How do you interact with your TV? Wouldn’t it be nice to touch it and feel it. Wouldn’t it be nice to pan through the TV listings using only the swipe of a finger. Wouldn’t it be nice to control your TV from the same device that you use to browse the web or check email from. Well with the help of the new Xfinity TV app from Comcast, you can do all that and more.
The Xfinity TV app makes it easy to interact with your Comcast cable boxes (check your box eligibility). Scroll through a listing of available shows and with the push of a button you can wirelessly change the channel from your iPhone or iPad. No more fighting over the remote or wondering where you had it last. Sort, Browse, Watch, and more.
Sort & Browse
Scroll through your TV channel listings to find the show you want
The Xfinity app makes it incredibly easy to find the shows you’re looking for. Connect it with your Comcast account and instantly it will find the connected cable boxes in your house. It will then download a listing of upcoming shows and movies for your area. Swipe up and down, left and right, to find the show you’re looking for at the specific time your looking for. Use the search bar in the app to instantly find when the next episode of your favorite series is playing. You can even see what episode is playing and read a short synopsis of the movie or TV show.
Filter your listing to movies, TV shows, and sports content, making it really easy to find the program you want to watch
Select the “Filter By” option to help find content to watch. Change your selection to only show HD content, only movies, only sports, or only kids shows. It’s never been easier to find content to watch. Once you find the show or movie you want to watch, tap “Watch channel” and it will play on the selected cable box. It’s as simple as that. Take your iPhone or iPad with you into each room and switch boxes with the push of a button. No need for a fancy universal remote.
Record
For select cable boxes that support DVR recording, this app will be a godsend. With Remote DVR scheduling, you can make sure that you never miss an episode again. Just open the app on your iPhone and tap Record. The Record Series option makes it easy to always stay up-to-date on new episodes. Great when you’re stuck in traffic or have to stay late at the office. Start recording and have it waiting for you when you get home.
What’s coming soon
Comcast also has a section of what they call “On Demand” content that you can start watching on your TV at anytime. Comcast has been heavily beefing up their On Demand section, which gives you thousands of movies and TV shows to watch, in order to compete with online services like Hulu and Netflix. With the latest launch of Xfinity.tv, which is a site which lets Comcast members watch On Demand content from their computer, it is clear what their plan for the Xfinity.tv app with be. Comcast will likely bring their large selection of movies and tv shows onto the iPhone and iPad with the ability to watch them directly from your mobile device.
At the moment, selecting On Demand content from the Xfinity app will only let you play the content on your TV, but this could change soon. Video streaming from their iPhone app could position Comcast alongside Hulu Plus and Netflix in offering content for Mobile devices. At the moment however, you can only use your Xfinity.tv app as a remote for On Demand and a digital TV Guide. iPad users will soon be able to watch live TV shows on their iPad in the middle of December, according to Comcast’s support site. Meaning you’ll be able to use your iPad as your own personal television. I would imagine that this will also be when users will be able to stream On Demand content.
Conclusion
Xfinity is definitely a worthwhile app for Comcast Subscribes, despite the lack of on-device video streaming. The controls and scrolling through channels are smooth and responsive, even when in low bandwidth areas. The search feature makes it easy to find upcoming movies and shows. We’ll have to wait a while to see how smooth the live video plays on the iPad and if they also decide to allow it over 3G or not.
Your TV remote is going to be so jealous.