The Macintosh TV was exceedingly subpar as a computer, to start. Although it had a bus speed of 16 MHz, the system as a whole was slower even though it was quicker (at 32 MHz) than the previous Performa 520 and LC520. Additionally, it lacked storage space. Even if you increased the RAM from its initial 5 MB, you would only be able to get a paltry 8 MB, as opposed to the 36 MB that the aforementioned systems were capable of handling. Therefore, it wasn’t very good as a computer.

Perhaps as a TV? Although you could view in 16-bit color, the computer mode only supported 8 bits (via Apple Museum ). Although it was rather ordinary for a TV, the price was obviously not justified given that there was nothing else you could do while watching TV. There was no method to reduce TV programs into another window so you could perform other computer work, therefore you had to pick between the two options. Additionally, you were only able to take screenshots as PICT files rather than any footage from the TV (via iMore ). In the end, for functional and cost reasons, it would just be better to have a TV and computer separately.

The Macintosh TV failed as a result of this. It didn’t last very long; only 10,000 units were shipped before it was canceled in 1995. The Macintosh TV was too far ahead of its time and didn’t make for a good, affordable solution that people could actually use, even though streaming TV shows on your computer is rather commonplace in today’s society. However, Apple soon changed this with the invention of the Apple TV gadget. The Macintosh TV was regrettably still unquestionably one of the Apple’s biggest failures of all time.

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