Comcast enhances X1 platform
April 30, 2014
Comcast has revealed that customers of its X1 triple-play service will soon be able to live stream personal video from their mobile devices, over the Internet, directly to the television. The new feature, which will be part of Xfinity Voice, is being demonstrated this week at NCTA’s The Cable Show 2014 in Los Angeles and is expected to be available to customers by the beginning of 2015.
“Imagine you’re in Philadelphia and can live stream your son’s tee-ball game to his grandparents’ TV in San Francisco,” said Marcien Jenckes, Executive Vice President of Consumer Services for Comcast Cable. “X1 has set an industry standard for home entertainment, one that transcends traditional TV to deliver an immersive and personalised entertainment experience across all devices. By incorporating advanced communications into the platform, this is just another example of how we are making X1 the centre of the customer’s home.”
In addition to live streaming, the following X1 features will soon be available to customers:
Enhanced Guide
The flexibility of the X1 platform allows for innovative new features and functionality that extend far beyond the existing television interface and create a convenient and intuitive TV experience. Comcast is expanding the capabilities of the X1 guide and making it more personal in a variety of ways, including:
• Spanish Guide and Navigation: This new in-language guide and menu labels will provide greater convenience for Spanish-speaking customers navigating the platform and its entertainment choices.
• Live Last 9: In the past, when X1 customers tap ‘Last’ on their remote controls, they see static tiles of the last nine things they viewed. Now, when customers hover over one of their last nine selections, that tile will be ‘live’, essentially creating a picture-in-picture that lets the viewer see what’s happening on one of their previously viewed channels.
• Talking Guide: TV viewers who are blind or visually impaired often lack context or direction to find a programme to watch. This will begin to change later this year when Comcast launches ‘Voice Guidance’, the nation’s first voice-guided TV interface.
• Personal, Prioritised Guide: This guide setting will allow customers to select their favourite networks that will appear first whenever the guide is launched.
• Kids Guide: Common Sense Media ratings will now be applied to live TV listings in addition to On Demand content.
On Demand
The Xfinity On Demand library currently offers 55,000 choices, decreasing the need for customers to remember to record their favourite shows. Comcast is making On Demand even easier to use by incorporating the following enhanced features:
• Instant On Demand: This feature allows customers to begin watching certain programmes through Xfinity On Demand menu immediately after the live broadcast begins.
• On Demand Notifications: Badging will appear in the guide to let customers know when select shows are available on Xfinity On Demand.
Apps
The X1 platform transcends TV, giving Xfinity customers seamless home management tools and the ability to communicate with every member of the family. New apps coming to the platform include:
• Xfinity Home App: Customers can adjust the thermostat, manage lighting and watch camera footage, right from their TV. Also allows X1 customers to manage their home controls from their mobile device.
• Family Point App: App will enable families at home to see the most recent location of their family members, who have chosen to be connected through their smartphone, and leave sticky notes for each other that will appear when the TV is turned on.
• Xfinity Voicemail App: App will allow X1 customers to playback and record voicemails on the TV, including readable voicemail.
The X1 platform combines customised apps, social media features and traditional video services to deliver a personalised and dynamic TV entertainment experience. X1 is presently available in all Xfinity TV markets and the company will continue to roll out the platform to new and existing customers.