2-XL - A.I. with an 8-Track. (VIDEO UPDATED)
The 2-XL ‘Robot’ has been on my to-do pile for years but now its finally worked its way to the top.
Some of my videos about quirky tech toys from the past have done quite well on YouTube. This one is likely to buck that trend.
Toys like HitClips and VideoNow are nostalgic for a large proportion of the YouTube audience. The original 2-XL on the other hand is likely only remembered vaguely by people my age or older…and we only make up a small proportion of YouTubes viewership.
The fact this child’s toy is primarily an unpleasant shade of brown shows that it is clearly an object from a very different era. The translucent and neon retina-burning colours of 1990s toys were seemingly unimaginable when this came out.
It’ll be interesting to see how this one fares with the viewers. Surely it can't do any worse than the head-camera review. I liked that video, but over nine out of ten subscribers are interested in something else. One day I hope to find out what that something is, but by a slow process of elimination it seems like it's not camera reviews.
Have a nice weekend and if things work out I might have another short video along for you in just a few days.
UPDATE
After yesterday’s preview I could see that the original version of this video didn’t dive deeply enough into how the audio on the cartridge was structured. To rectify this I’ve spent today shooting a new section that goes into this side of things in greater detail. The added section can be found between 19:30 to 27:00. Hopefully this improves the video rather than slowing things down too much.
The new version of the video is the one linked here and embedded above: https://youtu.be/amuRIydCoJk
Comments (92)
Fantastic video and a great story.
The pronunciation of “question” really reminds me of Greg Davies’ “cushawwn” on Would I Lie to You: https://youtu.be/jy0NqU_vjG8
That was cool. It pre-dates me, but I still found it fascinating! When you flashed the cassette version of the 2XL on screen, I had a flashback to my youth! I never owned one, but I must've seen advertisements for them because I remembered it. This was a good one, Mat - regardless of what the YouTube metrics tell you!
Wow that toy came out 10 years before I was born lol. My mom was 8 and my dad was 15
Thanks for the update. I thought that it's more sophisticated, but it's a good idea to have 4 questions with same duration and all of them with the correct answer under the same option
Thanks for the added clip with the audio...I was just wondering about the different tracks...you read minds.
I was born in 1978, but do remember seeing these in second hand shops! What a clever concept.
So was I, but I don't remember these at all.
It's funny that the developer did the voice. *Really* sounded like an AI, too. :-) And, boy howdy, I would have done well on one of those quizzes as I was a huge fan of "Batman and Jimmy". I also a detected a northeastern US accent, maybe even New England. Probably why he was trying to so hard to sound artificial. I was 15 in 1978 so past the target demo, I would think. But I agree - pretty clever.
It's a familiar accent for American cartoon fans. The Tri-State Jewish-American mixed with the Bronx we hear in Bugs Bunny. I honestly thought 2-XL was voiced by Eddie Deezen, the ubiquitous "nerd" from the Grease movies and Mandark on Dexter's Lab. I suspect the British version would be "the boffin" or "the anorak". Someone who is slightly too obsessed with one area of specialized interest. One who may not have mastered the finer points of social interaction. Odd inflections. Inadvertent malapropism ("Thank you for turning me on!"). I suspect the classic, wooden "robot" speech pattern was derived from the awkward lab guys with the thick glasses, pocket protector, and slide rule who essentially invented the 21st century in the 1940s, 50s and 60s.
That's brilliant, Mat! Just what was wanted. Showing and playing the parallel tracks on-screen is inspired. (You must have played that tape loop four times to grab those! :-) Well done - a very worthwhile addition! SB
I set it playing on my main Pioneer 8-track while recording across to a PCM recorder. Just under an hour and a half later it was all recorded. However any to-camera sections with 8-tracks are problematic to shoot because if I want to feature a particular moment of audio playing but fluff it up - I’ve got to wait ten to twenty minutes before it comes around again.
When did the market for 8-track start to nosedive? I always wondered if these 8-track toys came about when some factory saw a need to create a new market for these mechanisms beyond the audio and automotive industries.
I think the writing was on the wall in 1978 - although that was also the year the sales peaked. By 1980 cassettes were selling more.
Saw the first version: "Ok, neat toy I hadn't heard about. Neat video ... so what else is on 'Watch later'?" Then I saw the update, and the new section really made it. It's the educational stuff like that, that you do best. 👍 Has all the makings of a Techmoan hit, so here's hoping The Algorithm™ (which YouTube probably runs on a 2-XL, no doubt) will be in its favour.
Here are the 2-XL's relatives, BTW: https://youtu.be/KsvsLgcBnjE
Ohh that 90s 2-XL I wanted so badly as a kid, it looked like the coolest thing. Wonderful to see its predecessor in detail, I never realized it had an older version! I've actually been messing around with some Omnibots that I may be doing a video on too, so this coincidentally provided some useful knowledge 👍
I’ll be interested to see what you do with the Omnibots - other than delivering drinks very slowly.
2-XL has some pretty tortured pronunciations.
Fun video! I did enjoy this one more than the last but I don't think you should have to worry much about the view count of whatever you feel like making, seems like your patrons were happy even if the algo wasn't
Although the right age I was totally unaware of the 2-XL. What an ingenious and utterly charming toy. Thanks so much for this vid Mat - great explanation and background - loved it!
The above commenters have said it all (excellent revision) so all that remains for me now to say is, "Thanks for being you - kick back, relax, and have a great week ahead." Oh, that and - I'd rather have your 61° rain than my 96° rain tomorrow 🥵
That sounds more like steam than rain.
I had one of these as a kid. Early 90’s-ish. Loved it!
As an educator for the past 20 years, I must commend you on a EXCELLENT demonstration of how the narrative mechanism works across the four tracks! Being able to visualize the processes along with the audio was exactly what was needed for this demonstration! Great work, Mat!
It took me an evening to think about how to do this (while keeping it interesting) - I'm surprised it worked as it seemed likely to be too dull in my head.
Wow the extra part really changes the video and adds to it i really hope the wider youtube subscribers give this the watch it deserves. I heading to that emulator to see how many i get wrong
I’m glad you think it worked.
I think that was a good addition to the video. You had explained how 8-tracks work, but if that's new information for someone they might not understand right away how that's being used in the toy. Showing that it's 4 audio tracks running side-by-side, and that by pressing the buttons you're just jumping between the tracks and getting different recordings for the answers makes it more obvious what's happening. - I understood what was happening, but I think that's only because I've seen some of your previous videos like for the Omni that work in a similar way. The new section makes it clearer in this video.
It’s difficult for me sometimes to appreciate what’s interesting to the viewer vs what’s just going over old ground and likely to bore. Of course I can recall every time I’ve explained 8-tracks like it was yesterday…but I’m not the viewer.
I enjoyed the update. It answered my question of how the variations in follow-up questions resolved back to a synced state on the Q track. Must have been a real endeavor to edit all of that audio to make it match up exactly so you don't hear any blips when switching tracks after the prompts.
That’s where the magic lies.
The update was a fantastic way to visualize just how they utilized the 4 tracks to create the illusion of interactivity, although one could say that it actually is an interactive device just the same--it's just a simpler interaction than what you'd have if it used microprocessors to do the job rather than 8-track cartridges.
In a way the human is doing all the hard work…that’s where all the processing power is - it’s a clever switch-aroo.
Excellent addition to the video!
This "robot" was literally a baby-sitter for me in the late 70's! After going out to dinner on a Friday night, we'd often go to a department store (usually Ann and Hope) and I was allowed to stay in the Toy Department while they went shopping for boring stuff like sheets or clothing. I'd spend a bunch of time playing with 2-XL, picking the wrong answers on purpose so it would get snarky, and sussing out how it worked.
Then when I got a bit older, I was able to stay in the music / video department, which had a section for the RCA CED Videodisc, so I would camp out there instead. The salesperson even let me change the disc once! And that is how I found this channel, when Mat's video on the machine came out, I was feeling nostalgic, and the Youtube algorithm sent me to Techmoan!
Another golden slice of more innocent times past thank you. I bet that you allready knew this, but for those who dont-in the early 1990s tiger electronics brought out a slightly smaller version called the Tiger 2-XL that use cassettes instead of 8track cartridges. Almost identical in nearly every other way though, even the flashing eyes. white and blue in colour though not beige. Also, would i be correct in thinking that the Mego robot had some kind of adaptor with pieces that enabled it to play chequers?? may have been called the " Tri Lex cartrdge" with 9 black and red chequers !!!. All very clever stuff for the 70s child.
The 1990s version gets a mention toward the end of the video - you might want to try some of the emulator carts and tapes as the one you mention is in there.
Thanks for the video Mat. I was fascinated to see what was inside and you delivered! In the mid 1970s I knew somebody who had a home 8 track player and it had 4 buttons 1 2 3 and 4 which also lit up the program. I was too young to know the brand or model. Beat wishes.
All the ones I remember from that era seemed to have a "program" button that moved the head from program to program. There must have been some, but I don't recall seeing one where you could select a track, just bump it to the next.
Maybe that the camera reviews are not really doing much for most viewers... but I have to admit, that I first got hooked on your channel back when you reviewed the spy cams and dash cams... not that I ever had any interest in or use for these things. Just liked the presentation.
I liked making them too - I’ll probably do some more because of that, they get me to go out and about. It’s not all about the views.
Excellent. It is amazing what was possible with 'simple' 70's electronics.
I remember the later version with cassettes, but never used one. Also I kind want the Star Wars music now.
When you were repairing the cartridges I was reminded of Blue Peter. I was half expecting you to use sticky backed plastic!
You are a supporter!? Probably that is how I ended up on your channel!
Definitely the sounds from the bridge of the Heart Of Gold from the Hitch-Hikers Guide To The Galaxy in there. This predates the TV version, though.
The restoration of the cartridges is very helpful, as I've just acquired a batch of them and they all require new sponges. Interesting ones they are too, travelogues to accompany car journeys round scenic routes and castles. No player as yet! https://ibb.co/9yK21v2
Syncing the tape to the driving will be interesting.
Retro Hack Shack here. As you were pulling that thing apart I sware I could smell the inside of it. I had a very vivid recollection. Weird. Like a bit of 3 in 1 oil mixed with garage smell mixed with old dust.
This is great! As a child in the mid 80s, I had a compact cassette-based Talk 'n Play, which Wikipedia informs me is credited to he same inventor (Michael Freeman). Different form factor; instead of a robot, it was a platform on which you'd rest the cassette's accompanying wire-bound book. I have a strong memory of taking a tape out, playing it in a stereo player, and hearing two tracks at once. Thanks for bringing me back!
Love it if are not correct for the third time this tape machine will go into self destruct
Mat, when I first found your channel I immediately thought of 2XL and knew that the little bugger would be given it's due Techmoan treatment! If a child can have a (strictly Platonic!) love affair with a toy, then for many months back in 1979 I was in full flame with 2XL! I had seen it first demoed at Sears where some kid was purposely trying to antagonize the robot by selecting out-of-play buttons. When 2XL became so angry that it turned into the Hulk, I knew I had to have this device for myself! 2Xl came into my life at the same time I was co-obsessing over another toy line, Micronauts (Micromen in the UK?) and when I received my talking robot I immediately noted that the "mouth" of my new friend was a repurposed part from a Micronaut play set. Having my two toy fixations overlapping in this way was nothing short of kismet to my 8-year old self, and it only added to my affinity for little "Exie"! But like all summer lovin' the heat and flame may exhaust itself by the turn of the season and changes to a child's fancy. Indeed, in very short order all of my childhood playtime activities would fade into a rearview vision as the mighty Atari 2600 invaded our lives that Christmas. We were never the same again. Also, I had pushed in one of Exie's red eyes with the. rubber of a pencil. Perhaps it was some form of predictive transference.
love the mini-strowger switch on this contraption. A friend of mine had one, mind you he had practically one of ever cool toy. He found it very annoying!
PS wonder who the voice artist was? Reminded me of Roger Rabbit a few times!
I really thought it was Eddie Deezen all these years, but it turns out it was Martin J Freeman, the inventor of 2-XL
Been writing software for more than 40 years, always a thrill when I see non-software cleverness like this, thanks!
The timing of the audio tracks is a genuine tour de force! That is SO clever. E.g., if someone answers wrongly and is given a second chance, the correct answer and/or other tracks have to cover that time with extra information. The bleeps and whistles cover some of that time. Very clever!
Yes it really took some very clever planning. I can picture a very large white wall with all the audio segments pinned to it - it’d look like something from a TV movie conspiracy theorists bedroom with red string joining all the parts together.
"If you're my age... 78. 1978." LOL
What a cool toy this is.. I realise more and more that we missed out on a lot in the Netherlands. The market for our language was just too small to make toys like this for, so lots of stuff you show on your channel are quite new to me.. It’s really cool to see it eventually though! Thanks Mat.
I'm enjoying this one. 2-XL has exactly the right kind of voice for someone who would be annoyed for you not guessing the secret identity of the Incredible Hulk on TV. I have a feeling that this is the kind of thing my mum would have bought me in a school jumble sale in 1981 to make up for the fact that I was definitely not getting Dark Tower for christmas.
They featured this in the Back in Time for School TV series. I think the teenage schoolgirl who tried it initially thought technology was more advanced back then than it is now.
This is a potential hit, super interesting object, add "toy" or something like that somewhere in the title, it's way too cryptic as it is right now, in my useless and unsolicited opinion
The YouTube video title is ‘2XL - The ‘70s toy that faked A.I. ...with an 8-Track’
Normally I am not a fan of 8 track tapes, but this was a very clever use of that technology. I vaguely remember these things from my childhood in the late 70s/early 80s but I never knew anyone who had one.
BTW...enjoyed the 'old footage' :D
First time I saw this (and 8 track tapes) was at a cousin's house as a 'pre-teen'. At first I thought it was really doing the computer things...then I played around with the tapes in a regular 8 track, and regular 8 track tapes in it. At that point I got it...but didn't spoil it for my younger cousins.
You know, George Lucas very specifically did not want the Star Wars music to be disco, and with good reason.
Personally, I like the mix of content. It seems that your eclectic spread of interests frequently overlap with mine. I first discovered your channel through the dash cam videos, but I hung around for the retro / nostalgic / obscure bits of technology.
"I detect a superior biological unit in my presence!" - Now I at last know how to properly compliment someone in a conversation. Thank you, Mat and 2-XL Robot!
Always great to see videos showing the repair and demo of interesting old tech. To my eyes, the "face" of the robot bears a resemblance to a compact cassette and I can't help but wonder if that design similarity was intentional or just a coincidence.
Great video! It reminded my of a learning robot I had as a small child called Alphie. It was made by Playskool in the USA for toddlers, and young children. It had interchangeable front cards and the "arms" moved up and down the torso for selecting options for the different games.
I had one of those as well! Memory unlocked!
Hi Mat, Great video, really interesting product. Don't remember coming across it as a child (think I'm a similar age to you and also UK based). I love the ingenuity of product designers who used the limited technology at the time to make something seem more than it was.
I would be interested in knowing some more informations about how tracks are really arranged on a tape 1. What happens when you don't answer? It continues with next question or it stops playing until you answer? 2. How it's possible that after you answer by changing a program, it continues with next question? It has something to return autmatically to the first program after the end of an answer announcement?
I don’t really know how to describe it differently - it’s just a 21 minute loop of tape with four different audio tracks. I suppose I could spend a few hours playing through one cart and showing the different responses on each track.
Love this video though think some ask how it works even though very simple. Agree with Jonathan i love your retro tech most as well though the sending audio video was right up my street to. Thanks for your hard work
This is much more what I come to TechMoan for than modern cameras.. sorry ;) I *love* your retro content, I think you're the best reviewer/documenter of retro audio formats on YouTube and I love the bits where you take apart various fidelipac things and get them going as well. I discovered the channel because of the tefiphone video many years ago and have eagerly watched every retro and puppet video (and I even sponsor you on patreon)
I am 53, but have no memory of this, though I would definitely would have wanted one if had seen it back then. The "Robot" voice had some very strange cadence and pronunciations.
Gosh I distinctly remember having SOMETHING similar to this. It was an 8 track robot, but my memory of it is very fuzzy. I had the Omni thing you reviewed YEARS AGO, and a cassette robot too. Alphie, I think it was called? Almost certain it wasn't the later 2-XL. I loved this video, Mat. Thanks!
I'm in my thirties and I have to say; this toy really surprised me. It's another testament to the idea that intelligence isn't always about technology but around theatrics. Even though I know it's just switching around the tape to find the audio it needs to play, the presentation is so well done that it really does seem like a robot running some kind of protocol and communicating with you. In a world with Bixby and Alexa who (to me anyway) still feel like novelties that are doing nothing more than dressing up a search engine with a voice command, this thing had character. Fantastic video. Also; I am not sure if the whole 'thanks for turning me on' thing was taken from an older sci-fi show or whatever; but it really makes me think that the Simpsons writer behind the Malibu Stacey episode had one of these.
I’m glad you found it interesting. I was beginning to wonder if I’d made another dud.
I have the 90’s version back in my childhood, around 1992/93, it was popular here in Italy and some of my friends back have it too… https://youtu.be/aVXwo6raHoA
"Not the droid" lol
Great 70-80's sounds, also this: :) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SeCb_abgig0
Watched all 7 parts of the series--even though I don't know much about audio tech, it's still interesting to see how it's done.
I wonder what it would say if you got every question wrong Mat Would it say you are a complete idiot ? :-)
There’s a variety of things - it only really relates back one or two questions at most in the scripts…so it’ll just move on to something like - ‘see if you can answer this question…’
Cool thingy, clever idea, yes! I like the clickety-clackety sounds it makes while switching tracks :-D. BTW: those beepy sounds, I guess they're not from a computer, they're very easy to make with some typical 70s analog synthesizers like the ARP Odyssee or 2600 (which in fact made the "voice" of R2-D2)
There are many many different sounds and some are from modems etc - I didn’t play the modem one in the video because it’s even more annoying and grating than the ones I did play.