Verizon catches up to the pack with on-the-go DVR streaming
It's about time.
Heads-up, FIOS fans: Verizon (which, through a bizarre turn of events, now owns our parent company AOL) is now letting all of its FIOS subscribers stream the contents of their DVRs to their smartphones and tablets. Well, most of that content, anyway -- the company's official statement says users can stream "nearly all" of their recordings to their mobile devices, and we're trying to figure out where exactly Verizon is drawing the line.
We'll also spare you the trite "better late than never" shlock. Rivals like Comcast's Xfinity and Dish Network have long offered similar functionality, though those services have their own caveats to deal with. Comcast's X1 DVR streaming, for instance, offers the very same sort of on-demand access to saved programs, but not all of the company's markets are on-board with the cloud just yet. It might have taken some extra time, but there's something to be said for the all-out rollout approach Verizon is running with here.
Users of Verizon's FIOS internet and FIOS Quantum television service can download (or update) their FIOS Mobile apps to get in on the action now. Still, now that Verizon has more-or-less hit feature parity with some of its biggest competitors, you've got to wonder where the massive telecom is going to take that fiber network next. After all, it already bailed on fleshing out its infrastructure for large swaths of New York City, and the company's head of FIOS recently admitted she basically "cut the cord" herself. Like it or not, Verizon looks at mobile as its future -- that may ultimately leave some of home-bound customers feeling left out in the cold.
[Image credit: Bloomberg/Getty]
