Comcast, the largest cable provider in the United States, has announced that its customers for the X1 service in several locations will have the ability to watch their entire TV lineup from any screen connected to the Internet within the home.
In addition, Comcast customers will have the ability to watch TV programs that are recorded using their DVR on IP-enabled screens or through streaming with an Internet connection at any time and any place.
This feature of in-home streaming allows customers to access on their computers and mobile devices all the channels and Xfinity On Demand content under their account, presented to them through the X1 user experience that they are familiar with.
The introduction of the new feature is also timely, as X1 customers will be given access to over 80 new TV programs that will start this fall. Customers will be able to watch the new shows more conveniently over a wider range of devices.
"These new features -- live in-home streaming and X1 DVR with cloud technology -- give our customers more flexibility for watching their favorite shows and movies in and out of their home," said Matt Strauss, Comcast Cable senior vice president and general manager for video services.
According to Strauss on the official Comcast blog, the company was able to develop these features by using the cloud technology found in the X1. Similar to other services that use cloud technology, such as email, online storage units and collaborative files, Comcast has taken the functionalities out of the X1 and moved it up into the cloud.
The cloud-based system that replaces the hardware-based technology of the X1 made it possible for Comcast to create innovations that increase the speed of the X1 service, along with the creation of new features that can be delivered instantly to customers.
Strauss adds that the two new features are now available in Atlanta, Boston, Baltimore, Philadelphia, Chicago, Houston, Washington D.C. and the Bay Area. Most of the other X1 customers of Comcast will gain access to the new features by the end of 2014.
Users that wish to avail of the features may do so by first downloading the Xfinity TV App from the Google Play Store or Apple App Store. Users can also visit the xfinitytv.comcast.net website to be able to start streaming content directly into their computers.
