Comcast said it will add several new features to its IP-capable, cloud-based X1 platform, leading off with an element that will allow triple-play subscribers to live stream personal video from their mobile devices to the TV via the Internet.
That feature, expected to become available by the “beginning of 2015,” will become a part of Xfinity Voice, the MSO’s digital voice service.
Comcast also unveiled a handful of other features that will be coming “soon” to X1, which has been deployed across the MSO’s footprint.
Enhanced guide additions:
-Spanish Guide & Navigation: a new in-language guide and menu labels for Spanish-speaking customers.
-Live Last 9: An enhancement to a current feature that shows static tiles from the last nine programs a customer has viewed, the new version will essentially generate a “live” picture-in-picture mosaic of the last nine channels viewed.
-Talking Guide: Designed for the blind and visually impaired, Comcast will launch “Voice Guidance,” a voice-guided TV interface, later this year.
-Personal, Prioritized Guide: This setting will allow subs to select their favorite networks that appear whenever the guide is launched.
-Kids Guide: Comcast will add Common Sense Media ratings to live TV listings, complementing its application to video-on-demand content.
On Demand additions:
-Instant On Demand: Similar to Time Warner Cable’s “Start Over” service, Instant On Demand will allow customers to begin watching select shows via the Xfinity On Demand menu immediately after the live broadcast begins.
-On Demand Notifications: “Badging” on the guide will let subscribers know when select shows are offered via Comcast’s Xfinity On Demand library, which currently offers about 55,000 “choices.”
Apps additions
-Xfinity Home App: Will allow Xfinity Home customers to adjust thermostats, manage lighting and watch home security camera footage via the TV.
-Family Point: Similar to the app Comcast offers on mobile devices, the TV-centric X1 version will enable families at home to see the most recent location of family members who are connected via their smartphones, and to leave “sticky notes” for each other that will appear on the TV screen.
-Xfinity Voicemail: Comcast is porting this capability to the X1 platform, allowing customers to playback and record voicemails on the TV, including readable voicemail.
Comcast will be demonstrating many of these new features Tuesday at The Cable Show in Los Angeles.
