At the moment, the best way to find channels for Comcast subscribers is spending valuable time scrolling through an antiquated guide system that has no personalization. If you want to search for a specific title, you have to spend even more time pointing and clicking on letters. Now, Comcast is going to try to change that, introducing a new system that will help you find the programming you want to see.
Comcast CEO Brian Roberts gave the audience at the National Cable and Telecommunications Association convention in New York on Tuesday, reports The Los Angeles Times. The new cable box, called the X2, will pick up your voice when you tell it a title or actor’s name to tell you when to find that program.
You can also create a personalized profile that directs you to your favorite programming. If you like NFL football, you’ll get a directory that will show you only football programs. It can also connect you to related NFL videos on the web.
According to The Wall Street Journal, the X2 will be the follow up to last May’s X1. Since that was introduced, Comcast claims that it has updated the guide over 1,200 times and video on demand has jumped 20 percent.
The X2 will also use a less-complicated remote and will only use half the power, but work four times faster.
CNET also reports that your DVR recordings will now be saved over the cloud instead of using a hard drive. That’s how it will keep the power usage down.
“The X1 Platform is an incredible example of what's possible with cloud innovation,” Roberts said in a statement. “With the introduction of Web-based content to the platform today, and the promise of a faster and more integrated experience with X2, we're adding more functionality to each screen in a customer's home, and transforming our video product into a complete entertainment operating system.”
Clearly, the X2 is the latest attempt by Comcast to not only keep subscribers from switching to its competitors, but to also stop the cord-cutting since Netflix and Hulu only continue to grow.