 | Philips Magnavox MAT976A1 Webtv Plus
| Manufacturer: | Philips | | List price: | $149.99 | | Our price: | that is 100% off! |
| | | Philips Magnavox MAT976A1 Webtv Plus | Average rating:  |  | Why I Love My WebTv | | I spend at least a few hours a day on my WebTv. Why? I'll be glad to tell you. In 1998 I became disabled. Even after my medical problems were no longer critical I felt isolated from the rest of the world, I wanted/needed to be connected. I am one of a minority of WebTv-users in that I own a computer & was computer literate when I started using my WebTv-many are not. Which is my point, Webtv is easier to use, more fun to use, than a computer, & most important you become PART OF A TIGHT KNIT COMMUNITY of users. Once I looked around-I came across Websites made for, & By, WebTv-Users-& made on WebTV receivers. Since I've been a User-(since 12/99) we've had at least four upgrades. That is-at least four times a major improvement in service was given to keep up with the new technology. That was in one year! and it keeps getting better. Besides, being able to do all the usual things like use Chat rooms, & have six different e-mail addresses, you can do all sorts of things. Build Websites, create Photo albums that anyone with e-mail or web-access (that you want) can view. I believe that the "marrige of TV & computers is the way things are going. AOL & MSN are both coming out with systems that do this. WebTV has a jump on them-they've been at this since 1994 or 1995 I believe, They have the experience and soon boxes that connect the Internet-Satllite or Cable progamming all being produced with 5.1S Surround-Sound will be common-place. Webtv will be leading the way! So why WebTv rather than a computer? Well, there's the ease of use-(VERY easy) andthe E-Mail, & Chat-rooms, but MOST of all for me it's the Community of WebTv Users. Like I said I have a computer, but I seem to spend most of time with my New Friends on WebTv. | | Phillips Receiver & WebTV Service Reviewed | | Phillips sells what they refer to as a receiver. You buy either their box or Sony's, hook it up to your VCR, dish, and TV and then subscribe to the WebTV service. Its a bit like buying the cable box and then paying for cable. The receiver is quiet and easy to setup. I have had problems with it using my Sony VCR and no longer use it to record. In particular, twice during the first couple of weeks that I owned it, I programmed the box to record programs a week in advance. During both times, it recorded some programs and then it seemed that the box reset and all the additional programming was lost. Further, it did not change the VCR channel. I verified that I had set it up correctly several times. I am an engineer and have no problems with these matters. I reported this problem to the WebTV service and a week later, they informed me that I should contact Phillips. I have not done so.Regarding the software, if you want to listen to real audio or run java programs you will have problems. They currently do not support the latest real audio version so most internet radio stations are not available. In addition, the box automatically discounts after 10 minutes if there is no keyboard or remote input. This cannot be disabled. Thus, tunning your box to an internet radio station and then working in the house is essentially impossible. With those limitations aside, I say this is a great product. It allows you to surf the web, buy products, etc while watching TV. A nice feature when watching TV is that as your surf TV channels, you see the name of each program currently playing. Most programs have a synopsis quickly available to find out about the shows. WebTV says that they have concentrated most of their efforts on the TV integration and it shows. Very nice product in spite of the negatives mentioned above. | | Ease of use & great features...but not perfect | | I've had a couple of WebTV's since 1996 (a Sonyclassic & my current a Phillips Magnavox Plus) and can tell you, it was a very worthwhile purchase. There are ways around the 15 minute idle-dissconnect (not 10, as previously stated) such as the screensavers at WebWizardsWays, we now have MSN Messenger & RealAudio 5.0 & G2. WebTV is very easy to set up too. Just turn it on & it tells you how to set it up-the process takes no longer than 15 minutes if I remember correctly. Also, you can't get a virus! Another cool feature is the "i" links on TV programs. Turn on the tv and on some programs an "i" shows up. Click it and it will take you to a website where you can learn about what your watching, get scores & player stats & even play along with Jeopardy & Wheel Of Fortune. Also, hp now has a scanner foe WebTV. Drawbacks are the lack of Java & the lack of respect some websites show WebTV users by not providing a WebTV accessable version of their site. All in all, WebTV is perfect for just about anyone. | | Top Electronics products |
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