Comcast to Expand Streaming VOD

Comcast looks to expand the streaming service out to PCs, as long as you’re getting your internet through them too. Dig it:

Comcast (NSDQ: CMCSA) On Demand Online will move from trial to reality later this year but not as the TV Everywhere wonderland all the hype might lead subscribers to expect: the streaming on demand will be limited to some cable shows and movies, access will be limited to in-home computers—and, at first, access will be possible only through Comcast’s own ISP, barring anyone who does not pay Comcast for video and broadband. But, as promised, the actual service will be free to cable subscribers; access will bethrough Comcast.net or the company;s video portal Fancast.

Sounds pretty weak. If you’re a Comcast subscriber, read the full story at PaidContent – Comcast Will Expand Streaming On Demand This Year; Not Quite TV Everywhere.

Smaller Network Hardware May See FiOS Growth In Apartments

Apparently the size of Verizon’s network hardware for FiOS has been a factor for the rollout of the high speed fiber internet service, especially for apartment buildings. That’s all a thing of the past, though:

Two new models convert the data-laden light pulses into electrical signals suitable for home consumption and measure a scant 1.25×8.5×5.5-inches and 2.5×9x8.25-inches from Alcatel-Lucent and Motorola, respectively; good news for space-conscious apartment dwellers. The good news for installers is that these new boxes are easier to install.

If you’re lucky enough to live in the areas where the service is available, jump on it. Thanks Engadget.

TV Everywhere is Coming from Time Warner

Multimedia giant Time Warner is still kicking the TV Everywhere idea around, though it seems like they haven’t quite figured out what to do with it yet. They’re now planning to do some trails of the service to see if it floats. Check it out:

Time Warner Inc. chairman and CEO Jeff Bewkes said that the media giant is currently in discussions with several distributors regarding its “TV Everywhere” concept and that trials of the service could begin in the second half of the year.

Bewkes, speaking on Time Warner’s first-quarter earnings call wouldn’t identify which operators the company is talking to or when the trials would specifically begin. But Bewkes has been a big proponent of “TV Everywhere” concept, which would allow subscribers to cable, telco and satellite TV service the ability to access programming they have already paid for through their subscriptions on multiple platforms, including online and via mobile devices.

Already Time Warner has launched HBO Go, an online version of its HBO service, with about 650 hours of programming – three times the amount available on HBO On Demand – in Time Warner Cable’s Green Bay, Wis. system. These trials would include Time Warner content other than HBO, including some from its Turner Broadcasting System and could possibly include programming from other providers, said Time Warner spokesman Keith Cocozza.

Turns out not everybody is crazy with the idea, probably because there’s already an overwhelming amount of choices for VOD services and the technology and ideas are still very young. 

On the conference call, Bewkes wondered why every distributor doesn’t support the concept, adding that they already have the billing systems in place and provide service to roughly 90% of the television homes in the country. All it would require is the deployment of some type of authentication software to verify that an online viewer is a subscriber.

“The system is simple, it doesn’t present any blocks for consumers and it is clearly in the interests of all cable multichannel networks and all video providers,” Bewkes said. “The outliers seem to be the broadcast networks, which are clearly in a different position and have different problems.”

The notion of the content being your bargaining chip, rather than a channel or traditional disc-based product, is a very welcome one indeed. Let’s hope TV Everywhere debuts in one form or another. Thanks to Multichannel.

Verizon’s FiOS Service Nears Availability in 10 Million US Homes

It is absolutely essential that Internet connections become faster so that VOD content in the highest quality formats can be delivered to more homes in the US. That’s why we’re glad to see that Verizon continues to roll out their fiber-optic FiOS service to more homes across the country. The details:

 

Verizon’s fiber-optic TV service is nearing availability in 10 million U.S. homes, as it angles to become a serious competitor to cable and satellite systems.

That milestone represents 50% growth over where its Verizon FiOS network stood at this time last year. Subscribers total 2.2 million, including 299,000 people added in first quarter 2009.

Verizon projects it will reach availability in 18 million U.S. homes by 2010. On average, about one in four homes will sign up for Verizon FiOS once it spreads to their particular market, according to the company.

Although Verizon’s base is just a fraction of cable and satellite households—Comcast alone has notched more than 24 million subscribers—the company hopes to win over fans with its technology. Verizon FiOS TV currently delivers 100 high-definition channels and 14,000 video-on-demand titles, 70% of which are free and more than 1,200 of which are in high-definition.

The company’s high-definition channel count tops cable’s average offering of 30 to 40 such channels. Satellite can offer 100-plus high-definition channels, but Verizon is touting advanced video quality and quick response times as a clear distinction.

The fiber-optic network promises relatively wider bandwidth than cable/satellite systems, which Verizon says creates a crisper high-definition picture for channels and VOD offerings than many of its rivals.

“To fit cable and satellite network capacity, a decent chunk of the experience is stripped away, and that dramatically lowers picture quality,” Joseph Ambeault, director of consumer product development at Verizon, said during a Wednesday demo in Santa Monica, Calif.

Additionally, the fiber-optic system allows for speedy searches for content available across its portfolio of channels and VOD options. For example, it takes 400 milliseconds, or about the time it takes to blink an eye, for results to show up after selecting a beginning letter. Verizon claims that response times for searching through competitors’ channels/VOD options takes about one second.

 

Hopefully this means we’re just getting one step closer to VOD becoming the default format for film and TV content. Once the bandwidth is there, the distributors will be forced to deliver. Thanks VidBiz.