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Comcast starts offering multiroom features, 500GB hard drives with AnyRoom DVR
Oregon and Southwest Washington are enjoying more than just the launch of Comcast's updated A28 guide today, the company also announced it has begun offering Anyroom DVR (not to be confused with Anyroom On Demand) setups in the area. It's a pretty standard MoCA implementation, one central HD DVR that allows customers to watch and control recorded programming from other hard drive-less set-top boxes in the same house. Comcast say Anyroom DVR is available in 20 markets including the Bay area, Western Mass, Augusta, Knoxville, Chattanooga, Little Rock and others, while forum posts on DSLReports indicate promos have been spotted in Chicago and Pennsylvania with a price tag of $19.95 for the main DVR, and the usual fees for the other boxes (maximum of 3). We couldn't get an official confirmation on the amount of storage available 500GB is an all too welcome improvement over the 160GB / 250GB drives still sitting in most standard DVRs Comcast issues or the FiOS one we tested a while back, outpaces the 250GB / 320GB options in AT&T's U-verse setups and would put it on par with DirecTV's HR24 (can be upgraded) and the new Cox Plus Package. Sure, it's a little late to record every World Cup match in HD (or 3D) but we're sure you'll find something to fill the space. Update: Check after the break for specs on the main DVR and networked set-top boxes. (Thanks, Robert!)
Comcast's guide software adds brains, but beauty remains elusive
We've talked at length about the (lack of) quality in most cable DVR software, but it looks like for Comcast customers it will be getting at least a little better very soon. The new A28 guide software is rolling out across the country with tweaked searches for upcoming events, a single click 5 minute back/forward skip function tied to the Page up/Down remote buttons, mass delete on recordings and of course, Remote DVR scheduling. Of course we're still waiting for the facelifted i-Guide we saw at CES '08, but for now this will have to do. Motorola's official blog suggests all areas should see the new software in the first half of this year along with some first hand impressions, while Comcast offers a detailed breakdown of the features on the way and a video walkthrough available (embedded after the break.)
