RCA/MSN TV 2 Internet and Media Player
Great idea but I'm on my third one with almost daily problems
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.   <br /> <br />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).   <br /> <br />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 automaticallyreplace 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. <br /> <br />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.