Comcast Unveils XI3 Cable Box to Compete With Apple TV [Video]

Comcast today unveiled XI3, a cable box designed to compete with the Apple TV and run X2, the next generation of its cloud-enabled platform from Xfinity. Notably, the box uses cloud storage for its DVR capabilities.

The next generation of the X1 Platform will be even smarter and faster, providing more personalized recommendations on multiple screens, for a customized TV product that consumers can access on a TV, smartphone, tablet or PC. It is designed to integrate live and On Demand TV, web content, home control and a growing number of apps in one user interface. The cloud-based technology that powers this experience enables Comcast to accelerate innovation and launch new apps and services on the X1 Platform more easily, resulting in a richer, more dynamic and personalized experience for customers.




New capabilities and features demonstrated at NCTA include:
● New Customizable Dashboard: Customers will be able to easily launch a new personalized home screen on TV and across mobile devices that will offer a single view into the information they care about. The display will feature a collection of tiles that a customer can customize as they see fit, including all of their favorite apps on one screen. It can be personalized to include information from within the TV experience, such as recently recorded DVR content; from a favorite app, such as traffic alerts weather forecasts, or news headlines; or from a customer’s other Xfinity services, such as calendar appointments, voicemails from Xfinity Voice, as well as their home thermostat and security status from Xfinity Home.

● Uber-personalization: More recommendations throughout the experience will be surfaced so customers have additional ways to discover new movies and TV shows. The platform will recommend content that is currently on live TV based on the customer’s past viewing habits, and is engineered to become smarter over time. It includes a new six-guide carousel that filters TV listings by specific category, such as sports, kids programming and movies, and also filters by age to help ensure appropriate family viewing.

● Integrated Multiplatform Content: With tens of thousands of Xfinity TV entertainment choices, the new platform is engineered to connect customers with the content they want quicker than ever before. A new, sleek user interface for TVs, PCs and mobile devices will enable customers to manage content from any screen so preferences, subscriptions, saved programs and parental controls stay consistent, wherever they watch. This integration also adds the flexibility to begin an On Demand program on one device, such as the TV, and then resume it where they left off on another device, such as a tablet or PC.

● Social Integration: This new experience incorporates social media including viewer ratings from interactive services Rotten Tomatoes and Zeebox, so customers can find the TV shows people are buzzing about, and ratings from Common Sense Media for age-appropriate content. Through the dashboard, consumers can use tiles to track their social feeds or photos on Facebook and Twitter, among others.


● Web Content and Second-Screen Integration: In advance of the new platform release, two new enhancements are available today on the X1 Platform that integrate Internet content. A new feature called "Send to TV" enables customers to easily fling a web page, like one that features streaming video, directly to their X1 set top box and view it on the big screen. After downloading a bookmarklet onto their computer, tablet or smartphone, a customer chooses the Web content they would like to see on their TV, clicks "Send to TV" in their bookmarks bar, and the content from their computer or device then appears on the television. In addition, for the first time, customers will soon be able to quickly access TV-optimized sites from a variety of third-party partners in an expanding app marketplace.

Comcast plans to begin the initial phase of the rollout for its next-generation experience later this year. The platform is currently available in 12 markets, and today has completed its launch throughout the Washington, D.C. metro area.

Check out the video below for more information....