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Web TV
(Last update in 2012)
Web TV
–
(May also be known as: Web-over
Television Services, Web Enhanced TV, TeleWebbing, Teleweb, TV-based
Web Browsing, TV Internet Delivery System, Set-top Box, TV Internet
Access Device, Phone-Based Web Boxes, WebTV Device, Hybrid WebTV
Device, Web Over TV, Web-based Internet TV, Web Channels, Web TV,
Web-connected Smart TV, Web-based Television, Hybrid Web-to-TV, hybrid-capable
STB.
Associated with TV Internet Access Device,
Terrestrial-based Internet-over-TV service, IP Niche Programming,
Narrowcasting, Slivercasting, VOD, IP VOD Channel, IPTV, Internet
Channels, Online TV, Net TV, Television-over-broadband, Broadband
Entertainment, Internet enabled TV, Internet on TV, Internet-over-TV,
High Speed Internet on TV, Internet-connected TVs, TV Internet System,
InternetTV, Online Video, TV-over-ADSL, TV-based Internet,
Broadband-based TV, ITV-over-DSL, Broadband ITV, ADSL-based VOD,
Interactive Broadband Television, Interactive Online TV,
Terrestrial-based Internet-over-TV.)
(1) Utilizing a television system to access Web programming
content that is delivered via the Internet. (Web-based
Television
technically would be the accessing of programming content over the
Internet while utilizing a television system but that gets used
interchangeably with the term "Web TV".) See Internet-connected
TVs.
A Web TV system typically incorporates Internet access, a Web browser,
wired or
wireless networking, a keyboard/keypad or mini-keyboard and a wireless
control device such as a wireless mouse. While Web TV browsers might
not offer as much functionality as a PC-based browser, it can be a
low-cost alternative to a traditional Internet-connected computerized
device. (This is changing with Internet-connected
TV hooked to HDTVs.) Unlike the digital input that computer
monitors receive, most
non-HDTV TVs receive their input in the form of analog waves, (SDTV
versus
digital TV.)
Those Web TVs display fewer pixels per
square inch than a computer monitor or compatible HDTV.
(2)
Web TV
also might be used to describe any computerized system that enables
viewing of TV programming that is delivered via the Web. These
different devices include PCs, mobile devices and Internet-connected
TVs. (Internet
TV
technically is more the act of watching video programming via the
Internet, but the term is sometimes used interchangeably with Web TV
anyway.)
Stanford Description
Web-based
Television
In the late 1990s, network computers were expected to be a big deal,
until the price of PCs went down so much and so fast. There were
network computer systems that also used set top boxes for Internet
access. An example was Acorn's Concord network computer (NC). RCA
manufactured the Concord set-top box. This set top box even supported
Java for displaying digital images on televisions. (Reference.)
Web TVs in the States include (or have included) AOLTV®
in it's (previous set-top form and Microsoft's
MSN®TV.
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Web
TV Development Timeline
(Remember, being able to access the Internet is required to being on
this list, not just being an Interactive TV service that also used a
set-top box):
1995-96 - Steve Perlman, Bruce Leak and Phil Goldman founded what would
be later be WebTV Networks. (Reference)
1996 - WebTV was invented in 1996 by Diba Inc (Steve Perlman) and Zenith Electronics. (Reference)
1997 - NetChannel
is the first Web-enhanced television service available to consumers in
Europe. It would later be bought by AOLTV.
1998 - Microsoft's Windows 98 includes the application "WebTV for
Windows". It's a type of Interactive Program Guide and in many respects
is quite different from MSNTV. WebTV for Windows uses ActiveX to
display conventional television shows and an HTML browser to present
interactive content for interactive shows. (Reference)
1999 - In January 1999, WebTV Networks, Inc. and EchoStar
Communications Corp. announced the WebTV Personal TV service for
Satellite. (Reference.)
2000 - Microsoft WebTV Networks (later called "MSNTV") and the former
UltimateTV® service
offered an integrated subscription. This very impressive service
offered Interactive Television, Internet access, digital video
recording and more.
2000 - AOL launches its AOLTV Web TV services. It was discontinued (to
new subscribers) in 2002.
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Early
WebTV browser
- The earlier WebTV Networks browsers has a screen size of 420x560
pixels, so the general rule of thumb was to not make your Web TV Web
page wider than 560 pixels. (If it is wider, in many cases the Web TV
system will re-arrange the webpage to make it viewable in that smaller
pixel range.) There was no mouse option so the WebTV browser translated
HTML frames as tables in order to avoid the need for a mouse. (One can
now use a mouse with MSNTV2.) Standard PC font sizes, (for instance
Times font size 11,) are too small to be seen well over the typical Web
TV. Most Web TV Web browsers automatically make the text
larger
and if necessary automatically switch the font to a font that looks
better when larger, such as Arial or Helvetica. Another
problem
is that typically Web TV's video signal doesn't refresh as quickly, or
as often as computer monitors. Thus dark backgrounds with light
lettering read better than light backgrounds with dark
lettering.
More advanced Web TVs might come with CPUs, RAM (though less than a PC
would have,) a modem, parallel and/or serial ports, an operating
system, Flash ROM (where the operating system might be stored), an
optional hard drive, a built in browser and/or software package. The
software can be discreetly upgraded by the Web TV service provider via
the Internet.
Internet
TV
Internet-connected
TVs
Microsoft
WebTV Classic & WebTV Plus {Interactive}
- These later
became MSNTV - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_tv.
MSNTV®
& MSNTV Plus®, MSNTV 2®
- The only current manufacturers of Microsoft's MSN's set-top boxes are
Thomson and RCA. Previously the two largest manufacturers of WebTV
boxes were Philips and Sony. The re-branding and upgrading of
Microsoft's WebTV to MSNTV would give its service broadband and home
networking capabilities and the ability to stream video and music from
the Internet or from files stored on a PC. To stream files from your PC
to the MSNTV set-top box you'll need an enabled XP or Vista operating
system, a network interface card and meet other standard requirements.
Installing Windows Media Connect on your PC enables you to deliver
music, photos, and videos that reside on your enabled PC to devices
that support the uPnP protocol. This includes digital audio receivers,
connected DVD players, MSN TV2 and more. MSNTV has virus protection and
bulk email guard.
These are phone numbers (good at the time of this article's writing)
for MSNTV technical help. (How much help you get depends on how well
trained the person answering is): 866-466-7688 & 800-469-3288.
MSN
Companion
- The MSN Companion was a small-scale personal computer terminal
designed for easy access to MSN services over the Internet. Though it
was designed by Microsoft, it was to compete with their WebTV service.
The MSN Companion was intended for use by people with little knowledge
of computers or technology, and many included several features aimed at
the elderly or disabled, such as easier-to-read monitors. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MSN_Companion
Net-TV
Teletext
TV
Board
TV
Crossover Links
TV
Tuner Card
TV-HTML
TV-HTML
Extension
TV
Internet Access Device
TV
Internet System
WebTV
for
Windows
Windows
Media
Center
Windows
Media
Connect (WMC)
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More
Definitions of Web TV
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