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story category 'Free' Comcast TV Coming To Fancast
Company's video portal to play starring role in new offering
(old news - 03:28PM Wednesday Apr 22 2009)
tags: Video · competition · business · cable · Comcast
Earlier this year, both Comcast and Time Warner Cable hinted they would soon be offering TV content via broadband for free -- provided you were already a cable subscriber. According to PC World and Fancast executive Karin Gilford, Comcast will be delivering the content in part through the Fancast video site (yes, Comcast tells us it will count against their 250GB bandwidth cap). The idea of course is to keep viewers away from alternatives and keep ad revenue in house. It's not clear yet if that will work, since customers who cut the cord and flock to piracy or legal systems like Hulu do so because they're free and there's either limited or no advertisements.

Related:
  1. Comcast Unveils Fancast Video Store
  2. Comcast Attacks Verizon Over HD Claims
  3. Comcast Successfully Delays Philly FiOS
  4. What Network Neutrality Is REALLY About
  5. Verizon Won't 'Slavishly Satisfy' You With 100 Mbps FiOS
  6. WSJ Thinks Verizon Could Buy DirecTV
  7. Cable Industry: Shucks, Guess Nobody Wants CableCARDs
  8. Comcast Internet Video Launching Before Year End
Forums » 'Free' Comcast TV Coming To Fancast
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odreian615

join:2006-01-18
Chicago, IL

I have them for cable but not BB

will I still be able to get it

GOLFnSUN
Enjoy the sun
Premium
join:2002-03-03
Avalon, NJ
·Sprint Mobile Broa..
·Comcast


3 edits

Re: I have them for cable but not BB

said by odreian615 See Profile :
I have them for cable but not BB
will I still be able to get it
YES, Comcast internet access is not required. In fact you will be able to logon from work or a coffee shop and get it there too. The key is using the same logon name you would use to access your bills or other stuff at comcast.com. If you are a customer of Comcast and subscribe to a cable TV pkg, you will get for free on your PC everything you can get on your TV. For example, if you get say HBO on your TV pkg, you can get HBO on the PC as well. But if you don't get HBO on TV, you won't get it on the PC either. Basically it will work like OnDemand, but on your PC instead of on the TV.
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jmn1207
Premium
join:2000-07-19
Reston, VA
·Verizon FIOS


1 edit

Re: I have them for cable but not BB

Will this only work with one user or can multiple users logon from various locations to access this content? If only one person can be logged on and access the videos, that might be inconvenient for some customers. If they do allow multiple users to access the content, anyone interested in splitting the cost of a Comcast TV service with me. I'd love to stream it all over my FiOS connection.

GOLFnSUN
Enjoy the sun
Premium
join:2002-03-03
Avalon, NJ
·Sprint Mobile Broa..
·Comcast

Re: I have them for cable but not BB

said by jmn1207 See Profile :

Will this only work with one user or can multiple users logon from various locations to access this content? If only one person can be logged on and access the videos, that might be inconvenient for some customers. If they do allow multiple users to access the content, anyone interested in splitting the cost of a Comcast TV service with me. I'd love to stream it all over my FiOS connection.
I have no idea. But, if it was me setting it up, it would be only 1 at a time to stop exactly what your are proposing. That is cheating the system.
--
My BLOG .. .. Internet News .. .. My Web Page

jmn1207
Premium
join:2000-07-19
Reston, VA
·Verizon FIOS

Re: I have them for cable but not BB

It's certainly something to think about, and it might be something that is forced upon Comcast to adhere by, as this service is similar to SlingBox. The content providers probably will frown upon the redistribution of their precious commodities. SlingBox only allows one connection at a time, so I would assume that Comcast will have to follow similar rules.

TheToro
Premium
join:2003-06-05
London, UK
it will be almost worthless for families or roommates that share Internet if only works with one account.

dadkins
Can you do Blu?
Premium,MVM
join:2003-09-26
Hercules, CA
·Comcast

said by odreian615 See Profile :

will I still be able to get it
"Fancast has other things going for it, too. The 24 million people who currently subscribe to Comcast provide a ready target market for the new online Comcast service; many of those will like the idea of being able to watch their cable shows on their laptop (or at work uh oh)."

Guessing here but looks like a possibility.
--
Think outside the Fox... Opera

pokesph
It Is Almost Fast
Premium
join:2001-06-25
Sacramento, CA
clubs:

fancast..

Of course it WILL be in a non-recordable format not suitable for media-center like use. (or for 'adding to your collection' of shows, etc.)
shaw
tna live

join:2009-03-18
Union Bay, BC
·Alltel Axess
·Shaw

AA-BB can get along

However the complete love lockdown on lady gaga went mission critical when they let too many apes at the helm.

Dear, Telus Monitoring team.

Yes that was my goal as well to organize the worlds information system monitoring all bandwidth consumption. Lady Gaga is so fucking popular its like the mecca point for consumption junction.

Dear, Comcast

Keep up the hiring spree, as always your doing a great job!
--
Why wouldn't you want faster more secure downloads?

»kevinkatovic.blogspot.com/2009/0···ows.html
TomS

join:2008-01-21
Gloucester, MA

Re: AA-BB can get along

I'm trying to decide if this "AA-BB can get along" post is spam, or just jumped in here by accident instead of wherever it actually belongs.

IF perchance it makes sense, please don't tell me. I would rather not need to acknowledge being so old and out of it.

funchords
Hello
Premium,MVM
join:2001-03-11
Washington, DC

Re: AA-BB can get along

I'm confused by it too, but I acknowledge that I'm old and out of it.

insomniac84

join:2002-01-03
Schererville, IN

1 edit

At least it will be in HD.

If this counts against the cap, they are going to probably offer a very high bandwidth good quality stream. If they fill your cap up with their own content you already pay them for, it blocks you from using other people's content.

Killa200
Premium
join:2005-12-02
Spring City, TN
·AT&T Southeast

Re: At least it will be in HD.

Gah that is all i hear. If it counts toward your cap, people bitch that its using your cap and its not fair. If it isn't on the cap, people bitch that they have some sort of priority on their media and its not fair...

Deal with it people, and move on...

firefox
Premium
join:2000-12-03
San Jose, CA


1 edit

Re: At least it will be in HD.

said by Killa200 See Profile :

Gah that is all i hear. If it counts toward your cap, people bitch that its using your cap and its not fair. If it isn't on the cap, people bitch that they have some sort of priority on their media and its not fair...

Deal with it people, and move on...
No, how about we not just deal with it and move on. Instead let people voice their opinions on this new service and discuss the issues. I think this is more constructive than telling people to "shut-up."

Oops forgot to add my comments about the topic:
I think Comcast will have to raise their caps and/or upgrade their equipment if the majority of the bandwidth usage is from using this new service. I wouldn't appreciate that both TV programming and broadband access are cutoff because of the cap.

--
"The real 'smart' people are successful because they make sure everyone else remains stupid and ignorant."
-Anonymous

Killa200
Premium
join:2005-12-02
Spring City, TN

1 edit

Re: At least it will be in HD.

i mean the whole caps bs, not the service.... as the caps aren't going away no matter how much you bitch and moan.

sheesh touchy

Killa200
Premium
join:2005-12-02
Spring City, TN

1 edit
... and when did i ever tell anyone to "shut up", i told them to deal with them being there.

jt7

@comcast.net
we just dont want to hear the same old sh*t everytime. it get old.
k1ll3rdr4g0n

join:2005-03-19
Homer Glen, IL

said by Killa200 See Profile :

Gah that is all i hear. If it counts toward your cap, people bitch that its using your cap and its not fair. If it isn't on the cap, people bitch that they have some sort of priority on their media and its not fair...

Deal with it people, and move on...
In either case, it probably will be DRMed which means it will be doomed from day one...so no need to bicker because it wont be around for long .

insomniac84

join:2002-01-03
Schererville, IN

said by Killa200 See Profile :

Gah that is all i hear. If it counts toward your cap, people bitch that its using your cap and its not fair. If it isn't on the cap, people bitch that they have some sort of priority on their media and its not fair...
That is why there shouldn't be caps at all. If their services aren't actually sent over the internet but count against a cap for internet traffic, that makes no sense. If their services bypass the cap, it's illegal.

All of these companies are currently very profitable. There is no justification for implementing caps.

badtrip
East Bay
Premium
join:2004-03-20
Albany, CA
·Unwired Ltd
·Comcast

An experiment...

I would like to see someone do a little experiment regarding Comcast's 250GB cap. If possible, go over the Comcast 250GB cap by as much as possible by exclusively streaming HD programming on Fancast. Repeat this monthly and see if Comcast objects.

This would be a true test whether or not Comcast caps are a bandwidth issue or a cable revenue issue.

jt7

@comcast.net

Re: An experiment...

its not a revenue thing because comcast does not charge fees if you go over. they call you and tell u to cut back and if you dont they disco your service. so no it not about the money or they would charge you for going over.
hottboiinnc
ME

join:2003-10-15
Cleveland, OH
it does count against the cap and you get kicked off Comcast HSI? You come back here bitching that they kicked you off and you have the right to sue and blah blah blah.

cypherstream
Looking forward to the future of things.
Premium,MVM
join:2004-12-02
Reading, PA
clubs:

Good idea

Hopefully it will be a very optimized encoding like H.264, so it doesn't tax the bandwidth (and caps) so heavily.

It would be cool to see stuff like Boxee, iPhone, Tivo, Vudu, Roku, xbox360, ps3, and Moxi be able to tap into the VOD via their current internet links.

Also if they would put live TV, it would eliminate the need for slingboxes or ensure they don't have to develop a slingbox style DVR like Echostar. One can only dream
Lion84

join:2007-08-10
Marietta, GA

Re: Good idea

A good question, will this allow Tivo boxes to access OnDemand via Fancast? I don't know if Fancast can be accessed now via Tivo, I'll have to give it a try.

sansri88
Go digtal you analog laggards
Premium
join:2005-12-17
New York, NY
clubs:
·Comcast

Remote DVR scheduling also coming with this

quote:
And even if the search fails to find the title in streamable form, Fancast will tell you when the title will be on scheduled TV next. If you know you'll have trouble remembering to watch, Fancast might present you with a button that says "send to DVR", allowing you to record the program when it airs.
About time!
--
Sriram Satish
Comcast of NJ II: 39 HD channels.

GOLFnSUN
Enjoy the sun
Premium
join:2002-03-03
Avalon, NJ
·Sprint Mobile Broa..
·Comcast

The number of networks & shows on Fancast already extensive

The number of networks & shows on Fancast already is fairly extensive.

Here is a list of the networks and shows today:
fancast_lineup.pdf 791787 bytes

mmainprize

join:2001-12-06
Houghton Lake, MI

Now we Know why they wanted 1 to 2 dollars a Gig pricing

Now we Know why they wanted $1 to $2.50 a Gig pricing model so they can get it coming in from all sides.

Lets see.
You pay for TV.
You pay for HSI
You pay more for each GIG
They get paid for AD's
You get the AD's pushed on you.
You don't get it free like you can now from others.

If you pay for TV adn HSI then it should not count in CAP.
Just like VOD is not counted.

I think TWC is about to shoot them slefs in the foot again.
:P
netcool
Premium
join:2008-11-05
Englewood, CO

Re: Now we Know why they wanted 1 to 2 dollars a Gig pricing

said by mmainprize See Profile :

Now we Know why they wanted $1 to $2.50 a Gig pricing model so they can get it coming in from all sides.

...

If you pay for TV adn HSI then it should not count in CAP.
Just like VOD is not counted.

I think TWC is about to shoot them slefs in the foot again.
:P
Except the article was about Comcast not TW. Comcast hasn't expressed any interest in implementing metered billing...

Also VOD does not run over your internet connection, that's why its not counted towards the cap (you can access VOD content without actually subscribing to the HSI service.)

backfeed
is giving feedback

join:2002-12-16
Peru, IN
·Comcast Digital Vo..
·Comcast Formerly ..

trouble logging in

Anybody having trouble logging in using their Comcast.net ID?
It tells me that it is linking the accounts, but then the fancast site reloads and I am still not logged in?
--
There are 10 types of people. Those who can read Binary and those who cannot.

Renifer

@comcast.net

Re: trouble logging in

said by backfeed See Profile :

Anybody having trouble logging in using their Comcast.net ID?
It tells me that it is linking the accounts, but then the fancast site reloads and I am still not logged in?
Yes, I experienced the same thing.
I don't have CATV, just HSI through Comcast.
The login screen loops and never allows you to login.
I use the Firefox browser, v.3.09.
(and yes, I know how it works, I'm a programmer.)

dadkins
Can you do Blu?
Premium,MVM
join:2003-09-26
Hercules, CA
·Comcast

Click for full size
said by backfeed See Profile :

Anybody having trouble logging in using their Comcast.net ID?
It tells me that it is linking the accounts, but then the fancast site reloads and I am still not logged in?
Works fine here.
Using SlimBrowser(IE based)
--
Think outside the Fox... Opera

SLD
Premium
join:2002-04-17

No advertisements

Hulu - limited or no advertisements? Ha! Sure, they say that this broadcast of BSG is with limited commercial interuptions, but they consider "limited" to be equal to the average commercial breaks 10 years ago - 5 per hour.
axiomatic

join:2006-08-23
Tomball, TX

Going elsewhere...

If the Fancast content counts against my cap, and the content is hosted elsewhere at another streaming site similar to Fancast (like Hulu, or YouTube, etc.) I think I would rather get the content elsewhere on principle alone.

UnhappyDeafGuy

@comcast.net

Fancast... ugh.

Fancast may offer programs, the same as TV, but it is not closed-captioned or subtitled. I've seen the same programs on TV with CC, so I can only guess that Comcast is being their usual obnoxious self.

Utterly useless feature as far as I'm concerned. Most streaming video is that way too, unfortunately. Pity.
Forums » 'Free' Comcast TV Coming To Fancast


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