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Post by Skaggs on Mar 3, 2011 17:41:11 GMT -5
From the TWC Untangled blog: Register Now For MyServices — Also, iPad AppIf you’re the sort of person who reads David Pogue’s technology column in the New York Times and also reads multi-page articles online (shame on you on both counts if you don’t), you probably saw something pretty interesting about our iPad app this morning. If you’re the sort of person who like to think he’s informed but can’t be bothered actually reading for yourself, here’s the relevant paragraph: He’s not kidding. We’re working on it pretty hard, and it should be out in a few weeks. You’ll hear about it here. In the meantime, we have an online portal called My Services that lets you view and manage any number of things involving your account. Right now the most exciting thing that you can do is use our Remote DVR Manager to record shows and movies from your phone or computer. However, we have a lot more services and features coming out this year, and nearly all of them will require you to have a MyServices login and password. Frankly, registering for MyServices is a little painful right now. You have to have a paper copy of your bill in front of you while you do it, and not everyone loves the UI. We know this, and we’re working to improve the experience. On the other hand, if signing up for MyServices is actually the hardest thing that you do today, you’re in pretty good shape. If you want to complain about it between now and the time we release our streamlined registration workflow, tell it to this guy. He’ll set you straight. Look on the bright side: you only have to register for MyServices once, ever, and then you never have to do it again. If you want to enjoy a lot of the products and services that we’ve got coming out this year, I’d recommend that you do this now. I’ve pulled together a little walk-through of how it’s done here, too. First, get a copy of your bill. You’ll need this. Then, register for MyServices by visiting myservices.timewarnercable.com and clicking on “Register for MyServices.” When prompted, enter your email address and zip code. Using the copy of the bill that you have handy, enter your account number and customer code. After creating an account, you’ll be prompted to sign in — go ahead and enter your MyServices username and password. Go ahead and check it out if you haven’t already. Like I said, our Remote DVR Manager is pretty cool — go ahead and play with it if you like. Trust me – this is a weird little step now, but once you do it, it’s done. And it’s going to pay off later. |
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Post by Skaggs on Mar 3, 2011 17:44:53 GMT -5
This is the article in the NY Times that was mentioned in the TWC Untangled blog above:
STATE OF THE ART
Cable TV in Pursuit of Mobility
By DAVID POGUE, Published: March 2, 2011
FOR INTERNAL COMCAST USE ONLY. DO NOT LEAK.
Destroy this top-secret strategy document after reading. It could be devastating to our business interests if it fell into the wrong hands — like The New York Times or something.
Fellow Comcastians, this is a difficult time for the cable TV business. We’ve been losing subscribers. These young people today, with their loud hair and long music! They don’t watch TV on TV sets anymore. They watch it online! Free episodes on Hulu.com. Ad-free episodes from iTunes. Unlimited past seasons on Netflix.
These people are actually proud to cancel their cable TV service. Not a healthy trend.
We’re not going to sit here watching the Internet nibble away at our very existence, people. We’re not going to behave like the music industry, either. We won’t start suing people for going with the technological flow. We need to work with the changing times instead of fighting them.
We may be the most hated cable company, but we’re also the biggest. We can do pretty much anything we want.
So for the last few years, we’ve been fighting technology with technology. We started by creating xfinitytv.com, a Web site that acts like the world’s biggest TiVo. We let Comcast subscribers with a plan costing more than $58 a month watch recent shows online, whenever they want, most at no extra charge.
We have 150,000 TV shows and movies available. Kind of like Hulu, actually, except that we have all the major networks (ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox and 85 others) and Hulu is missing some big ones, like CBS and PBS.
That’s enormous. People don’t want to watch a certain show by tuning in at 8 p.m. on Thursday on CBS anymore. People want on-demand, people. Our customers watch 350 million shows a month on our site.
And that’s only one of the Big Three Internet/TV Synergies. A second one is remote DVR programming. That is, you can program your Comcast cable box to record shows using the mouse and keyboard, in a Web browser, as TiVo owners have been able to do for years.
And the third synergy is remote control: changing the channel on your TV, using your laptop. (It’s loads of fun when your spouse is downstairs trying to watch “The Bachelor.”)
But the Web browser was only the beginning. The new frontier is the tablet, people.
Imagine using your iPad or Android tablet as the world’s thinnest, lightest, most portable wireless TV. Park it on the kitchen table while you’re chopping salad. Park it on the bathroom counter while you’re washing up. Let your children clutch it in bed when they’re home sick.
Well, you can stop imagining. Our new Xfinity app for iPad is a thing of beauty. Frankly, it’s a lot smoother, better-looking and easy to understand than the Web site.
Drag your finger vertically on the TV guide to scroll through your channels. Drag horizontally to slide later in the day’s schedule. It’s a touch-screen remote, too. Tap a network’s name to change channels on your TV — a lot more fun, and more comprehensible, than hitting numbers on a traditional remote.
Or use the iPad to program your DVR. Tap a show’s name to reveal a Record button (and a Record Series button). Beats the heck out of painstakingly clicking out a show’s name using an onscreen alphabet.
Our iPad app also does that on-demand thing, and here’s where things get confusing. Tap OnDemand to view a list of 25,000 TV shows and movies, mostly free, that you can play instantly — on your TV. Once again, you’re using the iPad only as a remote control, not as a TV.
But if you tap Play Now, you taste the honey. You can browse or search 3,000 hours of recent TV shows and movies, and begin playing them instantly on the iPad. It’s a fantastic experience, with good picture and sound quality.
Yes, our iPad app is not perfect. It has some bugs, for one thing. Furthermore, the shows are depicted as thumbnail rectangles, often with truncated titles (want to watch “Monsters vs...”?). You really ache for a simple list.
When you choose an On Demand show on the iPad, the TV first shows a confirmation screen, requiring your O.K. You shouldn’t have to hunt for a second remote to get the show going.
And above all, we need to beef up that catalog of iPad-playable shows. That 3,000 hours isn’t really very much — in fact, at the moment, it’s almost exclusively movies and premium channels (HBO, Showtime and so on). You’re not going to find “60 Minutes” or “Glee” or “Nova.” But our negotiating teams are going nonstop, and our C.E.O. has said he won’t quit until every show in your Comcast package is available to watch online or on your gadgets.
You should also know that we’re working on the ultimate: live TV on the iPad within your home. All your channels, real time, in your hand. Can you imagine?
Well, we can, because we have it working in our labs in Philadelphia. We’ll have it ready by the end of the year.
But let’s face it, people: that’s not good enough. We’re not the only cable operators in town, and our competitors are breathing down our necks.
TIME WARNER New iPad app later this month. It will deliver that amazing live-TV-on-the-tablet thing. No remote-control or DVR-programming features yet, and it will offer only about 36 channels in the first version. But they’re surely hammering out network deals just as fast as we are.
CABLEVISION It already has an iPad/iPhone/Android app that lets you program your DVR and even see what’s on it. By the end of this month, it will be the first with an iPad app that offers full streaming of all the channels you subscribe to. On your iPad. So sweet.
AT&T U-VERSE It has the same kind of Web site we do —100,000 shows ready to watch for subscribers — and a wicked pretty app (for iPhone, Touch, Android, iPad, Windows 7 Phone and BlackBerry) that’s a remote control, does DVR programming and lets you download shows to take with you, so you can watch outside the home. Only a few shows are available for downloading that way (ABC/Disney and ESPN stuff mainly), and they don’t work on iPad. But wow — what a great idea. You’ve already paid for your TV. Why shouldn’t you be allowed to take with you?
VERIZON FIOS It has remote and DVR-programming apps, and you can buy shows to watch on your PC. It says it will offer streaming live TV on the iPad by the end year’s end.
SATELLITE DirecTV has a new iPad remote-control app. Some Dish boxes have Sling players built in, which lets you watch your recordings or live TV anywhere on phones and computers. (Of course, the Sling player isn’t unique to Dish; anyone can buy one.)
We have a lot of work to do. The Comcast Android app that we released this week doesn’t play any video — it’s just a remote control and DVR-programming tool. We want to bring video to the iPhone and Touch, too. Above all, we, and our competitors, need to build up our spotty catalog. Forget getting back to the moon or reducing our oil consumption — let’s set a national goal to get all TV shows available online by 2015!
Times are changing, people. We’re changing too. We’re hedging bets like mad — heck, we own 32 percent of Hulu. And in the end, if the world wants to watch TV online, we won’t exactly be crying — don’t forget, we sell high-speed Internet service, too.
Hate to say it, but this competition stuff makes our jobs a lot harder. We’ll have to keep making TV better and more convenient, or else we’ll lose customers.
Customers. Sheesh. If it weren’t for them, this might actually be a pleasant business.
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Post by Skaggs on Mar 14, 2011 19:02:37 GMT -5
from engadget: Time Warner Cable's iPad app will be the first with live TV streaming - Update: 32 channels, launches tomorrow
By Richard Lawler posted Mar 14th 2011 3:41PM Tablet apps from cable, fiber and satellite TV providers are suddenly a dime a dozen but despite promises of live TV streaming from several companies, the AP reports Time Warner Cable is finally ready to launch the feature first. The company's official blog also teased the app in recent days but so far, iTunes isn't giving any positive results. When it launches, it should enable TV watching, but only when used at home on Time Warner's internet -- you'll need the TV and internet services to access the 30 or so channels initially available. While we keep an eye out for the app to actually arrive, you can get an idea of what it will be like by checking out the demo video from last year, embedded after the break. Update: We've received a bit more information about the app form a tipster, who sent over the document above that shows the 32 channel listing and other details. The app is scheduled to launch tomorrow, March 15, at 7 am, until then , check after the break for the full document that breaks down what levels of service is needed to get access and technical details like availability (not yet Hawaii) and issues with East Coast/West Coast time delayed feeds.  |
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Post by Chris Miller on Mar 14, 2011 19:31:13 GMT -5
And in the fine print somewhere, RoadRunner service will be required for their iPad app to work. If the app is anything like the previews posted by Jeff Simmermon, it should be pretty decent. To enable the iPad app with your RoadRunner/Time Warner Cable services, you'll need to register a MyServices account. |
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Post by Chris Miller on Mar 15, 2011 6:55:02 GMT -5
Just installed their iPad app and it definitely requires a TWC Internet connection:  (Click on the image or here to go full size) It's not replacing anyone's SlingBox anytime soon. |
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Post by Skaggs on Mar 15, 2011 11:00:49 GMT -5
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Post by Skaggs on Mar 15, 2011 13:10:44 GMT -5
An email from TWC today:  |
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scott
Full Member
Posts: 174
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Post by scott on Mar 15, 2011 15:10:16 GMT -5
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Brad
Junior Member
Posts: 71
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Post by Brad on Mar 15, 2011 17:53:16 GMT -5
I installed the app on my iPad 2 this morning. Works pretty good but very limited functionality at this point all u can do is watch those limited amount of channels on your iPad with no ability to control your hd recover yet and no ability to view shows on ur dvr yet kinda disappointing. Yeah it's cool that you can view the channels but how useful is it really
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Brad
Junior Member
Posts: 71
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Post by Brad on Mar 15, 2011 19:18:03 GMT -5
This ap is buggy as he'll only works half the time I get this error allot  Admin note: Link corrected so it will display |
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Post by Skaggs on Mar 16, 2011 8:29:36 GMT -5
It appears TWC was/is having some issues with the new iPad App:  |
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Brad
Junior Member
Posts: 71
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Post by Brad on Mar 16, 2011 17:00:14 GMT -5
seems like its working again.  I watched it when i was half awake in the morning cause i was to lazy to find the remote for the tivo. |
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Post by Skaggs on Mar 25, 2011 9:21:53 GMT -5
Time Warner Cable Moves Ahead With Its Controversial iPad App
By Georg Szalai, The Hollywood Reporter
9:52 AM 3/25/2011 Network executives have argued the company does not have the right to live stream their channels under existing deals, but TW Cable plans to add more networks to the app, and its programming chief calls TV “an anachronistic term.”NEW YORK – In a continuing showdown with programming partners, a top Time Warner Cable executive said her company is "well within our rights" to stream live TV channels to iPads in subscribers’ homes via a controversial app and is planning to add all networks available on TWC to the app’s channel lineup. Melinda Witmer, the cable giant’s chief programming officer, made the comments in an interview with The Wall Street Journal. She said TWC has the rights to beam channels to devices in people’s homes as long as it sends signals through its cables and secure network rather than the "open Internet." The app works only when linked to subscribers' home Internet connections, she said. A dispute between TWC and cable network owners started last week when the cable operator released an iPad app, without asking networks for permission, that makes 32 live channels available anywhere in a subscriber’s home. Witmer told the Journal that TWC plans to expand the app to include the company’s full lineup of channels. The TWC app crashed on its first day amid high consumer demand. Scripps Networks Interactive, whose Food Network is part of the app’s channel lineup, said it had "not granted iPad video streaming rights to any distributor" and said it is addressing "any misunderstandings." MTV owner Viacom and Discovery Communications reportedly also contended that the new offer violates their current TWC contracts. "We don't define in our contracts what a viewing device is, because technology has always been evolving," Witmer said. "I don't know what a TV is anymore. It's kind of an anachronistic term." TWC and other pay TV operators are looking to offer new tech solutions as Internet-connected TV sets, tablet computers and other new devices allow consumers to watch video content without pay TV subscriptions, leading to cord cutting fears. "It is very important that we be there as a provider,” Witmer told the Journal.
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Post by Skaggs on Mar 25, 2011 9:30:19 GMT -5
New Cable Fight at Hand
TV Networks Cry Foul as Time Warner Cable Offers Channels via iPads at Home
By SAM SCHECHNER, Wall Street JournalTime Warner Cable Inc. is digging in its heels in a dispute with several big media companies over whether it can beam live TV channels to Apple Inc. iPads, exposing tensions between major TV-industry players as they wrestle with how to adapt to the Internet era. Melinda Witmer, chief programming officer for Time Warner Cable, said in an interview that her company is "well within our rights" to transmit TV channels to any device in the home, as long as it sends signals through its cables and its "secure network," rather than the "open Internet." For that reason, the app is specifically configured to work only when linked to a subscriber's home Internet connection.  MTV is among the channels offered for the iPad. Above, a publicity shot for its new 'Hard Times of RJ Berger.'Ms. Witmer's comments are the latest salvo in a fight that erupted last week when Time Warner Cable, without securing permission, released an iPad app that includes a lineup of 32 live channels that the cable-service provider carries on traditional TV. Those channels include MTV, Discovery Channel and Food Network, among others. Several media executives shot back quickly. HGTV owner Scripps Networks Interactive Inc. said it had "not granted iPad video streaming rights to any distributor" and added that it is addressing "any misunderstandings." Viacom Inc., which owns MTV, Discovery Communications Inc. and others contended the service violates their contracts, according to people familiar with Viacom's and Discovery's thinking. At issue are interpretations of provisions within the tightly negotiated— and lengthy—agreements between media companies and cable operators. Several TV executives say their contracts specifically delineate rights for "cable television." One executive contended that distributors have rights only to what is specifically granted in their contracts. Another executive described Time Warner Cable's move as a "land grab." Ms. Witmer disputed those characterizations. "We don't define in our contracts what a viewing device is, because technology has always been evolving," she said. "I don't know what a TV is anymore. It's kind of an anachronistic term." The contractual dispute over the new app exposes broader tensions between TV networks and the distributors that pay them more than $30 billion a year in subscription fees, as both sets of companies attempt to chart a perilous digital course. Pay-TV providers like Time Warner Cable are moving to counter a threat in the proliferation of new devices, from tablet computers to Internet-connected TVs, that can pipe high-quality video to consumers without a cable or satellite subscription. Many are rushing to offer video on these devices over the Internet—a concept dubbed "authentication" or "TV Everywhere"— but have been bogged down in some cases by the slow pace of securing Web rights to content. Time Warner Cable believes its app sidesteps the need for additional rights, while addressing a pressing need to keep up with the way viewers consume TV. Ms. Witmer said the company is planning to expand the app to its full lineup of channels, and to build apps for other devices including connected television sets. "It is very important that we be there as a provider," she said.Cablevision Systems Corp. appears to take a similar view. It has said it plans to launch an even broader service for in-home streaming to Internet-connected devices, including all of its traditional services such as video-on-demand, in coming weeks. Meanwhile, TV executives have reason to be wary. Some executives see an opportunity to make more money by selling shows and networks to companies like Apple and Netflix Inc. over the Web. They aren't eager to give those rights to cable operators without additional compensation. Viacom recently cut a lucrative deal to put shows including Comedy Central's "The Daily Show" and MTV's "The Jersey Shore" on Hulu. (Hulu's owners include News Corp., Comcast Corp.'s NBCUniversal and Walt Disney Co., each of which own TV networks that are streamed within Time Warner Cable's app. News Corp. also owns The Wall Street Journal).SSSome TV executives say the app could cost them. One said that TV networks don't always buy broadband rights to their own TV shows and could be sued by the shows' owners for allowing them to appear within Time Warner Cable's app.. Other media executives worry that encouraging viewers to watch on iPads could train a new generation to eschew TVs—and potentially never sign up for cable and satellite subscriptions that often bring in half TV networks' revenue. Time Warner Cable's iPad app also raises another concern for TV networks: counting viewers who watch their programs on new devices. Nielsen doesn't currently include viewing on the iPad in standard TV ratings. A spokesman said the company is "working on a solution to do so." Write to Sam Schechner at sam.schechner@wsj.com
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Post by steveb on Mar 28, 2011 0:07:24 GMT -5
How about an iPhone app, TW? Dish Network (or is it Directv?) has one.
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I watched it when i was half awake in the morning cause i was to lazy to find the remote for the tivo.