Following up on the success of last year’s Comcast Mobile App for iPhones and iPod Touch devices, Comcast has released version 2.0 that lets subscribers program their DVRs remotely.
The remote DVR programming service (rDVR) will be rolled out across Comcast’s footprint this year, but it’s currently available to about 3.1 million homes. The rDVR service works with Comcast’s new A28 interactive program guide, which was jointly developed by Comcast and Rovi.
The mobile rDVR feature is an extension of the existing online service, known as myDVR Manager, which allows customers with a Comcast DVR and high-speed Internet to remotely schedule and manage their recordings online using Comcast TV Listings.
Comcast’s rDVR is currently available in select markets in Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, Massachusetts, Arizona, Arkansas, Tennessee and Utah.
“The Comcast Mobile App is part of our vision to enable customers to enjoy their video, voice and data services wherever and from whatever device . Now our customers can easily program their DVR no matter their location, making our mobile app a ‘one-stop shop’ for our services while on the go,” said Cathy Avgiris, senior vice president and general manager of communications and data services at Comcast. "In this age of anywhere, anytime communication, people want to stay connected, and our mobile app allows them to do that.”
Other features for rDVR include:
- Search for a particular program and schedule recordings
- View a list of scheduled recordings, cancel and create new recordings, and switch between multiple DVRs
- Use the “Quick Record” feature to instantly record with a single tap
- Sort TV listings by category, such as movies, sports, kids and HD
Additional new features for Comcast Mobile 2.0 include push notification alerts, which automatically indicate new e-mails and voicemails have arrived, as well as TV show reminders. Customers can also forward pictures and voicemails as an attachment, mark unwanted e-mails as spam and access external e-mail accounts (POP/IMAP) right from their mobile devices.
Comcast said it was also working on a version of the mobile app that will work with Blackberry devices, but in response to a blog by Avgiris yesterday, Comcast hasn’t said if there will be a similar offering for Android phones.
Comcast launched the first version of its mobile app in July, and at one point it was ranked third on Apple’s App Store list of the most downloaded free applications.
In April, DirecTV launched its version of a remote DVR application for iPhones and iPod touch devices.