Verizon Launches FiOS TV Guide in Calif.
IMP Features Enhanced TV, Video-On-Demand Listings, Tabbed Menus
By Multi Channel News Staff -- Multichannel News, 8/24/2007 4:46:00 AM MT
Verizon Communications rolled out its FiOS TV interactive media guide to customers in California, the sixth state where the telephone company has launched it.
The IMG, as Verizon refers to the guide, features enhanced TV and video-on-demand listings; tabbed menus; and a search function that spans TV channels, VOD and digital video recordings. It also lets subscribers access personal music and photos over a home network.
In addition to California, the guide is now available to customers in parts of Indiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Virginia and Rhode Island.
Verizon, which originally planned to use Microsoft’s interactive program guide, took over development of the guide with its own internal team of software engineers. The telco said it tested the application over 18 months with more than 2,000 consumers in Boston and Dallas, and performed field trials with customers in New Jersey this spring.
“We’ve capitalized on our investment in an ultra-fast, highly responsive fiber-optic network to deliver a customer experience that marries the best interactivity of the Web with the highest-quality programming experience in the marketplace,” Verizon vice president of video solutions Shawn Strickland said, in a statement. “The interactive media guide erases the lines between TV, Internet and personal media and makes it easy for customers to personalize and enjoy media throughout their homes.”
Verizon said future versions of the IMG will add Internet radio, videos, podcasts and games to FiOS TV. Other new features are to include scheduling DVR recordings from a cell phone or Web browser, a capability Verizon is developing with Gemstar-TV Guide International.
The company noted that there’s no additional charge to subscribers for IMG.
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Jim - wow, welcome back to th' world of cable!!!...
Eskoo - 2007-6-9 03:57:00 -
1. DVR recorded episodes of the same program is now limited to a maximum of five. Verizon...
Jim Thornton - 2007-5-9 13:22:00
