Comcast moves to apps and away from STB's

[MickBurke]

Saw this earlier and wondered how it'd effect sageTV:

http://komonews.com/news/tech/comcas...-upcoming-apps

Thoughts?

[nyplayer]

Originally Posted by MickBurke

Saw this earlier and wondered how it'd effect sageTV:

http://komonews.com/news/tech/comcas...-upcoming-apps

Thoughts?

I do that now on my Shield I can stream any channel that I subscribe to using Xfinity TV to Go.

[EnterNoEscape]

Originally Posted by MickBurke

Saw this earlier and wondered how it'd effect sageTV:

http://komonews.com/news/tech/comcas...-upcoming-apps

Thoughts?

If it functions similar to live TV channels, there's little preventing you from recording the playback via an HD-PVR or Colossus into SageTV. The clever parts will be getting it to tune the right channel every time and how to deal with if they do away with channel numbers completely.

[patja]

I wonder how the compression and audio quality will be.

After taking HBO Now for a spin this weekend I am increasingly dismayed over the spread of streaming and the demise of anything worthy of the label HD. Seems they think everyone is watching on phones and ipads where it can look OK, but on my 105" screen it is all unwatchable. Except Netflix, that's the only thing that gives me hope that technically it is possible and somewhere there are engineers who care about providing high definition in both bitrate and resolution.

[KryptoNyte]

Not a lot of detail there. A person wonders how the DVR part would work. Or wait, let me guess - Comcast will store your DVR video in the cloud, up to 500 MB worth, for only $79.99/month + taxes and misc data fees.

[jm9843]

Originally Posted by MickBurke

Saw this earlier and wondered how it'd effect sageTV:

http://komonews.com/news/tech/comcas...-upcoming-apps

Thoughts?

This is in direct response to the FCC's proposed rule that gives 3rd parties access to cable content in a standards-based way. Comcast would rather promote a proprietary access program that only select partners (i.e. Roku, Samsung) have access to so that they can maintain control. Now they can say, see FCC - we can do this with apps and don't need you to get involved!

But this is the same old Comcast who, to this day, won't authorize certain platforms (e.g. Android TV) such that their customers can use their cable subscription to authenticate with apps like HBO Go.

TLDR: Comcast sucks and shouldn't be trusted or given any pass by the FCC.

[nyplayer]

Originally Posted by jm9843

This is in direct response to the FCC's proposed rule that gives 3rd parties access to cable content in a standards-based way. Comcast would rather promote a proprietary access program that only select partners (i.e. Roku, Samsung) have access to so that they can maintain control. Now they can say, see FCC - we can do this with apps and don't need you to get involved!

But this is the same old Comcast who, to this day, won't authorize certain platforms (e.g. Android TV) such that their customers can use their cable subscription to authenticate with apps like HBO Go.

TLDR: Comcast sucks and shouldn't be trusted or given any pass by the FCC.

AS far as Comcast goes I just returned a box and Subscribed to StreamPix and side loaded the TV2GO app on my Android boxes and I can watch live tv or past episodes at my convenience.

the image attached is my XFINITY Comcast on my Shield.

[sacrament055]

Originally Posted by EnterNoEscape

If it functions similar to live TV channels, there's little preventing you from recording the playback via an HD-PVR or Colossus into SageTV. The clever parts will be getting it to tune the right channel every time and how to deal with if they do away with channel numbers completely.

PlayON lets you stream/record Comcast/Xfinity TV channels including live TV channels

[EnterNoEscape]

Originally Posted by sacrament055

PlayON lets you stream/record Comcast/Xfinity TV channels including live TV channels

That's cool; I didn't notice that one. The nice thing about using an external encoder is that the app/webpage has no way of knowing if it's being streamed to a TV or an encoder. Whereas with PlayOn sometimes the provider figures out how to beat it, but on the plus side someone other than you then figures out to get it working again.

[sacrament055]

Originally Posted by EnterNoEscape

That's cool; I didn't notice that one. The nice thing about using an external encoder is that the app/webpage has no way of knowing if it's being streamed to a TV or an encoder. Whereas with PlayOn sometimes the provider figures out how to beat it, but on the plus side someone other than you then figures out to get it working again.

I agree and the quality is probably better with an external encoder but I have to say the PlayON quality has been pretty decent.

[EnterNoEscape]

PlayOn comes in handy a lot of times and I agree that the quality is better than I think a lot of people would expect.

[jm9843]

Originally Posted by nyplayer

AS far as Comcast goes I just returned a box and Subscribed to StreamPix and side loaded the TV2GO app on my Android boxes and I can watch live tv or past episodes at my convenience.

Interesting. I have a couple of questions:

1. Does it stream in HD?
2. Live TV does not include locals, correct?
3. Is is usable with a simple remote (e.g. Shield remote) or does it essentially require a mouse to emulate touch events?
4. Does it function correctly using ethernet on the Shield? Some apps designed for phones/tablets expect WiFi and don't handle ethernet gracefully.
5. Do you know if it counts against Comcast datacaps where applicable?