BOSTON – Ushering in a new era for the cable industry, Comcast plans to launch its next-generation IP video platform, known as X1, in Boston over the “coming weeks” and roll it out to other markets later this year.
Comcast executives unveiled their plans with a heavily hyped announcement at the annual Cable Show here Monday. Following the tradition established by Comcast chairman and CEO Brian Roberts in previous years, Comcast Cable CEO Neil Smit demonstrated the MSO's new cloud-based product on the crowded show floor less than an hour after the exhibits opened on the show’s first day.
The move marks one of the cable industry’s first major introductions of a platform that supports both QAM video and new IP-based services, apps and capabilities. Comcast executives aim to use the new platform to gain and retain video customers following more than five years of subscriber losses to rival satellite TV and telco providers. Some industry observers also view X1 as Comcast’s response to growing over-the-top (OTT) video competition and a way to set the table for the MSO's broader IP video migration.
“The X1 platform makes the TV smarter, richer and more personalized – and that’s only the beginning. Our goal is to leverage this platform to redefine the entertainment experience for our customers,” said Marcien Jenckes, senior vice-president and general manager of video services for Comcast Cable. “X1 is a giant leap forward, essentially transforming our video product from a hardware experience to a software experience, allowing us to innovate faster and more aggressively.”
Specifically, X1 uses cloud servers on Comcast’s network to integrate interactive, customized apps and social media features with traditional cable TV services. Among other things, X1 features Comcast’s new cloud-based navigation system/interactive program guide, a recommendations engine, and a lineup of news, weather, streaming radio and music apps.
The service, which will initially be targeted to Comcast's triple-play bundle subscribers, will also feature a new, companion X1 remote control app for Apple’s popular iPhone and iPod Touch devices. This super-slick app will include a "virtual keyboard" that can help customers navigate and find linear and on-demand video content, as well as the ability to pause a video-on-demand (VoD) program by shaking the device.
“The X1 remote app unites the TV screen with customers’ mobile devices by creating an integrated experience between the customers’ swipe controls on their device and the viewing experience on the TV – they truly mirror each other,” said Sree Kotay, senior vice-president and chief software architect for Comcast Cable. “By building this new app, we’ve made the remote control smarter and more functional… and just plain fun.”
Comcast has been testing the hybrid QAM/IP video platform, which was formerly known as Xcalibur, in Augusta, Ga., for at least the past nine months. In addition, the MSO has reportedly been testing X1 for months in the Boston area, where it competes head-to-head with archrival Verizon Communications and its FiOS TV service.
As they have before, Comcast executives declined to say where or when they will introduce X1 next. But they did say they will deploy it in several major markets later this year. On the company’s recent first-quarter earnings call, senior company officials also said they will offer X1 to "hundreds of thousands" of video customers this year.
Pace is manufacturing X1's first set-top/gateway, which embeds a DOCSIS 3.0 cable modem and sports an Intel processor. In a separate but not totally unrelated move Monday, TiVo and Pace unveiled the XG1, a six-tuner, QAM/IP hybrid gateway that represents the first product to come from a partnership that the vendors announced in February. This new gateway features a DOCSIS 3.0 cable modem with the ability to bond eight downstream channels and four upstream channels, TiVo's user interface, and a minimum of 500GB of storage.
Comcast also made official the ongoing development of “Project Dayview”, a new personal dashboard which will be able to pull information from other integrated applications to regularly refresh content that’s most relevant to individual customers. It serves up-to-date alerts, appointments, texts, e-mails, voicemails and DVR data; and even a customer’s Xfinity home alarm system status, lights, thermostat/room temperatures, and security video feed, accessible on any screen.
Project Dayview aggregates all of this information to provide customers a real-time snapshot of the day’s activities and items needing attention, says the big U.S. MSO. In addition, it will easily allow users to put their personal media and photos on the TV by syncing with a variety of third-party media sources. It also presents an easy way to check-in on a variety of daily information from any integrated social media, news, and local information sources for updates on traffic, weather and other breaking items.
