RCA/MSN TV 2 Internet and Media Player

This was a system upgrade from WebTv. It took no time at all to get back on line. Only needed a new USB cable for the printer.
The s-video was not used.
The new keyboard is a great improvement, and makes entry alot easyer.
Once you are up and running, MSN will make any changes that the interface will need. We love it!

I owned a WebTV Plus for eight years with only occasional problems and purchased the new MSN TV2 unit in spite of the many reviewers who reported difficulties. Well, they were right. The extra features over WebTV such as fast broadband connections, much better access to some sites such as ebay, and real music and videos on demand make this model far more desirable for someone who wants to surf on a 50 inch screen sitting in a comfortable lounge chair with the wireless keyboard on my lap -- and no worries about viruses. Regrettably the first MSN TV2 unit Amazon.com sent required almost daily calls to MSN's technical service people who are pleasant but cannot eliminate some problems because this is a "not ready for prime time" product. After some weeks, including one sixteen (yes 16!) hours "disaster recovery" upgrade the staff told me my box was defective. Amazon.com immediately shipped a replacement by overnight FedEx at no charge. The new one came with the three internal LED lights improperly connected (and you can't open it without voiding the warranty). So I asked Amazon for a second replacement. They refused to do this, citing reliability problems with this model (which they still are selling) and gave me a postage paid return label to return the two units for a full refund.

Having already invested over $100 in an excellent HP 6540 printer that isn't compatible with my old WebTV -- and now hooked on fast broadband surfing -- I bought a third MSN TV2 from Circuit City a few days ago. I had to return the keyboard whose spacebar malfunctioned and continue to have "Navigation Error" and "cannot find server" messages, plus e-mails with the wrong time stamp (the MSN people are aware of the last problem but haven't come up with a fix in two months).

I plan to keep this third MSN TV2 unit as long as it works, even with some problems, because of its advantages over WebTV. I would buy a service contract but it doesn't automatically replace a malfunctioning box (there isn't much that can be repaired) and you may be without it for some time (RCA said 8-10 weeks for factory service even on warranty repairs). Reminds me of Jaguar automobiles of some years ago where you needed two: one to use and one for the repair shop. My fingers are crossed though both Amazon.com and Circuit City have generous return/exchange policies for new products. I may have to follow the Jaguar solution after that.

If you presently own a WebTV unit my recommendation would be to wait until a new (and improved?) model comes on the market -- most important MSN hopefully will work out the all to frequent bugs on their servers though they have offered the MSN TV2 service for a year and a half without such success. If you are presently using a PC and like the idea of a really big screen I suggest you look at the new Sony HDTVs that have a PC outlet to plug in the rear. Unfortunately my excellent fifty incher is last year's model without the PC hookup feature that might have tempted me to dump WebTV and MSN TV2 altogether.

Update (10/17/2007): I'm sorry to say that the MSN-TV only worked well for about a year. Once the modem died (burned out), we were never able to connect with the replacement modem(s). I would now give it a rating of 2 stars (Amazon won't let me edit the current rating).

Problems: couldn't connect with the new modem. After multiple calls to the technical help call centers, including 3-way calls with Verizon and MSN, we were finally connected to a knowledgeable MSN technician who told us that certain modems weren't compatible with MSN-TV, like the one we had just bought. It wouldn't work with a Westell modem with a router (no, they didn't have a list of modems that would work with it).

Even with the new, supposedly compatible modem, we still couldn't connect to the MSN-TV server. Although we spent several hundred dollars on on-site technical help, and downloaded a software update using dial-up (3+ hours), we never did figure out the source of the problem. The MSN technicians didn't know enough about how it worked, and no one at Verizon DSL had ever heard of it.

So after spending several hundred dollars on on-site technical help, I gave my iMac to my brother, and within minutes we were on the internet. It's not as easy for him to use but at least he can get a connection!
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Previous (favorable) review:

MSN TV is working well for my brother, who is has vision problems, limited use of his left hand, and a short attention span because of a traumatic brain injury. I got him MSN-TV a few months ago. It was pretty easy to set up, once we got all the problems with the DSL line sorted out. Here are the reasons that we like it:

-There are only a few steps involved to get online.
-TV screen is bigger than most affordable monitors, and easier to read.
-MSN-TV isn't susceptible to viruses, because there is no computer involved (although it is possible to pass them on in an attachment).
-It takes up virtually no space.
-There's not much that can be messed up, unlike a PC (we had a lot of problems with the PC--too complex, too hard to read the screen, viruses, etc.)


Things that we don't like about MSN TV:
-it does sometimes get jammed, and there's no reset button (I unplugged it to reset it).
-The keyboard just died for no apparent reason.

IMHO it's a good solution for a person who just wants to e-mail and do some web-surfing, but doesn't need, or want, a computer.

Buy the unit for yourself or your mother or your father or any elderly, person in your family who is not a computer wiz, set it up,
register, log in and see if you can get 1 week of consistent service from the world's richest wiz kid.
See if you have trouble or not logging on, see wether or not you need to upgrade 6 to 7 times in a 10 day period, see if you can play this thing for at least 3 days without it shutting off for no reason, and when you call customer service see if you get the run around, see if you can listen to the same audio files you enjoyed in real audio or not, no review;
just see for yourself!!!!!!!!!!!;
wether or not this service apart from speed is better or worse then the old basic unit, and is worth the extra 100 bucks,
and then ask yourself if there is a 50/50 chance of bringing grief and added aggravation to those you love, who are in thier golden years, is it worth buying this unit.

This is not a device to make your life simple or getting on line without a computer easy. This is not a $100 upgrade from the old WEBTV, this is simply Bill Gates form of "consumer 3 card monte" to force folks into purchasing a computer. If you think you have problems now, just purchase one of these devices, follow the simple instructions and watch the headaches mount. This little contraption has enough gliches and booboos to scare the pants off of any seasoned computer pro. If you are used to the old webtv, believe me this thing is a nightmare. If you are new to using the internet, well just purchase a computer. The old webtv is being fazed out ad is next to impossible to purchase! I don't believe that the richest guy in the world would put out a product with so many horrors and hangups without some hidden agenda!