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Comcast’s new XFi tools give parents more control over the home network
After debuting an all-in-one streaming app for its cable TV service and a new IoT-commanding home gateway earlier this year, Comcast announced on Friday that it is adding a trio of new parental control features to its XFi internet system: Timed Pause, Safer Search and a Notification Center.
Comcast might have to pay TiVo after losing a patent dispute
Comcast may be feeling a twinge of regret for hyping its X1 set-top boxes to the Moon and back. TiVo has won an International Trade Commission dispute accusing Comcast and its hardware partners (Arris and Technicolor) of violating patents through the X1 platform's approach to DVR recording and search. The case had originally covered six patents, but this still means Comcast could be on the hook for licensing fees if it wants to avoid a sales ban.
Comcast X1 boxes will get a YouTube app later this year
Last year Comcast added Netflix streaming to its X1 platform, and in 2017 YouTube will be next. Once the app is released later this year, customers will be able to search YouTube via text or with the X1 voice remote, and YouTube streams will be integrated with the UI. This means that when you pull up a show like The Voice or the Late Night Show, you might see its YouTube streams listed right along with the regular TV listings and video-on-demand offerings.
Comcast's all-in-one Xfinity Stream app arrives February 28th
Say goodbye to the Xfinity TV app as you knew it... not that you'll necessarily mind. Comcast has unveiled a replacement mobile app, Xfinity Stream, that promises to cover just about everything you can do with your TV subscription. You'll have in-home control, out-of-home live streaming and remote DVR access, but you'll also get some of the features you're used to from your X1 set-top box, such as music channels, favorite channel filtering, Common Sense content ratings and a Spanish guide. You won't have to stay in the living room to get some of the nicer perks, in other words. The app reaches Android and iOS on February 28th.
Comcast's Xfinity TV app for Roku starts beta testing
It's been nearly a year since Comcast announced work on its "Xfinity TV partner app" for Roku and Samsung, and now the Roku version is ready for testing. The Xfinity TV beta app is now available in the channel store, with access to "live and on demand programming, including local broadcast and Public Educational and Governmental channels, as well as their cloud DVR recordings." According to Comcast, this test is so it can check out the performance and add features, before the official launch happens later this year.
Comcast's new 'Gateway' will manage your smart home
Comcast already dominates many people's living rooms, and now it's looking to expand its reach to the rest of your house. Today at CES, the company announced it will release a series of Gateway smart-home hubs throughout the year. In particular, as you might expect, these hubs will allow Comcast's Xfinity customers to manage the menagerie of Internet of Things devices that inhabit the modern home.
Comcast teams with Hollywood to make movies 'more immersive'
Who doesn't love having movies explained to them in real time? Comcast announced on Friday that is is collaborating with a number of major Hollywood studios including Paramount, Universal, Lionsgate and Sony to create a new way to watch movies at home. The company's forthcoming "Enhanced Extras" feature will enable viewers to "explore, connect and engage with a wide variety of online content" -- while the film is playing.
Rogers will launch IPTV in Canada with Comcast's X1 platform
Comcast has been very careful to call its X1 setup a "platform" and not simply a cable box, and now it's licensing the tech for use on an internet TV service. Canadian provider Rogers will roll out IPTV to its gigabit internet customers in 2018 using the X1 platform, although there's no word on whether or not it will include the Netflix app. Before that happens, however, Rogers says customers on its current cable setup can expect more 4K video and 4K DVR features in the next year.
HP successfully tests its vision of memory-focused computing
HP's grand dream for the future of computing, The Machine, is no longer just a set of clever ideas and hardware research. Hewlett Packard Enterprise (the business-focused company that emerged from HP's split) has successfully tested its Memory-Driven Computing architecture, where memory is more important to completing tasks than raw processing power. It's just a proof-of-concept prototype, but it shows that everything works: compute nodes that share a pool of fast but permanent memory, speedy photonics-based data links and the custom software needed to make it all run.
Sling TV is joining Comcast's X1 cable platform
Sling TV's over the top internet service is about to arrive in an unusual landing spot: Comcast's cable boxes. The two companies just announced a partnership that will put the IPTV service on the X1 platform in the future, with 425+ channels including a number of multicultural offerings. According to the release, all Sling TV packages will be available on X1, with pricing consistent with other platforms. There's no word yet on exactly when the two will come together, but Netflix went from beta to fully available in just a couple of months, so that could bode well for the pairing.
Netflix comes to Comcast X1 boxes next week
Comcast and Netflix are announcing that the latter's streaming service will be fully available on the former's X1 boxes from next week. If you have a Comcast X1 and a Netflix subscription, you'll be able to watch original series like Stranger Things and House of Cards without new equipment. As Netflix's Reed Hastings says, users can now "seamlessly move between the Netflix app and their cable service."
Comcast set-top boxes now offer detailed stats for more sports
Did you like the abundance of stats while watching the Rio Olympics on Comcast? If so, you're in for a treat from now on. Comcast is rolling out those same on-screen stats for every sport its X1 set-top box app covers. If you want to see where a basketball team has taken most of its shots, or want to know how well your favorite hockey player is doing, the info is just a short hop away. Finding that data should be easier, too.
Comcast's Netflix-on-X1 beta test starts rolling out today
It seems odd to hear, but it's real: this week Netflix will start to become available on Comcast cable boxes across the country. Announced a couple of months ago, the partnership is rolling out slowly as a beta test, so interested Comcast customers with the X1 platform can go to the Comcast Labs section on their cable box and opt-in. If you don't see the app right away, don't worry, as it will become available to more people over the next few weeks. A formal launch that will put the app in the usual X1 listing for millions of customers will come later this year, and Netflix shows and movies will appear in the video on-demand and search results too.
TP-Link's latest Neffos smartphones are its most ambitious yet
Though TP-Link is a pretty well-known maker of networking equipment in other parts of the world, the brand hasn't made much of a dent in the US. Recently, however, it's been working on a rebranding in an effort to do so. It's pivoting more toward the smart home market and has also released a couple of smartphones earlier this year under the Neffos name. At IFA today, the company is continuing that consumer trend with the announcement of the Neffos X Series of smartphones, which consists of the Neffos X1 and the Neffos X1 Max.
Comcast's Watchable streaming app adds new exclusive series
Even cable giant Comcast has to pay attention to internet viewers, and last year it launched an interesting YouTube-like site called Watchable. Packed with content from creators including Buzzfeed and Vice it took aim directly at the very millennials that might not have cable at all, and now Comcast is trying harder to attract those viewers by offering several free new shows that are exclusive to Watchable. Oddly, probably because the site is not called "embeddable," we'll have to show you the trailers for its original programming on YouTube.
Comcast's Rio portal is a good way to keep up with the Olympics
The Olympics are starting in a little over a month and Comcast has devised a way to watch pretty much every minute of them. Xfinity X1 customers -- roughly half of Comcast's user base -- will have access to a special "Front Row to Rio" portal through which they'll be able to watch live content from both NBC-affiliated networks and internet streams. But that's just the start.
Comcast will put Netflix on its cable set-top boxes
Comcast and Netflix have usually been bitter enemies, to put it mildly, but it looks like they can find some common ground. The two have announced a deal that will put Netflix on Comcast's X1 set-top boxes sometime later in 2016. The terms of the pact aren't public, but Recode tipsters understand that it'll be similar to the arrangements Netflix has been making with other cable providers for years. You'll hear more closer to launch, the companies say.
Comcast buys a sports tech company to boost your set-top box
In case you had any doubts that Comcast is serious about improving your sports-watching experience, the cable giant is making its efforts abundantly clear. It just acquired OneTwoSee, a Philadelphia-area sports tech startup that has played a big role in the interactive sports TV upgrades for Comcast's X1 set-top box over the past year. No, Comcast isn't tipping its hand just yet, but it's reasonable to presume that real-time stats and other sports-related perks will become that much more central in the living room going forward. And no, OneTwoSee won't ditch efforts on other platforms -- you can still expect it to bring its technology to smartphones (not to mention other companies) in the future.
Comcast brings personalized TV notifications to X1 users
Comcast isn't done improving its X1 cable box. Over the past few months, the company has added a variety of new features to the device, including the ability to record extra-long events and more. Today, Comcast is keeping that trend going by adding notifications support to X1, which will let users receive personalized alerts directly on their TV. Those can be from Evernote, Gmail, Instagram, Jawbone, LinkedIn and "many" others, according to Comcast.But since you definitely don't want notifications to get out of control as you're watching a show, Comcast teamed up with IFTTT, the recipe-based, if-this-then-that web service. This means there's an option to control when you want your screen to be alerted, simply add the Comcast Labs Channel on IFTTT and you're all set. Or, you know, you could choose not to use the feature altogether -- those Instagram "likes" aren't going anywhere.
Comcast puts more internet video on your X1 cable box
You probably don't think of your cable box as a place to watch online video, but Comcast is determined to provide more reasons to stream from your set-top: it just brought over 30 new internet video sources to the X1. Virtually all of the content comes from big-name TV networks like ABC, BBC America, Discovery and (of course) NBC. Their offerings initially focus on news and sports, but they'll eventually include more extras and "complimentary" productions. This shouldn't be a mere rehash of what's already on your DVR, in other words. No, this won't persuade you to keep cable if you were already thinking of cutting the cord. However, it might serve as a nice complement to the TV you're already watching -- you can stream that behind-the-scenes bonus clip while remaining planted on the couch.