Comcast debuts cloud DVR
October 1, 2014
Comcast subscribers in the San Francisco Bay Area can now stream their DVR recordings to their iOS or Android devices, no matter where they are. The feature requires the company’s newer X1 set-top boxes, however the service is powered by Comcast’s cloud DVR, which could make set-top boxes obsolete altogether.
X1 users can also watch any of their live TV channels on a mobile device within their home. The feature is similar to Dish’s Hopper DVR, or Slingbox.
Comcast deployed its cloud DVR infrastructure for customers in the Bay Area. This means that every TV subscriber with an X1 set-top box also immediately has access to a virtual DVR in the cloud, which is used to stream any of those recordings to mobile devices.
That transition to a cloud-only DVR could potentially also lead to Comcast doing away with the typical limitations of an in-home DVR.