Comcast Explains Xcalibur Project

In a posting on Comcast’s corporate blog, Sam Schwartz, president/Comcast converged products, said the MSO is working on a project to make TV viewing a more personalized experience.??

"We’ve been working on a project we call Xcalibur, where the goal is to take everything we’ve learned from the Web and tablets and bring it right back to your TV screen," wrote Schwartz. "By leveraging IP technology and our own ‘cloud’ servers in our network, we’re going to bring you a user experience on television that makes it easier to search and select from tens of thousands of choices and makes the television screen personal, useful and fun.

"What’s more, because our platform is based on many of the same standards used on the Internet (but travels over our network, not the Internet), we’ll be able to bring apps, social media and other popular features to the market faster. As a network-based entertainment experience, the rich TV navigation and services will eventually carry over to many other TV devices including connected TVs and game consoles. That means your preferences, subscriptions, saved programs, parental controls and other personalized selections are always with you, wherever you watch.

"In January, we demonstrated the first of these partnerships with our announcement of Xfinity on Samsung Connected TV’s. We’re beginning to introduce the first product on the Xcalibur platform, starting in Augusta, Georgia with a market trial of Xfinity Spectrum. New customers in Augusta who sign up for our HD DVR service are now getting new, next-gen set top boxes with great new features like:

• Tens of thousands of video choices available with our Xfinity TV service.
• An incredibly fast search engine that lets you find anything in our expanded catalog in just seconds – whether it’s on TV, On Demand, on your DVR, or in a selection of additional content called ‘Xfinity Xtras.’
• A more personalized TV experience called MyTV where you can see and access all your recordings, favorites and recommendations in one place.
• Interactive apps that are easy to access and enhanced for TV, including weather and traffic, Pandora Radio, Facebook photos and your personal feed – specifically designed to allow you to share what you’re watching with your social networks.
• Easy access to other Comcast services like caller ID on the TV."