Microsoft WebTV Setsuzoku Kit

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Microsoft WebTV Setsuzoku Kit
System(s): Dreamcast
Publisher: N/A
Developer: WebTV Networks
Peripherals supported: Dreamcast Keyboard, Dreamcast Modem, Dreamcast VGA Box
Genre: Network (ネットワーク), ETC
Number of players: 1
Release Date RRP Code JP 1999 610-7117 JP (128-bit SSL) 1999-12 610-7390 610-7391

WebTV service on WebTV for Dreamcast, as seen in Fall 1998.

WebTV for Dreamcast, known officially as Microsoft WebTV Connection Kit (マイクロソフト ウェブ・ティービー接続キット), is a Japanese-only disc that allowed users of Microsoft's WebTV service to access the Internet from their Sega Dreamcast. The disc used the Windows CE capabilities of the Dreamcast to run a port of the WebTV client technology, with the browser engine assumed to be based off of Internet Explorer 2.0. The complementing service for the software is believed to have debuted in Spring 1999. At the time of its release, the WebTV browser was an improvement over Sega's bundled Dream Passport software. By the release of Dream Passport 3, however, the Sega browser became more capable than WebTV.

As the software requires the Japanese WebTV service to work, which shut down sometime in March 2002 (compared to the prolonged lifespan of the American service, which lasted from 1996 all the way into September 2013), WebTV for Dreamcast is no longer usable officially.

Releases

There were only ever two major releases of WebTV for Dreamcast. The one released at launch, which was simply titled Microsoft WebTV Connection Kit (マイクロソフト ウェブ・ティービー接続キット), and a later revision released in December of 1999 that added 128-bit SSL capabilities not present in the launch disc, aptly named Microsoft WebTV Connection Kit 128bit SSL Compatible Version (マイクロソフト ウェブ・ティービー接続キット 128bit SSL対応版). The currently known methods of officially obtaining the WebTV for Dreamcast disc that were available back in the day were mailing a special postcard that came with Japanese Dreamcast units, or e-mailing an address operated by WebTV with a specific subject line.. The launch disc has a yellow label with black and silver elements, while the 128-bit SSL upgrade disc is almost entirely silver with black elements. Both releases have since been dumped in GDI format.

In total, there are believed to be four known WebTV for Dreamcast prints, each with their own user agent:

• WebTV/1.0 (Compatible; MSIE 2.0)
• WebTV/1.2 (compatible; MSIE 2.0)
• WebTV/2.2.3 (Compatible; MSIE 2.0)
• WebTV/2.2.4.1 (Compatible; MSIE 2.0)

Three prints also have known catalog codes, which will be listed down below with the corresponding release they were manufactured for:

• 610-7117 (Launch)
• 610-7390 (128-bit SSL)
• 610-7391 (128-bit SSL)

The 610-7117 and 610-7391 prints have thick, but standard size jewel cases, while 610-7390 just has a standard CD jewel case (like most Dreamcast games used) to house the disc. The 610-7390 print also doesn't include an instruction manual like the 610-7117 print does (and the 610-7391 print might have). This might hint that the 610-7390 print was intended to be shipped to those already subscribed to the WebTV service in Japan before the 128-bit SSL upgrade was published.

Magazine articles

Main article: Microsoft WebTV Setsuzoku Kit/Magazine articles.

Physical scans

Dreamcast, JP (non-SSL)
Cover
Disc

Dreamcast, JP (SSL)
Cover

Dreamcast, JP (SSL; 610-7391)
Cover
Disc

"Luck'n Luck WebTV"

The postcards for requesting the WebTV for Dreamcast connection kit that were bundled with Japanese Dreamcast units came attached with a small comic titled "Luck'n Luck WebTV" (らくらくウェブティービー). Currently what the comic is about isn't entirely known yet to those who don't understand Japanese but it has something to do with WebTV and is most likely meant as a way to introduce newcomers to what WebTV is. It can also be determined that it centers around a family, consisting of the mother, father, and possibly two brothers. Images of the pages from this comic have recently been found from a Yahoo! Auctions Japan listing and have since been uploaded here to preserve the contents of this otherwise-unknown comic.

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Technical information

Software

In the high density area of the WebTV for Dreamcast disc is a file named WEBTV.ROM, which contain files used by the software stored in a proprietary format specific to WebTV called ROMFS. Most of these files pertain to the user interface of WebTV for Dreamcast, which mainly consist of HTML files and images, but also includes proprietary .dat string files. WEBTV.ROM also contains numerous files either made for WebTV for Dreamcast that are unused, or in the case of the 128-bit SSL version, include files that belong to other versions of the WebTV technology entirely. The WEBTV.ROM file uses no compression or encryption and ignoring proper extraction tools, can be somewhat easily analyzed with a hex editor. It's believed that this file is used by the WEBTV.EXE program on the disc when it starts up.

All text used by WebTV for Dreamcast has so far been observed to be encoded in either Shift-JIS or ISO-2022-JP format.

Power-off codes

WebTV for Dreamcast, like its dedicated hardware counterparts, allows for a user to enter in a "power-off code" on boot up, mainly in the event troubleshooting is needed (the codes are called "power-off codes" because on dedicated WebTV/MSN TV hardware, the codes would be entered in when a box was powered off). To accomplish this, the user has to press the S3 key on the Dreamcast keyboard three times right as the splash screen fades in, and then quickly type in the code. Only one code, "411" (technical information) has been confirmed to work on WebTV for Dreamcast, and the time window to enter in the code at the splash screen is very short, making it difficult to attempt.

Protocol

Believe it or not, WebTV for Dreamcast uses its own protocol to communicate with the WebTV service and even query HTTP websites. This protocol is known as the WebTV Protocol, or WTVP, which is the same protocol used by dedicated WebTV/MSN TV hardware to communicate with the standard WebTV/MSN TV service. Information on this protocol in general and the content it served is extremely scarce, and next to no information on how the Japanese WebTV service differed on a technical level compared to its American counterpart is readily available as of writing. There have been efforts to document this protocol in as much detail and clarity as possible, although it isn't much to decently recreate the service at the moment.

External Links

• More information on "WebTV for Dreamcast"