tse:

One of the lesser known Microsoft Hardware products is Microsoft TV Photo Viewer. It was released in late 2001 as a way to share photos on a TV screen. The product is simple with a floppy disk drive and it even comes with a remote control for the “10-foot experience”. The complementary software (now unavailable for download) creates photo albums that can be stored on 3.5″ floppy disks using JPEG compression format, which then are read on the product to be shown on the TV screen. The software makes it easy to crop, add captions and special effects to photos. Being a product that predates Windows Media Center, this product represents one of Microsoft’s first steps into the digital home entertainment industry.

ActiveWin.com has an archived review of the product and an interview with Adam Leader, the product manager of Microsoft TV Photo Viewer.

Microsoft product box shot reprinted with permission from Microsoft Corporation.