MSN TV - Exploring Microsoft's Old TV Platform!
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- Опубліковано 6 чер 2024
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Remember MSN TV? It was an affordable way to get access to the Internet by using your television. Let's explore it!
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Chapters:
00:00 - Unboxing & History
14:17 - Initial Connection Attempt
15:54 - Custom Server & Voltage Inducer Explanation
22:00 - Trying to Connect to the Custom Servers
28:15 - Outro
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Background Music:
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Outro Music: Silent Partner - Bet On It
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#MichaelMJD #MSN #Microsoft - Наука та технологія
![How the Apple ][ Works!](/img/n.gif)
A couple of things worth mentioning as I'm seeing some repeat comments:
DreamPi generates/simulates dial tone that the MSN TV/WebTV's modem listens for. A dedicated dial tone generator is not necessary to make this work. I didn't address this in the video so I figured I post here to clear things up.
I am aware of the "wait for dial tone" option in the MSN TV 2's settings menu. I actually recorded turning this off and trying to connect a few times, but it didn't change anything because if the MSN TV can't pick up dial tone, it means that DreamPi isn't outputting it through its USB modem (thus meaning that it isn't working properly). In this case, that was the issue because I didn't have a compatible modem. I cut this from the video for brevity because I had determined that the lack of a compatible modem was the culprit.
And as I had suspected, the MSN TV 2 just isn't compatible with these custom servers. Thanks to the members of the WebTV community for confirming this!
I am currently on the lookout for some older WebTV stuff to feature in future videos. This definitely won't be the last time you hear me talk about this stuff!
Well, i have a idea. I am not expert at this stuff but i am hoping at least this could get you to reach to server. How about a local dns? If you can change the dns server of the msn tv then you can just create a local dns record for server the msn tv is trying to reach to. Pi-hole should do the trick, it might not be intended for this but since it has a web interface it's easy to manage. And also you can learn where msn tv is trying to go from query log.
@@hasankayra04 I've tried this with my MSN TV 2 already, the box tries to reach an HTTPS "headwaiter" server that is completely incompatible with WebTV, as WebTV's services use a custom protocol called WTVP, instead of the web APIs that MSN TV 2 uses
In my experience with the dreampi it's very important which modem you use, because the pi's operating system must have drivers for its chipset. And there aren't many compatible ones out there. The Dell one is most referenced, but there's also a Lenovo modem with the exact same chipset. If it's recognized by the pi and the dreampi software is listening, then both LEDs on the modem will light up. Your line voltage inducer is right between the American and the European spec, but most modem hardware is pretty tolerant accepting anything between maybe 7V to 20V, so 15V should be totally alright, mine is 17V. If you get it to work and want to simplify the inducer then you can use a DC-DC step up module connected to one of the pi's 5V supplying ports supplying the voltage to the line, as there isn't much current involved. Then you might need the resistor+capacitor installed though.
What resources did you use to connect to get the image to dial into those servers? I can't find anything online.
Yes! I would love to see Webtv stuff
old tech videos are probably the most enjoyable thing on this channel for me right now
Me too
I still like retrospective vids a bit more
On this whole app honestly
os tans were funny imo
same
28:36 this is correct. My server (minisrv) is for the first generation of MSNTV boxes, MSNTV2 is much different, and was built on WinCE (some error dialogs would say "Tap OK to continue"). We do not have enough data on the service side to recreate it.
If you get one of the original boxes, everything you tried should work, including the server. You were definitely on the right path, just using the wrong MSNTV box :)
As for the MSNTV2 the best it can do nowadays is Linux.
Good video none-the-less. Looking forward to seeing you play with the original boxes.
What kind of data on the server/service side are you missing?
If people have put Linux on it, I assume people have full access to the original software, so can't you just dump stuff in Ghidra to figure out the protocols and whatnot?
@@satoshiwasareptiloid3777 Putting linux on it just exploits the bios to boot linux instead of a signed CE kernel. To replicate the actual service (it was a thin web client so most features were server side) we would need the server files, or better documentation of the proprietary headers and such. But there wasn't as much interest in the TV2 as the original, because by the time the TV2 came out, PCs were more affordable. So less people used it, thus less exploration and documentation.
I'd also like to point out that according to another comment here and from doing some of my own research, MJD is most likely using a 2Wire PCP-1 DSL adapter for his DreamPi setup, which only supports 10 Mbps connections and definitely does not do dial-up. ~ wtv-411
@@pizzadoge2958 What zefie literally said in his comment:
"We do not have enough data on the service side to recreate it."
Please pay attention when reading next time. ~ wtv-411
@@zefievideo Is there a dump of the BIOS or at least a dump of the memory which has the setup files to config the box?
You wanna know something better than MSN TV?
MJD TV.
@Flare I always view MJD on a TV. With my gaming desktop hooked up to a TV. It counts!
Anything that is MSN-related is so nostalgic for me. Thanks for covering this, Michael!
this brings back memories of msn messenger
Why?
@@hypocritical7379 the logo of msm
michael is the best :)
Yea but while i miss the era i don't miss msn or other Microsoft related stuff from back then i mostly get nostalgic for the old msn page because it was always the first thing i saw when i went online in the 2000s before i discovered i could install better browsers in 2011 but the msn front page was really cheesy even back then with all the celebrity gossip and other stuff that i find so dull and a waste of space and then having to get to google not knowing i could just set google as my start page.
there’s something about these early 2000s tech products that just seem so futuristic. even though it’s been like 20 years later and we definitely have much better technology. i don’t know, it’s just so fascinating.
Ikr?
Never had one of these, but I remember seeing them on display in Best Buy as a kid. Always thought the idea of using the internet on my TV was so cool.
Oh man…I had the WebTV precursor to this back in ‘96/97…it was my first and only exposure to the net back then and it was life changing, despite being absolutely terrible in retrospect lol. I’m more just impressed they were still trying concepts like this by 2004.
I had a web tv unit as well. People were home brewing their own word processor programs and kill codes and everything. IT was truly a unique experience.
@@acupuncturekid I loved the chat rooms. I was on it about 1998ish to 2001.
You might need to try using a DTMF tone (dial tone) generator, so that the dialup connection from the msntv doesn't think the line is busy. Usually no tone on a phone line indicates either busy or no connection. (I am a former telecom systems engineer)
audacity does DTMF tones, right?
This is my theory as well. When I build my own dial server I have to use a hard modem (not a win modem with USB like in the video) on the server side and a analog adapter for line voltage and DTMF. Apparently most client modems out there needs a proper phone setup to even dial at all.
The DreamPi software uses the VoiceMail functionality from some modems to play a fake "Dialtone" (and listen for the incoming DTMF number tones), so it pretends to be a working line. Evidently the modem Michael is using doesn't support that function.
@@Anaerin Years ago before DreamPi I used to use a Skutch AS-26 Line simulator between a modem on my PC and my Dreamcast. The simulator waits until one end "takes the phone off the hook", emulates a dial tone for a set number of seconds and then sends a ringing signal to the other end. It was originally designed for telesales companies to do practice sales between two rooms without using the live phone network. It was enough to bridge the Dreamcast to my PC, as quite a few games don't support "blind dial" and insist on waiting for a dial tone. As traditional PSTN is being switched off in my country by 2025 I'm for keeping hold of it.
DreamPi generates the dial tone that the MSN TV/WebTV listens for. The issue in this case is just that I didn't have a modem compatible with DreamPi. Plus (as I suspected) the MSN TV 2 just isn't compatible with these custom servers.
I've been preaching about WebTV so much recently. I was only 4-5 years old when my family owned one. Sitting on the floor staring at the city skyline as it loads forever. I always thought as a kid that you could reach the city.
I messed with the WebTV all the time at that age. While I didn't understand a lot of the things I was navigating, I knew how to navigate it. I remember navigating and finding a picture of roses and excitedly pulled my mother over to tell her "I got you flowers." We ended up moving and honestly don't know what had happened to it. Such a nostalgic video, thank you.
Hearing 'MSN' is always such a blast from the past. You could be chatting on MSN Messenger while watching your MSN TV and reading the current happenings on MSN News. It felt like a friendlier time before the whole world was owned and run by Google. Thank you for the video.
Or MSNBC
The TV remote uses the same plastic injection molding tool as the one for the XBox DVD kit.
Might as well, gotta be efficient
your tenacity to make these old devices work is golden
Oh my god. Thank you so much for covering MSNTV. I was waiting for one of you guys to cover it and glad it was you. I grew up with a single mother and all we could afford was MSNTV 😂 I remember my mom ordering me a train set from it. The background music totally brings back memories and the speed was SO terribly slow. We really stepped up into the upper echelons when we upgraded to an eMachines desktop with XP 😅
It's definitely the USB modem you're using. DreamPi's Python scripts have only been written with the Lenovo/Dell modems that internally use a Conexant RD02-D400 chipset. The Dreamcast and WebTV/MSN TV communities have not found a USB modem alternative, which we have some concern about, seeing as these modems are becoming harder to find.
The browser needs to be updated. Its broken. Microsoft today uses the Chromium-based Edge so replacing the proprietary browser on the WebTV/MSN TV 1st gen set top boxes is a lot of coding work! A thin client modern web browser set top box remains a dream.
Amazing video! My parents who were members of the "greatest generation" had a WebTV as their first internet device in the late 90s/early 2000s. They had never owned a computer. I remember it ran the MSN software after Microsoft bought out WebTV. They were able to watch my kids grow up by getting pictures via email and visiting a geocities website I created. My father also enjoyed reading history articles and information about the Korean War (in which he fought). It gave my parents great pleasure late in their lives.
I have occasionally thought about WebTV and looked for videos about it from retro tech youtubers but there is not much out there. I am already a subscriber and I am so glad you gave me this trip down memory lane.
Nice! That XP baseball player is back in the background!
It's always gonna be a good video when it's about old and obscure tech, love discovering this kind of piece of technological history!
I didn't expect you to make this video!
Back in 2005, I wanted an MSN TV 2 after I randomly browsed MSN and came across the website for it, but I couldn't afford it at the time and I don't think it was even available outside of the US anyway, so I just dreamt about having one for a while, before I eventually discovered the next best thing, that being hooking up a PC (desktop or laptop) to the TV through the S-Video output of the GPU, which also allowed me to use full MSN Messenger and also use Firefox instead of Internet Explorer, as well as mIRC and all the other great stuff I could already use on Windows XP.
i'd like to see you do a video on the Netpliance i-Opener. it was simply yet another internet appliance on the surface, running QNX, but tinkerers quickly found a way to install Windows 98 on it and upgrade the chipset. a lot of people were using the i-Opener as their "backup computer" so to speak, and Netpliance actually welcomed these people for a short while before making getting their dialup service required to purchase the device and redirecting the tinkerers to their developer program.
May or may not be a video in the works about this ; )
@@MichaelMJD Do one on TiVo!
I'm actually working on an original WebTV server based on minisrv, there's nothing quite like working with something to make you hate it
there is also eMac's server lol
@@thexkey There is, but it doesn't have features like Page Builder and Favorites
@@JarHead3894 yeah
@@thexkey What do you mean by eMac server?
This is so cool! I really love your videos. I haven’t seen many of them for a while, but I’m getting back into them.
Awesome.. Man you're so dedicated to your videos.. No matter the time it takes.... You just keep going till you get the video done......thanks very much for your hard work to entertain us for free.
I was part of their Partner Support, doing tech support for this device back in 2007. Up until now, I never knew what this thing looked like. Thanks for showing me after all these years
Do you have any funny stories about your time in tech support?
Definitely looking forward to seeing more dives into ancient WebTV hardware. 🍻
Dude I miss XP-era design. Before Vista's Aero, after 9x's grey, there was XP's bright, happy, cheerful design scheme. It was all about bright colors, sunshine, with some nature shots mixed in for good measure. Everything MS related from 2001-2005 seemed to follow this.
With the cherry on top being the Blades Dashboard in the XBOX360, right at the end of that golden age.
Yes! That was my favourite design of all time!
@@juanignacioaschura9437 Yes!!! I miss the blades design. That was so cool!
I'm the opposite I always thought that era was a bit ugly, I prefer the look of pre XP windows and Vista onwards
@@misham6547 Same. I always thought it felt childish.
MSN in general is very nostalgic nowadays but I really didn't knew that Microsoft ,also made an MSN TV box. Anyways. I really enjoy it whenever you publish new and interesting videos. Keep up with the great work Michael MJD!
There are actually two things you can try with the modem you have. One is to simulate a dial tone with a 500 HZ tone. Or two increase the voltage. A standard POTS voltage was 48 volts before digital phone service became a thing.
I've been working on a project (unrelated to this) that communicates with an old device via dialup. I have a 24 (I also tried 36) volt DC signal from a bench power supply connected to the tip and ring lines and I have connected both a landline phone and the device to those lines. Would playing 500hz into the phone's microphone while off-hook make the other device think it's dialing? If so, how would I make it think that I picked up the other end of the phone? Just stop the 500hz after a few seconds?
I was hoping that you get an actual MSN TV on your hands... I literally searched for MSN TV and had nice tunes on their era, it was so nostalgic even though I didn't have it on their time
Wow so many things that brought back so many memories!! Especially the 2WIRE DSL adapter!!
Ooh! Can’t wait for the follow up. I used mum’s webtv when my windows machine died for a short bit of time years ago. Ton of nostalgia!
Was watching an 11 hour X-play comp, and seen the ad. I'm so glad you had a video about this already!
I’m here to install MSN TV. It’s internet, for your TV!
That thing looks so "2000s futurism" i love it ❤️
I had a Sony WebTv when they came out. I remember my friend and me was super happy to have it. It took forever to load even a text based website. Yet we sat for hours messing around with the early days of the web.
Technically you should be able to setup a proxy server locally to direct requests from msntv2 box to your desired ip address. Webtv and msntv dont have an ethernet port it was dialup only so thats why the tutorials use a modem.
If we can know the servers are the same then we can just forward requests directly from msntv2 to that ip address.
Never knew MSN TV was a thing till shortly before it was discontinued. Internet on TV never crossed our minds back in the early 2000s. The only TV stuff I knew from Microsoft was Windows Media Center on Windows Vista and 7, which I hope you'd cover in the future. I thought being able to watch cable TV on my PC was revolutionary back then.
How can you not love your choice of ‘outro music’?? ❤️😂
Now everyone's using smart TVs... how times change. Great video, I hope you can get it working!
This video is legit boosting-up memories of MSM :D
Amazing!!! I never seen that before, all the tech we didn't have in Brazil is insane.
I love your outro and intro.
Just seeing the early 2000s MSN butterfly again echoes the MSN Messenger sounds in my ears
11:14 So, funnily enough, RCA actually does still have an office there, or at least their sign is still up. It's in a part of a Klipsch Audio building, you can see it from the street view off I465. They also had another building down at 465 and US 31, the gigantic checkerboard 90s green maroon and yellow building. Not that I think they'd accept your MSN TV warranty card anymore, lol
Awesome video, Michael!
Great and Interesting Video as always! 👍
Two quick thoughts on the issues:
- POTS usually uses 48VDC
- Modems usually don’t output a line-free dial tone on their own. Maybe there’s an AT command for your specific modem, or you might be able to pick up some used PBX (private branch exchange, i.e. a system from some defunct callcenter) since those definitely will produce appropriate voltages and DTMF signals.
Really interesting video though, didn’t know anything about those boxes. Looking forward for a Part 2. 😄
Already figured the modem might be problematic, given it’s lack of response. Since not knowing anything else about these boxes, I wouldn’t be surprised to see at least some response if the „line“ matched what should be expected on regular POTS though.
Is there a way to put a dialtone on the line? Some transistors or breadboard wiring scheme avail for that kind of thing?
If it’s pulse-tone modulation, a transistor might work since this scheme only uses „clicks“, which means some voltage pulses to sense line signals. On DTMF it’s certainly a little more complicated since frequency changes are used - but even Audacity offers such a generator, the audio just needs to be fed into the line then. There should also be documentation on DTMF line signals available - I would just have to check if I’ve still got my training manuals on it.
That RCA remote. Not only was it packaged for this and their own stuff, there was the universal RCA remote that they sold, too. The OG Xbox dvd playback kit was this remote in the black color, but instead of the standard RCA button colors, they were Xbox green.
Holy nostalgia. We had WebTV back in the day (predecessor of MSNTV if I remember correctly, which is doubtful at best lol) and I remember instant messaging my aunt on it!
I'm not old enough to feel nostalgic about msn, but damn isn't it interesting
These old odd hidden gems never stop to surprising me... I mean, MSNTV2, Really!?!?
I remember an episode of Computer Chronicles where they showed many different types of WebTVs from different brands and gonna admit they were cool but I never thought Microsoft had done anything like this.
This is the first time watching one "in action/partially" and tbh is absolutely interesting.
I had both WebTV and MSN TV. I wanted the one that came with a a mouse, but never happened. My family couldn't afford a computer and I built websites using this thing for a good part of four years! My dad used his until around 2009! I'd obviously had moved on by then, but they were cool if you were poor.
Damn, you dude show me tech I never even knew existed!
I've Been Watching Your Channel For Over A Year.
I actually own a WebTV, to be exact a Philips Magnavox Internet TV Terminal Model MAT965KB.
It’s cool that you made a video on WebTV/MSNTV, great video. 👍
Oh my god I remember this thing. My family had one when I was super young and my parents used it to sell things on ebay. It took a litteral quarter day to connect.
It's crazy how cool that set top box looks, and the keyboard, I'd have that stuff today if it was internally modern. I love the branding too, I'd have wanted one of these had I known they were a thing when I was a kid growing up in the late 90s to 00s
My first one was a web TV plus with built in TV tuner. surf the web and read about a show, hit the button, and tune right to the channel. or be watching a show or movie, and during the commercials click links to get taken to the website for the products. i also still got my "whats on the web" guide book it came with, and about 120 vhs tapes of stuff (websites,pics,vid clips,chatroom's, etc) i recorded off of it.
I used WebTV once in around 2003 on vacation at a timeshare that had it. My mom paid $10-15 to let me use it for an hour, and I used AIM Express and went on some anime forums I was on back then. It did work, but was very very clunky. Not much less clunky than using AIM on my Nokia non-smart phone then, I think it had no mouse and had trouble tabbing between windows. As a kid though, it was fun. As an adult now, for over a decade now I've just had my PC hooked to a TV as a monitor, going from 19, to 32, to 55 inches, and built my own sort of "WebTV" for myself as my bedroom setup, so I definitely was inspired a lot by the original WebTV, to create my own "smart TV" before they even really were a thing.
Also what's interesting is we see a lot of things now like Smart TVs, smartphones, etc, that we think are all new things, but a lot is even in the consumer realm it's just about being an early vs late adopter. WebTV attempted to be a "Smart TV" but even with things like smartphones, I was using AIM on my Nokia dumb phones in 2002-2003, and could watch .3gp videos on my feature phones in 2004-2005, along with mp3s, etc, before the iPhone came out. Even Twitter started out as an SMS service for these early phones.
This brings back memories. I actually focus grouped the first one. Bought U2 tickets with the stipend.
I had already moved on to the iMac by the time this came out. But I really enjoyed the trip back in time. Honestly, what Microsoft did with WebTV was really cool 🙂
Thanks so much!
My grandma had one!! Blast from the past.
I remember having one of these, but the old WebTV unit, I never got it fully online but always was curious about the interface, and how there was possibly some upgrades if you're handy with the soldering iron, mine was the Phillips Magnavox unit, I really wish I had it still to try to get it online today
4:41 What a nice coincidence that the hole in the letter P fits perfectly!
Found one of these in box at savers and almost bought it. Glad I can watch this and actually check it out lol
Oh man, such a shame I threw out my old WebTV over a year ago. If I'd known there was a community for it, I might've held on to it. I've got some fun memories about that thing... had very old model (was already a few years old in 2000 when I used it) Trolls in TalkCity chatrooms could easily flood your IM and my whole machine would just shut down and I'd have to turn it on and dial in again. 😂
You could get an ATA device (like one of those Cisco SPA) devices and connect one line to the raspberry pi (via the modem) and one to the MSN 2 and configure the ATA to connect to the other line. This way will simulate a real working telephone line so it will work without the voltage inducer. I've done with with an old UFO Apple airport extreme as a dial-in server for an old laptop with only a modem.
That remote is strikingly similar to the Microsoft Xbox DVD Remote Playback Kit.
Did you disable the setting to wait for a dial tone? I can see that it exists at the bottom of "basic dialling settings" but the actual setting is below the fold. (Of course, that won't help much since the server isn't compatible, but it might be interesting to see what sort of error message you get when you try to connect.)
I am definitely looking forward to future update about the MSN tv 2 situation.
To be continued which I'm really looking forward to
I do have an older WebTV box, it's a Philips MAT972 that works AWESOME with the HackTV stuff. MattMan helped me out with getting connected and getting the right tools. I even did some testing with using an SD card as a replacement for the hard drive since mine was on its way out.
The Dell Modem (if you can find it without the voltage inducer) is really the only one that works, I did the same thing trying different ones with no luck. I wanted to get the one from DreamPi since it had the voltage inducer built in, but it was usually out of stock when I'd try to order. It's a shame that the MSN TV 2 doesn't work, at least not yet.
MSNtv. I remember hearing about this and my mind just went crazy thinking about the possibilities. Never actually used one but based what I heard, I wasn't missing out.
Clicked on this for WebTV nostalgia. Ended up getting hit with toc2rta nostalgia. Was an ircop there after talking Greg into linking the dashhacks server to it. That feels like three lifetimes ago...
When it was first released as WebTV in 1996, it was technically a weapon in the United States because it had an early form of cryptography, similar to SSL that we take for granted. So WebTV could not be exported even to "western" countries like Ireland and Japan. In 1998, they got a special licence, and then laws were changed to generally allow the export of cryptography.
Rocket is a Korean alkaline cell brand (which is still kinda alive, but not as popular nowadays). Didn't know that it was also available in other countries.
That remote design was also used for the OG XBox console for DVD playback
It looks like on the MSN TV connection settings, under Basic Dialing Options and scrolling down, there’s an option to disable dial tone checking.
I worked at an internet provider in the mid 90s to early 2000s. Every once in a blue moon I'd come across a customer or two running WebTV.
nice piece you got there
Been a little bit since I have sat down to watch one of your videos lol, you got a new table? looks pretty cool
You might need to get like a POTS PBX or something that emulates a dial tone for it to work correctly. Even a Linksys PAP2T voip box might work as it emulate the dial tone.
Or if the box has options to change the DNS or proxy, you might be able to connect to the server through the Ethernet.
The remote control is very reminiscent of the original Xbox DVD remote. As it turns out, the MSN TV 2 and OG Xbox both share the same type and speed of CPU.
I'm surpise msn tv never made its way to the xbox.
Please do WebTV! Remember when my step dad brought this home and was blown away. Miss these times
Is there posibillity to use it with broadband by make dns redirect or some routing configuration?
I got WebTV for Christmas 1998 at 14 yo. I was mesmerized by the world wide web. In Feb of 2002 I finally got my first PC...an HP with a CD-RW which was pretty damn cool at that time.
Thanks!
Dude you need to find a "My MSN Companion" it would be amazing to see one of those things.
Just what I needed to kill boredom after exams :)
Man I remember that connecting to web TV screen. Saw that alot when I had on when I was in high school
Just wondering if the way you had the positive and negative power in going through the phone line made a difference? Try switching them over?
I guess it has to be the USB modem or the DreamPi config, as I've used a similar setup (but with that recommended Dell USB modem) to both play Dreamcast online and get other devices on the internet without any problems.
However if you don't want to buy another modem, you can use any old notebook running lightweight Linux distro with an internal modem and ethernet/wireless (any from the XP era will work just fine - I'm more than sure you have a couple of them stashed away ;)) in a similar way. Before I had the DreamPi setup running, I used an old Dell Inspiron to get online on Dreamcast and it worked equally well.
Don't know if that PO Box would be valid, but up through 2010-ish or so (at least), RCA absolutely did have their headquarters and other facilities there in Indianapolis. I got a tour of the place around 2006 or 7. I don't know if Thompson has since closed it down, but I'm pretty sure they closed up all the RCA facilities in the US. They're just a nameplate now.
As for the voltage inducer, on-hook voltage for POTS systems spec 5-20v, so that's why you heard of 15 and 20V working. Some documentation I've seen say 5-12V, so 9V is the safe bet.
Msntv was a great gateway for people who weren't tech savvy to connect online for the first time. My grandparents had it who would've never bothered using the internet otherwise.
Try getting Linksys/cicsco VOIP to landline phone adapters. Those actually produce dial tone. The ones with 2 ports can be configured to dial eachother and you can even change the number to whatever you want. I bought such thing for using Dial up. I set up a windows xp dial-in server and it routes the traffic to the internet. I recommend Linksys PAP2T.
YES! Michel did an msn tv episode!
It should work if you turn off the wait for dial tone setting. And telephone lines usually operate at ~48 volts DC
It didn’t. I tried that and ended up cutting it from the video.
8:25 I think the design is also used from the dvd remote on the original xbox that was sold separately
It was either this or the AOL version, but when it was first introduced, I somehow managed to order one of these when I was a kid. It showed up at my mom’s house and she was PISSED!! Lol. The thing was equivalent to almost $500 now.
The modem in the msntv is looking for a dial tone, saying the 'line is in use' is a clear sign of that.
I'd suggest, as a hack, to get a VOIP ATA which will supply the dial tone, and then as the numbers are being dialed, switch over to the USB modem. You'll have to instruct the USB modem to 'pick up' though, the server should have an option for that.