Hasta La Gadget!

Well, well, it looks as if Comcast has planned something relatively major for Xfinity TV subscribers. The company just announced that from March 25th through March 31st, it’s set to give customers an all-access viewing ticket to a plethora of TV series from various networks, which will also include on-demand content for those with the proper All Video On Demand credentials. Thanks to the Xfinity Watchathon Week, as it’s formally known, folks with an Xfinity TV account can have the chance to check out shows from networks they may not be subscribed to, including ones such as HBO, Showtime and Starz, as well as others like A&E, AMC, BBC America and many, many more — so yes, you can catch up on (or watch for the first time) Mad Men, The Walking Dead, Downton Abbey, The Sopranos and, of course, Girls (!). There are still quite a few days to go until Comcast’s Watchathon kicks off, so, perhaps, now might be the perfect time to set a cal reminder and start stacking up on some popcorn.

Filed under: Home Entertainment, Internet, HD

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Source: Comcast

While being able to schedule DVR recordings from your mobile device is nice, an update currently being pushed to some Comcast DVRs is adding the ability for users to check exactly what shows are stored there from an app or web browser. Previously the only remote info users could get from their DVRs was the percentage of storage currently in use and what recordings were scheduled to take place, but now users can see individual recordings, choose to watch any of them now, change their deletion priority, or even delete them remotely. Hopefully that doesn’t lead to any unintentional interhousehold griefing as users manage the often inadequate hard drive space in their cable DVR, but it can certainly put ones mind at rest to know The League (or whatever your show of choice might be) was successfully archived.

The update is quietly being pushed out as a software update for the DVR itself, and should appear automatically for users on the web or in their iOS app’s DVR manager (Android users can access it as well, but via the browser). We noticed the change after our Motorola DVR got an update that also made the name of a channel appear under the number when typed in from the remote. It worked well, although a few much older recordings were not listed online every new one was, which could explain the quiet rollout that Comcast confirmed to us just began yesterday. One other change taking place at the same time is a new Xfinity TV Player app for iOS that is focused solely on streaming VOD, mirroring a similar app already out on Android. While the Xfinity TV app on the platform has handled streaming duties since 2010, the dedicated player has a different menu and even player interface, and we wouldn’t be surprised to see the feature excised from the general app eventually.

Continue reading Comcast quietly updates DVRs with ability to list stored programs from the web, mobile apps

Filed under: Tablets, Software, HD, Mobile

Comcast quietly updates DVRs with ability to list stored programs from the web, mobile apps originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 12 Oct 2012 19:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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While some pay-TV providers are tied up in nasty battles with the studios that provide them content, Comcast and Scripps have just inked an agreement to bring the company’s lifestyle programming to cable subscribers over the internet. As noted in the press release (embedded after the break) the multi-year deal brings HGTV, DIY Network, Food Network, Cooking Channel, Travel Channel and Great American Country to Comcast’s TV Everywhere portal, via mobile (and “other” devices) and on Scripps websites. Probably not a minor element in the deal is the inclusion of support for Comcast’s on the fly ad-insertion for VOD, which should push the efforts of both partners along, although potentially unskippable ads could be less viewer friendly.

Continue reading Comcast, Scripps deal brings more internet streaming video on Xfinity TV

Filed under: Home Entertainment

Comcast, Scripps deal brings more internet streaming video on Xfinity TV originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 17 Jul 2012 04:38:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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