Xfinity TV App Update Brings More Features, Personalization
Every day, thousands of our customers are using the Xfinity TV app on their tablets and smartphones to manage their Xfinity TV viewing experience, and watch On Demand content on their iPad while on-the-go...so much so that our passionate customers continue to provide us with suggestions on how we can make this experience even easier and richer to meet their needs. We're listening to this feedback, and our work continues at a rapid pace to further enhance the Xfinity TV app. Today we're announcing a new update to the Apple iOS Xfinity TV app that delivers more functionality and personalization, making it simpler for our customers to sort through and gain access to the content they want anytime, anywhere.
This is our third major release of Xfinity TV for iOS since its launch in November, in addition to having recently launched the app on the Android platform. Today, customers can update their Xfinity TV app for free from the iTunes App Store and experience these great new features:
- Customize TV listings by setting up favorite channels — it's as easy and familiar as simply tapping a "heart" to designate favorites, as you would on your Xfinity TV digital service through your remote control. You can also choose only to display your favorite channels when you're looking for something to watch. A neat aspect of this feature is that the favorites you set up on the Xfinity TV app will also be selected as your favorites on our online entertainment website, XfinityTV.com (and it works the other way around, too!).
- Change channels on your television quickly with a new, simple channel keypad.
- Jump ahead to a specific date in TV Listings.
- Flip through previous channels on the iPhone (a feature that used to be only on the iPad).
Just as exciting, we're also working in conjunction with our entertainment programmers to continue to provide more "Play Now" movies and shows on an ongoing basis; you'll see more of your favorite current season and catch-up content available for free at your fingertips in the coming weeks.
The Xfinity TV app is being worked on every day by a dedicated team of designers and developers who are making sure that tapping a channel on your device makes it all the way through your network, over the Internet, and back down to your set top box in a flash. All of our efforts are focused on delivering to our customers a great cross-platform viewing experience that's unparalleled in the industry.
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Comments (10)
@Ramsey, your patience is appreciated.
We have begun the early portion of our field trials of the next version of the guide for our Cisco and Scientific Atlanta areas. We are on track to start delivering that guide to customers starting over the summer. We are still finalizing the market-specific deployment plan.
Some of the features that are included in the summer release are listed below:
Xfinity TV Application: The ability to use your iPad to change channels.
http://www.xfinity.com/help/internet/mobile-tv-app/
myDVR Manager: From the internet and the Xfinity TV app, customers can: set recordings, view/modify scheduled recordings, view completed recordings, modify series priority lists, etc.
http://xfinity.comcast.net/mydvr/how-to/
Caller ID to the TV See who's calling, right from your TV and PC! Comcast Universal Caller ID takes the guesswork out of incoming calls. http://www.comcast.net/callerid
HSN Shop-by-Remote: A convenient, new way to make HSN purchases simply by using your remote. http://www.comcast.net/newguide/iTV_Guide_Shop-By-Remote_0110.pdf
Request for Info: Know more, save more! Introducing an easy way to request valuable coupons and info from advertisers simply by using your remote.
http://www.comcast.net/newguide/iTV%20Guide%20Request%20For%20Information.pdf
Ready Remind and Ready Record: Now you can conveniently set program reminders or recordings directly from certain TV show and movie advertisements.
http://www.comcast.net/newguide/iTV%20Guide%20Ready%20Remind%20Record.pdf
So how about that scientific Atlanta app? Any day now would be nice...
REALLY, REALLY looking forward to live TV on my iPad!
Comcast Cable 98370 / iPad / iTouch / Droid II Android phone
Ted - Great Blog !! I'm really impressed with the Xfinity app and the constant improvements being made. I am REALLY looking forward to live TV on my iPad. Will all channels be available? Hey, this feature could replace magazines in the bathroom :-) - Bob
Hello Eric. Glad to hear that you have received the information about the upcoming improvements to your Comcast service including additional HD channels.
The "World of More" project - more info at https://digitalnow.comcast.com/ - is not a pre-requisite for the new on-screen guide but understandably it is just one of the many projects and improvements that we need to coordinate and schedule the new guide around.
The current plan puts the new on-screen guide scheduled for your area in the next 60 to 75 days. The initial new guide for our Scientific Atlanta areas is an A25 equivalent with a few minor feature variances and with targeted feature upgrades scheduled throughout this year.
Ted,
Thanks for the feedback and assurance. I have received information in the mail about many new HD Channels to be coming online in 3 separate dates over the next 2 months for Comcast Howard County, MD (ZIP 21075). And infact, the full removal of analog channels should have by now happened in my area. Will the new guide be coming around this time or will that happen later in the year? Also, what version of the new guide (iGuide?) will we be getting when we convert, A25 or A28? I have heard that you will need A28 to use the Xfinity TV app, but the initial guide upgrade will be A25.
Thanks Again,
Eric
Hello Eric.
There is a plan for introducing the full Xfinity TV App to our SA customers for iPhone, Ipad and other mobile devices this year. This would allow our customers in SA areas to use the app to control selected SA cable boxes.
Comcast has recently launched improvements and enhancements to the XFINITY TV App which now includes the "Play Now" feature. This allows our customers to watch On Demand content from select networks directly on their iPad. The good news is that the new "Play Now" feature doesn't require customers to have a compatible set top box. That means all iPad customers with the app can access Play Now as well as search for their favorite shows in the TV listings with no restriction on the type of cable box that you may have. The Play Now feature works if you have a Scientific Atlanta or Cisco branded cable box.
More details here from my colleague Matt Strauss: http://blog.comcast.com/2011/02/xfinity-tv-news-streaming-now-available-on-ipad-app.html
Ongoing conversation and discussions on the new on-screen guide in our Scientific-Atlanta/Cisco markets is happening here: http://blog.comcast.com/2010/05/new-guide-for-scientific-atlanta-cable-boxes.html
The Xfinity app is well and good, but what about customers in Comcast's Scientific Atlanta/Cisco markets where this app's main feature are useless. I love the fact that Comcast is innovating (and quickly) with mobile platforms, but Comcast is also alienating a large percentage of their customer base by being extremely slow with upgrading the SA/Cisco boxes to the new guide.
@ Arun We plan to launch in-home streaming of live TV on tablets later this year.
When will we be able to watch live tv like TWC customers?