Update, Rebate for MSN TV 2

A minor update to MSN TV 2, Microsoft’s product for accessing the Internet and getting other PC-like features from a TV set, adds new digital media and e-mail capabilities. The company is also offering a rebate that halves the price of the product.

Improvements Focus on Digital Media

Introduced in fall 2004, MSN TV 2 is the successor to WebTV, which Microsoft acquired in 1997 and later rebranded as MSN TV. It consists of a TV set-top box, bundled software, and a subscription service (dial-up Internet access from MSN is optional), and lets consumers use their TV screens to access the Web, send and receive e-mail and instant messages, play (but not download) digital audio and video from the Internet or from a PC over a home network, and display digital photos. MSN TV 2 is not related to Microsoft TV, the company’s platform software for TV providers, which includes Foundation Edition for cable companies (which Comcast has deployed) and IPTV for delivering TV over IP networks (which SBC, Swisscom, Verizon, and several other telephone companies are preparing to deploy by early 2006).