“To xfinity, and beyond!” No; doesn’t work for me either. But it probably doesn’t matter, it’s the name of Comcast’s new “TV Everywhere” service, like it or not, that lets some Comcast subscribers access extra TV programing, streamed from the Internet.
Xfinity, which is presently in beta, is open to customers who subscribe both to digital cable and broadband. If you qualify, head on over to Comcast.net, login in, and look for the “Fancast Xfinity TV” logo. Comcast will ask you to download a movie player and an Adobe AIR app, and afterwards authorize your computer. (You can authorize up to three computers.) Then you’ll be good to go.
There are some limits at present. First, you can only access the service on a Comcast network, although Comcast says that restriction will be lifted at some later date. Second, you can’t use the service internationally. Third, no mobile devices for now--maybe next year. But, for the time being, the service is offered at no additional cost.
With this new service could it be that Comcast is signaling a recognition that cable is no longer a standalone necessity? The Internet, while in its media streaming infancy, is offering potential to undermine cable’s entertainment dominance. As Comcast delivers both, it makes sense for Comcast to take advantage of both, giving customers who dump one (cable), a choice of another (Internet). And, as a business model, it beats out Hulu or Boxee and their ilk, because Comcast can make you pay for what you get.
I wonder how well this new service will mesh with Comcast's bandwidth restrictions.
