Known as Xfinity Games powered by EA, the new streaming service will initially offer up to 24 different titles to select video and broadband subscribers with X1 set-top or gateway boxes. You’ll also need a modem.
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“We want to make ordering Stream as easy as buying a song online”, Matt Strauss, the executive vice president and general manager of video services at Comcast, wrote in the blog post. At one time OnLive was the big name in game streaming but they couldn’t make it work; the company is no longer operating its service. For now, the content partner list includes all major broadcast networks as well as HBO. Most titles – Real Racing 2, Monopoly, Plants vs. Zombies, and Peggle Nights, among others – are already available on mobile, and controlled by a phone or tablet paired to X1.
It’s expensive. Although the advertised $15 per month is cheap, especially when you consider HBO Now costs $15 per month, in reality, your monthly Comcast bill will be much more, according to Money.
Emilia Clarke in HBO’s “Game of Thrones”. With the system, games are streamed over the internet to customer X1 set-top boxes.
Comcast says it will launch Stream in Boston by “the end of the summer”, with Chicago, Seattle and then the rest of the country following soon after.
Comcast hasn’t announced any pricing for the service but the company was clear that data used while streaming games will count against caps. Unlike usual streaming services, Stream is not Internet-enabled but rather works via an IP-based managed network-which means a user has to be subscribed to both Comcast’s TV and Internet services to be able to use the service. This limits customers to recording two channels at once and storing 20 hours of video. That’s significantly less than Comcast’s 23 million broadband subscribers-even if a small percentage of them sign up for Stream, Comcast will jet ahead of Sling TV in this area.
Will Comcast Stream help the cable television giant grow? Comcast says, however, that by the end of the year, you’ll be able to watch live network broadcasts outside of the home, at least in some markets.
But the company doesn’t plan on you keeping Stream forever.
Xfinity Internet subscribers can simply download the Stream app and start enjoying the service.
Many young people like sharing passwords for online TV accounts with their friends.
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Comcast Stream unfortunately seems to miss the mark when it comes to giving consumers a reason to cut the cable cord.
