Verizon Upgrades FiOS TV Guide in Maryland, Virginia
New Interactive Features Include News Widgets, ESPN Fantasy Football, HD For Multiroom DVR
By Todd Spangler -- Multichannel News, 10/13/2008 8:56:00 AM
Verizon rolled out a version of the FiOS TV Interactive Media Guide for customers in Maryland and Virginia with new features, including access to local and national news, an ESPN fantasy football application and the ability to access high-definition DVR recordings in multiple rooms.
The enhanced guide now allows subscribers with the Home Media DVR to stream recorded HD programs to as many as six other TV sets in the home equipped with HD set-top boxes. Customers can watch up to three separately recorded shows on three sets at the same time.
A "Wait for Me" feature lets customers pause live programming, change channels, and then return to the paused program and pick up where they left off.
Several new free “widgets” provide daily national news and sports headlines; community news, based on ZIP code; daily horoscopes; and a listing of the most popular linear and VOD programming. FiOS TV already provided widgets for local weather and traffic reports.
Other new IMG features: customers can create two separate lists of favorite channels for family members and filter channels in the guide by genre; instant subscription from the VOD menu to premium channels, including HBO and Cinemax; free casual games, including chess, solitaire, and Sudoku; and faster VOD menu response times.
Verizon debuted the ESPN fantasy football app in Portland, Ore., and other markets last month. That provides real-time on-screen access to NFL statistics, including rosters, box scores, scoring leaders and player information.
The telco said it will launch several other new IMG features before year-end including "My Videos," to let customers watch personal videos stored on their PCs on their TV sets, and DVR programming via the Web and using certain Verizon Wireless handsets.
