One of the biggest complaints about cable TV service (other than the bundled price) these days is the old-fashioned user interface. Looking for an on-demand TV show is like navigating a menu on an old Commodore 64.
It looks like those days are about to be over. Comcast will announce at the Cable Show later this week a “next generation TV experience” that it’s currently testing in August, GA. Among the features, quoting from the press release:
- Fast, intuitive search that lets users find what they want to watch in seconds from thousands of choices on TV, On Demand, on their DVR, or from a selection of additional content.
- A more personalized TV experience called MyTV where users can see and access all of their recordings, favorites and recommendations in one place that reflects their interests, favorite series, sports teams, movies and music.
- Interactive apps that are easy to access and enhanced for TV, like traffic and weather, and social apps like Facebook that let users share and discover what to watch with their friends.
Comcast says Facebook app users will be able to “like” a TV show from the screen.
Intel and Pace plc developed the new set-top box, and Comcast’s recent acquisition ThePlatform is providing the cloud services to help power the service. “We are just beginning to scratch the surface of what’s possible,” said Sam Schwartz, President of Comcast Converged Products.
The news comes not a moment too soon for Comcast. TV manufacturers are selling connected TV sets by the thousands, integrating Netflix, Hulu, Facebook and Twitter apps into the set itself. Xbox just announced integrated search and more TV content. Google TV recently announced the addition of Android apps. Roku just went on sale at WalMart. The race is on to create more personal, social television with engaging user experiences that don’t differentiate between channels and platforms.
Comcast will demo the new service on Thursday morning at the Cable Show at 7/10 a.m. ET. The presentation will be live-streamed here.
