Apple Interactive Television Box

The Apple Interactive Television Box or ITV,Apple Interactive Television Box, Apple Computer. 1995. Archived 2013-06-12. also internally identified as STB (set-top box), is a television set-top console that had been in development by Apple Computer before the launch of the Pippin platform.The Apple Set Top Box by AnubisTTP, Industrial Alchemy. 2006-10-28. Some third party sources have also called this the "Pippen",This is the original Apple TV, from 1996 by 
Matthew Panzarino, The Next Web. 2011-09-15.Apple Pippen: the Apple TV Precursor, NOT the Game Console by 
Adrian Covert, Gizmodo. 2011-09-16. though no Apple documentation refers to it as such.
==Hardware==
The ITV was based on an Apple Macintosh LC 475 running a customized version of Macintosh System 7.1.1 with support for MPEG-1 playback through QuickTime software and a CL450-P160 decoder.Apple Interactive Television (DSPs) by Jim Abeles, Flickr. 2008-04-25. It included processors from , , , , and .Apple TV Prototype Sells on eBay for 46 Bucks by Brian X. Chen, Wired. 2010-05-05.Apple Interactive Television (CPU) by Jim Abeles, Flickr. 2008-04-25.
===Models===
* STB1: Early prototype designed by Apple in 1993 and assembled in Austin, Texas for internal technology trials. The generic case contains a modified 25MHz Macintosh LC 475 logic board connected to an audio/video board (part number AP2336-02) with , and ports.An Early Apple Set Top Box Prototype from 1993! by Mac84, YouTube. 2018-06-08. The port supported the standard for and networks. 100 units were produced for .BT Interactive TV Trials, p.117-137 by B. Whyte, BT: Telecommunications Series: Multimedia Telecommunications. 1997.
* STB2: Interim prototype which did not go into mass production.
* STB3: Near-final design assembled in Ireland and assigned FCC ID: BCGM4120 for market trials in the United States. Some specimens included connectors for consumer testing in Europe.1995 Apple Interactive Television Box by Kevin Rye, Apple to the Core. 2012-04-12. v6.B and v7.0 were used.Apple Interactive Television Prototype ROMs by Jim Abeles, Flickr. 2008-04-30. One specimen appeared to support a faster 33MHz 68LC040 processor.Prototype Apple TV predecessor from 1995 sells for $46 on eBay by Neil Hughes, AppleInsider. 2010-05-05. Unneeded components, such as the floppy disk controller,One chip I notice is conspicuously missing is any type of IWM. by Keith Kaisershot, Twitter. 2018-12-04. were eliminated to streamline cost. 2,800 units were produced for British Telecom. Apple also bid to provide units to .Apple pushing into interactive TV market. by Mark Berniker, Broadcasting & Cable. 1995-04-17.
==Testing==
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After internal testing at Apple in 1993, conducted a technology trial of model STB1 in March 1994 with 60 employees in the Suffolk town of . Testing in Europe was carried out in partnership with , British Telecom (BT), and .Le précurseur de l’Apple TV : Apple Interactive Television Box by Pierre Dandumont, Le Journal du Lapin. 2011-09-18.Apple Interactive Television Box (Japanese, Shift JIS) by Danbo, MACお宝鑑定団. Accessed 2018-12-28. Market trials with model STB3 began in in May 1995 and expanded to 2,500 households near London in the following autumn.Press Release: Apple Computer Announces Latest Interactive TV Milestones at NCTA, Apple. 1995-05-08. Archived 2000-09-16.
The UK version of model STB3 was branded by BT as the Voyager 2000 Interactive TV System and was deployed in and .Apple Set Top Box by Mark Johnson, Flickr. 2007-04-04.BT Ipswich Trial, p.33 by John Laycock, DEC User. 1995-01. The year-long trial included 8 schools and 4 public access points. Services included on-demand television, educational content, games, online shopping and banking.BT Voyager 2000 interactive TV system, 1995, Science Museum Group. 2014. The user interface and video animation were designed by Dot New Media.BT iTV Trials, Dot New Media. Archived 2002-12-05.
Apple and conducted trials in six states in the United States.This is Apple’s original AppleTV, from circa 1996. by RandallB, Tumblr. 2011-09-15. Network functionality was provided by Media Net, which would download a "stack", a multimedia application that was authored with . Interactive educational programming was provided by The Lightspan Partnership. For units tested in the area, MPEG-1 content was streamed at 1.5 Mbps over an , a technology that was being developed by Bell Atlantic subsidiary Bellcore.Oracle and Bell Atlantic Plan a New TV Service by John Markoff, The New York Times. 1994-01-10.Oracle Hopes to Steal A March on Microsoft by John Markoff, The New York Times. 1994-02-15. Bell Atlantic ran their service trial on four servers, which could each store up to 10,000 feature-length films.Oracle, p.121 by S. Shiva Ramu, Cyberspace & Repositioning Of Corporations. 1999.
==Marketing==
thumb|right|(skip to 2m30s for ITV)
Apple unveiled the set-top box at the multimedia pavilion of the at Las Vegas in April 1995. At the in May 1995, Apple outlined its milestones for market trials of its interactive television technology.
At Macworld Expo San Francisco in January 1996, Apple evangelist Guy Kawasaki showed off a Pippin Power Player prototype running alongside an ITV model STB3 at Apple Computer's exhibit.Macworld Expo/SF 1996 Report by Koya Matsuo, YouTube. 2016-05-10.
“We believe ITV has the potential to be the low-cost portal to the information superhighway.”— Rick ShrinerVice President, Apple Core Technologies
==Cancellation==
Though support for MPEG-2 and games were being considered,Any idea what this is? by Cameron James, Assembler Games. 2016-07-09.BT joins forces with Nintendo, Telecompaper. 1995-06-28. further development was cancelled after the ITV was deemed not to be commercially viable.
===BT GameCart===
The rare British Telecom GameCart has a Mini-DIN-8 serial port that would allow content to be downloaded from a Voyager 2000 Interactive TV System (BT's version of the ITV) to a console. Games available for digital download during British Telecom's Ipswich test included and .BT's Long Lost Super Nintendo ‘Interactive TV’ Service Trial Cartridge Discovered by Cauterize, RetroCollect. 2016-07-13.
BT_GameCart_front.jpg|Front of a BT GameCart for the .
BT_GameCart_back_Mini-DIN-8.jpg|Back of a BT GameCart with Mini-DIN-8 serial port.
BT_GameCart_open.jpg|An opened BT GameCart.
BT_GameCart_board.jpg|Circuit board from a BT GameCart.
==Aftermarket usage==
With interactive services no longer available, default installations of ITVs are no longer fully functional.The Low Down on the "Mysterious Mac Thing" Part 2 by Doug B. Landry, The PowerBook Zone. 1998. Archived 2001-02-09. Set-top boxes containing a red ROM are capable of booting Mac OS 7.6 to 8.1, but then video is not displayed due to lack of compatible video drivers. File sharing can be enabled and the set-top box will identify itself as a Macintosh 470 Series, Machine ID: 89.Apple Set Top Box (Revisited) by MrMacintosh09, Apple Fritter. 2006-08-21.
==Gallery==
Apple STB1 prototype front.png|Front of an early prototype (STB1) in a generic case.
Apple STB1 prototype open.jpg|Inside an early prototype (STB1) without a power supply.
Apple STB1 prototype open+floppy.png|Inside an early prototype (STB1) with a power supply and floppy drive.
Apple ITV STB prototype.png|An unproduced ITV prototype. (STB2?)
Apple ITV Box front.jpg|Front of an ITV box from consumer testing (STB3).
Apple ITV Box back.jpg|Back of an ITV box from consumer testing (STB3).
Apple ITV Box NTSC diagrams.jpg|Diagrams of an ITV box (STB3).
BT Voyager 2000 Interactive TV System and remote+sticker.jpg|Voyager 2000 Interactive TV System, a re-branded model STB3 which underwent electrical safety testing in the UK.
BT Voyager 2000 Interactive TV System and remote.jpg|Voyager 2000 Interactive TV System with a remote featuring button colors are similar to those on a Pippin AppleJack controller.
===ROMs===
STB1 EPROM v2.2.jpg| v2.2 in a STB1 prototype. Dated 1994.
STB3 mask ROM 9429+9430.jpg| ROM in a STB3 test unit. Dated mid-July 1994.
STB3 mask ROM 9453.jpg| ROM from a STB3 test unit, produced during the final week of 1994.
STB3 flash ROM back.jpg|Back of a ROM from a STB3.
STB mask ROM 9453 and LC 475 flash ROM.jpg|Front of a ROM and a LC 475 ROM, dated 1994.
STB mask ROM 9453 and LC 475 flash ROM back.jpg|Back of a ROM and a LC 475 ROM.
STB3 flash ROM v7.0.png|Front of a ROM v.7.0 in a STB3 test unit. Dated 1995.
STB3 flash ROMs v6.B v7.0.jpg| ROMs v6.B to v.7.0 from STB3 test units. Dated 1995.
==References==
==See also==
*Apple MPEG Media System (1995), adds the MPEG-1 chipset from the ITV to some Macs.
*Apple TV Tuner Card (1994), adds television tuning capabilities to some Macs.
*Apple TV (2007-present), Apple's current digital media player and microconsole.
*Mac mini (2005-present), Apple's small desktop computer which added HDMI output in 2010.
*Macintosh TV (1993-1994), Apple's first attempt to integrate a computer and television.
*Pioneer MPC-LX200-TV (1996-1997), the only Macintosh clone with television capabilities.
*Pippin prototypes (1995-1997), developmental consoles for the Pippin platform.
==External links==
*Apple Interactive Television at Computer Town (archived 2015-04-10)
*Apple Interactive Television Box by Krystian Kozerawski at MyApple (Polish, 2015-10-12)
*Apple Interactive Television Box at Shrine of Apple (archived 2016-03-24)
*Apple Interactive Television Set Top Box at Jeff's Computer Haven (archived 2009-10-20)
*Apple M4120 Interactive Cable TV Box by Lewin A.R.W. Edwards
*Apple's Set Top Box at MacRumors: Forums (2002-01-05, archived 2006-12-07)
*Interactive Television Box at AppleFritter (archived 2003-02-19)
*iTV 11 years old!?!? at Digg (archived 2005-09-22)
*The Parents the Kids and THE INTERACTIVE TV!!!! by Keval Pindoria and Gerald Wong (1996, archived 2001-01-29)
*U.S. Patent: Television set top converter box for interactive television by Susanne M. Pierce and Daniele G. De Iuliis, Apple Inc. (1997-09-09)
*Apple Interactive Television Box at the Pippin @World & Atmark Wiki
*Apple Interactive Television Box at the Higher Intellect Vintage Computing Wiki
* at Wikipedia
===Articles===
*The History of Apple and TV by Robin Parrish at Apple Gazette (2012-05-31)
*[Prototype] Apple Interactive Television Box by Pierre Dandumont at Le Journal du Lapin (2014-09-15)
**Un prototype de Set Top Box Apple en vidéo by Pierre Dandumont (2018-12-28)
*A visual history of Apple’s TV products by Dan Frommer at Quartz. (2015-09-08)
Category:Unreleased Apple products
Category:Apple prototypes
Category:Tuners