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Apple launched a hybrid between Macintosh and TV in 1993. It failed miserably out of 16 reviews.

  • January 11, 2023
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While Apple is responsible for highly successful products such as the iPod and iPhone, the Cupertino company major fail list throughout its history. From the portable Mac to

While Apple is responsible for highly successful products such as the iPod and iPhone, the Cupertino company major fail list throughout its history. From the portable Mac to the Pippin video game console and the iTunes Ping social network.

One of Apple’s lesser-known failings, perhaps due to its short lifespan, was the Macintosh TV. As Vectronic’s Apple World reports, in 1993 a very different company from what we know today released this hybrid, presented as a computer and a television. all together $2,079.

Failed attempt to sell TV in Mac

In the early 1990s, if you needed a TV and a computer, you could buy a 14-inch Sony Trinitron CRT and a Macintosh LC 500. MacTV.

It was a device that boasted a glossy black casing that was still a rare option for the time, and it was delivered with a keyboard, mouse and remote control. Inside lived a 32 MHz Motorola 68030 processor and 5 MB of RAM.

In terms of storage, the Macintosh TV was equipped with a 160 MB disk drive and a CD-ROM drive. But that wasn’t all. The essence of the device lay on the screen, which is basically a television. 14 inch Sony Trinitron CRT with the corresponding TV tuner. And of course it also had stereo sound.


But this combination of hardware under the same chassis has failed to win over users, probably due to its limited capabilities. The Macintosh TV was shipped on a slower bus, while its brethren in the Macintosh LC 500 series had 25 MHz processors.

This point heavily penalized the team’s performance. Moreover, can only be upgraded to 8 MB of memorya significant limitation considering that the original LC520, which was released earlier, can increase the amount of RAM up to 32 MB.


The shortcomings did not end there. The Macintosh TV lacked a then very popular DB-15 connector for streaming video to an external display. And if that’s not enough, can only be used in one mode at a timethat is, as computers or televisions, and they did not have the ability to shoot video.

Apple’s move by John Sculley, according to the Macintosh book, remember Steve Jobs left in 1985 to found NeXT, resulted in the Macintosh TV being produced in just 10,000 and withdrawn from the market about five months after its launch. Switcher’s Guide by Robert Standefer.

But the company knew how to capitalize on this experiment. According to what they learned during the development of the Macintosh TV, they subsequently managed to launch new models of the LC 500 series. video tuner cards In addition, they can make captures. Starting in 1995, users can use their computer on their Mac and watch TV at the same time.

Images: Ben Boldt (Wikimedia Commons) | 30pin Pictures | Jeff Nelson

On Xataka: Apple TV+ has ceased to be my favorite platform and has become a platform that I am considering unsubscribing.

Source: Xataka

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