Comcast Rolls Cloud DVR into Central California

Comcast said customers on its X1 platform in Central California now have access to the MSO’s cloud DVR and in-home live TV streaming service for Web browsers, tablets and smartphones.

Comcast said the latest launch covers systems serving X1 subs in Chico, Fresno, Marysville/Yuba City, Merced, Modesto, Sacramento, Santa Barbara County, Stockton and Visalia metro areas.

Comcast offers X1 in all markets. The MSO has launched X1's cloud DVR and in-home live TV streaming components in several systems, including those serving the Bay Area; Atlanta and Augusta, Ga.; Connecticut; Baltimore; Boston; Chicago; Houston; Philadelphia (including southern New Jersey and northern Delaware); Washington D.C. (including southern Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia); and the MSO's Keystone region (western and central Pennsylvania, eastern Ohio, northern West Virginia, and Maryland panhandle).

While live TV streaming via the Xfinity TV app is limited to the customer’s home, Comcast’s cloud DVR allows customers to access recordings in the home or while they’re on the go (via streaming or by downloading them to a mobile device). Comcast’s Cloud DVR provides customers with 500 Gigabytes of storage and the ability to record four shows while watching another.

“These new features -- live in-home streaming and X1 DVR with cloud technology -- give our customers more flexibility for watching their favorite shows and movies in and out of their home,” said Hank Fore, regional vice president of Comcast’s California Region, in a statement. “Now, any screen in the house can become a personal TV, and recorded programs can be accessed anytime, anywhere.”

Comcast has also shown an eagerness to expand the reach of its X1 platform to other MSOs through licencing agreements. Cox Communications is currently testing X1 as it vets its next-generation video strategy, and Shaw Communications of Canada announced last month that it intends to trial X1.