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Monday, July 30, 2012
Comcast Xfinity X1 Platform: First Look
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Comcast Xfinity X1 Platform: First Look
I finally got rid of my old Comcast DVR with the TiVo interface. When I first got it, I was exited to have the TiVo experience on my Comcast box, but recently to box was freezing, requiring frequent reboots. I just got the new X1 box an here are my initial thoughts.
Storified by Steve Garfield · Mon, Jul 30 2012 10:08:06
Xfinity X1 Platform
xfinity X1 platform pagestevegarfield
Install Day
Comcast rolled three trucks and three technicians to make sure my install went well. I think I was one of the first X1 installs in the Boston area. Nick, Duy, and Steevenson were really great. The install was very smooth and just took time waiting for the software download to complete. After that, we looked through the features. Let's take a look at some highlights.
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The X1 Box
The box looks pretty nice. It's 14" W x 10" D x 2 1/2" H.
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On the back of the box are a lot of ports. Here's a list, going from left to right:
Cable In
To TV
Ethernet
HDMI Input 1, 2
Audio/Video Out
Comp Out
HDMI HD to TV
SD Card
Digital Audio Out
USB
eSATA
Power
I wonder if we'll get access to any of these additional ports.
Comcast X1 Box - Portsstevegarfield
Here's the X1 box when it's powered on. The clock was pretty bright, but you can adjust it!
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I went in to the Device Brightness setting and it was set to (9).
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I changed it to (1).
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Looks a lot better.
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You can even set both lights to OFF. Nice.
In fact, the remote control uses RF technology so you can put the X1 box in a closet and you'll still be able to control it through the wall.
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Does this look strange to you? 7:20
The first morning with the new box I looked up and thought that the '7' looked funny. I tweeted out the photo, and people agreed. It looks funny.
I've asked Comcast if this can be changed
.
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The Remote
The X1's remote, the XR2, is peanut shaped. like the TiVo remote.
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Compared the TiVo remote, it doesn't match the ergonomics, but compared to the old Comcast remote, it's nicer. In the photo below, when you are comfortably holding the TiVo remote, you can use your thumb to change channels, up and down.
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On the XR2, the Channel up/down button is out of reach. Also, on the TiVo remote, when you key in a channel number directly, the ENTER key is just to the right of the 0 on the numeric keypad. On the XR2, you need to go up and press the OK button.
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I'm getting used to the position of the VOL and CH buttons, but it seems like the remote is built with an emphasis on navigating via the on screen menus. That's where the direction keys around the OK key come in handy.
For some strange reason, the A/B/C/D buttons must be included on this remote. I'll never use them.
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On Screen Guide
The on screen guide is great. It's a nice interface that is similar to what you'd see on some of the nicer TV guide grid websites.
XFINITY X1stevegarfield
Speaking of web interfaces, Comcast has nice grid guide that you can log into from your browser. From there you can Record shows and record series. When you change times, you loose your place in the channel guide. For example, if you were down the channel list around HBO, when you go forward in time, your are placed back at the top of the channel list.
Comcast TV Shows Listings | Movies | Airings | Channels | Primetime | XFINITY TVstevegarfield
For On Demand content, you can stream to your device, or click 'Watch on TV' and the channel will change on your TV.
Falling Skies TV Show | Falling Skies Cast and Crew | Season Guide | XFINITY TVstevegarfield
Falling Skies TV Show | Falling Skies Cast and Crew | Season Guide | XFINITY TVstevegarfield
Xfinity TV App for iPhone/iPad
The Xfinity TV App for iPhone/iPad is a lot nicer than the web interface.
Xfinity TV Appstevegarfield
This app is very nice and has a great interface, but I haven't used it that much.
X1 Remote iPhone/iPad App
Another way to control your TV is with the X1 Remote iPhone/iPad app.
X1 remote appstevegarfield
The app let's you use gestures to control your X1 box. Here are a few from the App's guide.
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You can also, swipe to get a Navigation menu.
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I'm not sold on this app. In practice, I've been using the remote.
Social Sharing with Facebook and Twitter
Integrated into the Info screen of the X1 is the ability to share what you are watching via Facebook and Twitter. Once you navigate to the Info page, you click down three times to the Sharing menu. Then you choose a platform to share on. When you do that, next you have to select which connected account is doing the sharing. I wish this could default.
By my count it takes (10) key presses to share. That's too much.
Here's what it looks like:
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Then you have a choice of three pre-written messages:
I love
I'm Watching
Not so impressed
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This gets sent out with a link back to an Xfinity page for the show you are watching.
Note: When you click that link on the twitter app on an iPhone, all you see is a flashing white screen
.
That's a bug. Ex: http://watch.it/msoE8 (2012 London Olympics)
You link your accounts on the Comcast site.
X1 - Connect social media accountsstevegarfield
You can also browse through your Facebook friend's posts and LIKE their posts and read the comments.
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I loked at this feature once. I probably won't be browsing Facebook on my TV.
Pandora
You can also listen to unlimited songs from a linked Pandora account. Here I'm listening to Imogen Heap. I might use this.
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Overall
I'm pleased with this upgrade.
A few things that take getting used to is a lag in channel changing. The X1 displays the logo of the station during the time it changed between channels. That lets you know that your next channel is coming up. It's not a long lag time, but sometimes I've been jumping two channels ahead, instead of just one. I think it'll just take some getting used to.
Last night the video and audio wasn't coming through, but the station logo was showing. I called 1-800-COMCAST, and there was a menu option to refresh my box. That fixed it. I'll be watching to see if this was a one time occurance.
If you've got the X1 box, I'd love to hear your thoughts.
Thanks guys!
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