| [June 11, 2013] |
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Comcast Chairman and CEO Brian L. Roberts Previews X2: The Next Generation of the Company's X1 Entertainment Operating System
WASHINGTON & PHILADELPHIA --(Business Wire)--
Comcast,
a global media and technology company, today unveiled the next
generation of its cloud-enabled X1 Platform from Xfinity to further
transform the TV into an interactive and integrated entertainment
experience. This new platform release, known as X2, will be available to
customers later this year. The technology was previewed today by Comcast (News - Alert)
Chairman and CEO Brian L. Roberts at NCTA's The Cable Show 2013
in Washington, D.C. The company also showcased enhancements available
today on its X1 Platform, including the addition of Web-based content.
"The
X1 Platform is an incredible example of what's possible with cloud
innovation," said Brian
L. Roberts, Chairman and CEO at Comcast Corp. "With the introduction
of Web-based content to the platform today, and the promise of a faster
and more integrated experience with X2, we're adding more functionality
to each screen in a customer's home, and transforming our video product
into a complete entertainment operating system."
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 (News - Alert) include:
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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.
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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 (News - Alert), 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. For more information on
these new capabilities and to view a slideshow, visit Comcast's
NCTA page. You can also follow Comcast on Twitter and Google+. The X1
Platform is currently available in 12 markets, and today has
completed its launch throughout the Washington, D.C. metro area.
About Comcast Corporation:
Comcast Corporation (Nasdaq: CMCSA,
CMCSK)
is a global media and technology company with two primary businesses,
Comcast Cable and NBCUniversal. Comcast Cable is the nation's largest
video, high-speed Internet and phone provider to residential customers
under the XFINITY brand and also provides these services to businesses.
NBCUniversal operates 30 news, entertainment and sports cable networks,
the NBC and Telemundo broadcast networks, television production
operations, television station groups, Universal Pictures and Universal
Parks and Resorts. Visit www.comcastcorporation.com
for more information.

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