Cybersmith 1995 in Cambridge, MA. One of the worlds first internet cafes

1995, Rob Lavender tours Cybersmith, (one of the first internet cafes) in Harvard Square in Cambridge Massachusetts, & interviews owner Jed Smith on episode 1 of 1995 cable access show Advanced Video Games. Advanced Video Games was an early test version of X-TV. AVG and the later XT-V were cable access TV shows made in Boston and distributed to many major cities throughput the USA such as Manhattan and others. The shows were produced, directed and edited by Peter Stephenson and presented by Rob Lavender and James Wu with some scenes filmed in the Comicopia comic book shop on Commonwealth Avenue. And of course, the animated CG done on an Amiga by the great Viking himself Vidar Haugland. The shows were made in 1995 and acted as a showcase for the cutting edge console, PC and arcade games of the day. At that time, there was no YouTube and as most game ads on TV rarely showed game footage, the only way to see the game screens was in magazine stills or in-shop displays. So I made X-TV to give a look at the graphics. The shows also included comic book showcases, video game ’the making of’ shorts and music videos. Subscribe for updates on continuing uploads of clips and whole episodes Visit to see my latest project