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Comcast brings new TV experience to the SpringsJan 30, 2013 (The Gazette (Colorado Springs - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- Comcast's next generation of Xfinity TV has come to Colorado Springs with the promise of transforming TV watching into "an integrated entertainment experience." The launch Wednesday in the Springs of Xfinity TV on the X1 Platform includes an app that allows TV viewers to control their television through their iPhone or iPod Touch. Comcast touts X1 as "a more personalized TV experience that makes it easier to discover, access and share the entertainment you love." Among the features, viewers can display their Facebook accounts in a corner of their TV screen while watching movies, sports, news or other programs and chat with friends at the same time, said Cindy Parsons, vice president of external affairs for Comcast. Comcast targeted the Springs as part of a nationwide introduction of the X1 Platform that includes various large and midsized markets. CenturyLink is expected to begin providing Internet television-based services within the city later this year. The X1 Platform already is available to Comcast subscribers in Boston, the San Francisco Bay area, Atlanta and some other areas. The upgraded Xfinity program, however, currently is available only to new Xfinity Triple Play (bundled TV, Internet and phone) customers Parsons said. The cost depends on which tier of programming service is chosen; the packages start at $99 a month. The X1 Platform and remote control app will be made available to Comcast subscribers in Denver and throughout Colorado later this year, Parson's said. "The network is fully capable," she said, "and we are making sure it is ready to be launched in the rest of the state." Comcast, which owns a 51 percent stake in NBCUniversal, uses a privately managed network to provide movies from its library rather than an Internet-based provider, Parsons said. Other X1 features include the ability to display sports scores of several games while watching an event, a billboard at the bottom of the screen that lists the last few channels searched, apps to access weather and traffic, and the ability to access Pandora, an Internet radio application. ___ (c)2013 The Gazette (Colorado Springs, Colo.) Visit The Gazette (Colorado Springs, Colo.) at www.gazette.com Distributed by MCT Information Services |