Launched in 2004, MSN TV 2 is a sleek & stylish set-top box with a Web browser, e-mail, and instant messaging that also functions as a digital media hub. Most reviewers say the product is best for the handful of people who want Web access and e-mail but not a PC. I agree, however the player is stylish enough to slip into your entertainment console for late night web browsing or quick online trip. With MSN TV 2, interactive features like short video clips of tops news could come in handy for people just looking to catch up on what's going on without watching an entire news show. And lets face in years to come the TV watching experience will be like MSN TV 2, it has already started with spilt screens and scroll, by then, interactive features will probably be all integrated into the TV to be controlled by touch or by remote....but until then MSN TV 2 gives you great control on your TV-web experience. Come to think of it MSN TV 2 is an ideal bridge between the two.

One progression I would like to see is for more user control... e.g. RSS is a big deal now .. thanks to blogs and it would only make sense for this feature to be automatically integrated into system so Users can keep up on there favorite sites. For example Sony recently integrated a RSS reader in the Sony PlayStation Portable

From the Ployer Archives - MSN TV 2 Specifications

The MSN TV service includes access to 200 commercial-free radio stations, a primary MSN e-mail account with 2 GB of storage, 10 secondary e-mail accounts with 250 MB of storage.

The MSN TV 2 Internet & Media Player features include Intel 733 MHz Celeron chip set, 128 MB of RAM and 64 MB of flash memory, Windows CE operating system, an Ethernet port and two USB ports for accessories such as digital media card readers, wireless network adapters and printers and 56Kbps phone modem, so current MSN TV dial-up users can upgrade to the more powerful system.

Setup & Ease of use

Jessica Simpson, Britney Spears & Paris Hilton would be able to set MSN TV 2 up... . Connect via dial-up or (via home LAN) broadband.. sign up and you are ready to play photos, music, and videos.

Once logged in, everything is at your finger tips for control via remote or wireless keyboard. All menus have keyboard equivalent for control. MSN TV 2 could be great way to introduce the kids to the Internet experience, the system is loaded with parental controls so you can keep the adult content out.

Web Browsing

I tested MSN TV 2 on two TVs, on the first (average size) , web browsing was a little shoddy (the system compensated for TV size by trying to squeezing page to fit (this is optional) the squeeze unfortunately did not squeeze images to fit...what is needed is for the feature to squash entire page. For the average user the Web experience on a small TV would be OK...for graphic intensive sites & sites that span 1024pixels you will need a wide screen or you can scroll. On my wide screen Flat panel all was well with web browsing...

Overall MSN TV accomplished what it set out to do for me, it bridges the gap between web & television viewing & for those late lazy nights it was great to have the product to just catch up on the world in bits..

MSN TV 2 is available nationwide at major consumer electronic retailers including Best Buy, Circuit City Stores Inc. and CompUSA, as well as online through Amazon.com and Microsoft.com. MSN TV offers subscription packages required to receive MSN TV service ranging from $9.95 monthly or $99.95 annually for users who connect through their own broadband service to $21.95 monthly or $199.95 annually for dial-up users.