-down computer with a built-in web browser. You do not need to be computer-savvy to install it or use it.

On first starting the WebTV unit you are dialled into an 800 number (in the USA this is a free call) and an on-screen form takes you through the registration process for WebTV Network Service after which you will have Internet access via your television set.

WebTV gives you full access to the Internet, including well-known online magazines like Elle, Sports Illustrated, and Time. It also features television and theater listings, sports stats and rankings from USA Today, stock quotes and financial planning, kids' games, music-industry links, scholastic reference materials, and vacation planning, just to name a few.

WebTV doesn't support very much of the modern web technology such as Java, Shockwave, ActiveX, ... WebTV supports Real Audio, as well as most audio formats, including MIDI and MOD. You have the option of listening to CD-quality background music from a fixed set of songs. It get nauseous after a while.

We found the WebTV to be easy to use. Our 6-year old son enjoys playing with it. We were delighted to find that our home page displayed very well. This isn't the case for many home/web pages, especially those that depend on imagemap navigation or have bright white backgrounds. There will also be problems with image resolution, and pages with large amounts of text. Large images are scaled to fit the screen width; there is no horizontal scrolling.

WebTV is a good idea for people who want to see what all the hoopla is about for the Internet and the WWW. We had to move the furniture and put the TV about 9 to 10 feet away from the sofa to be able to read the screen. If you are used to using Netscape or IE, you will be disappointed at the simplicity of the WebTV and it's lack of advanced features.

In e-mail, for example, you have a simple text input area (don't hit the TAB key to indent or you'll be at the SEND button) and don't have the ability to include the mail you are responding to. This is primitive, even compared to 'elm'. However, from what I understand from people with simple e-mail accounts rather than full access accounts, this is normal.

The Reference section is a good place to get started. It has lots of links to all kinds of web sites. I am not sure how they picked the sites to be included because some were not that good. The official Bermuda Tourist Office site has a large graphic on the top of its pages but you can't read the text because the font is too small (the actual text part of the pages, however, is very readable). Another bad example is Figure Skating World, under the Sports catageory. This page hasn't been updated in about a year - the site is attactive but why do I want to know the results of last year's competitions?

The 'home' page includes links to a featured site. These are varied and are a great way of exposing yourself to something new.

Another good feature is the ability to set up multiple users and e-mail accounts from your one access account. You can select different levels of WWW access (full, limited, or kid-friendly) and permit or deny e-mail access. We could set up an account for our 6-year old and not worry about what pages he pulls up.

One drawback to the system is that it can be difficult to get what you want. Forget the remote that comes with the system, buy and use the keyboard. It is easier to move around a page and between the options. Mouse-oriented content like graphic maps and pull-down menus are difficult to use regardless of whether you are using the keyboard or the remote.

Overall, I found WebTV to be easy and fun to use. It would be something I'd recommend for non-computer people, such as my mother, to allow them to get on-line without the hassles of a real ISP and the limitations of an online service. It's cheaper than a computer so it can also be a first step for people who just can't afford a decent computer and modem. It has been reported in the press that WebTV is trying to get into hotels. I think it should also try hospitals and schools. They might also want to work with the people that bring you the coin-operated TVs in airport waiting areas.

Further Information