The machine is currently available to Xfinity triple-play customers in Washington state. (Comcast has already announced the X2.) But based on my experience so far, I’ve decided to keep this machine around, on my own bill. There is plenty of room for improvement with the X1. In the end, the X1 is an example of the convergence taking place across the industry, and how that convergence has yet to reach its logical conclusion. For example, I’d love to have a truly singular experience in one piece of hardware - Netflix, live TV, video games, and everything in between. The upcoming Xbox One is headed in that direction, with the notable lack of DVR integration. One nice touch: The clock and green light on the front of the box can be dimmed from a simple on-screen interface. I’ve tried repositioning the device to make sure it’s not a function of vibration. The X1 has a low rumble that can be heard across the room. It’s actually only a little more than a foot wide, and probably smaller than other cable boxes that you’ve had.īut it is a loud machine, at least compared to my whisper-quiet Xbox 360 console. Hardware: I misspoke when we discussed the dimensions of the X1 on the radio show.
#Xfinity screensaver start tv#
Another feature request here: It would be great to be able to use the hardware volume controls on the phone itself to control the TV volume. Personally, I prefer this to alternative input methods such as barking out commands to my Xbox 360 Kinect sensor.įor easier searching, there’s an iPhone and iPad app available for the X1, letting you locate and launch a program by typing into the device keyboard, or using voice commands. But the reality, with most searches, is that you only need to hit a few keys before the program you’re looking for shows up at the top of the list, to select easily. On last week’s show, my colleague John Cook rolled his eyes when I explained the process of searching using the alphanumeric keypad. Search: The X1 remote is straightforward and easy to use if you just remember to hit that big Xfinity button repeatedly. But for now, we’re in this in-between place where not everything is available on-demand. No doubt we’ll get there eventually, and Comcast is taking a step in this direction with the X2, by making DVR recordings available via the cloud. Why can’t we just get everything on-demand from the cloud - whatever we want, whenever we want it? The whole notion of recording a show and saving it to a local hard drive starts to feel a little odd when you can see on-demand and DVR recordings of the same episode side-by-side in unified menu. One big opportunity for improvement: It would great to be able to click to watch highlights from games after they’re finished.ĭVR and On-Demand: The DVR version of the X1 has five tuners, making it possible to record up to four shows simultaneously while watching another show live. One of the nicest parts about the interface is the way it integrates live programming, upcoming shows and on-demand content into unified lists.īut as I explained on last week’s GeekWire radio show, this one place where the current state of cable TV starts to feel like an interim solution.
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