TWC Streaming Cable
TV on the PC Gets Real
Time Warner launches trial in San Diego
Time Warner Cable is making the convergence of the TV and the PC real. After years of offering customers access to Web sites and short video clips, Time Warner has given 9,000 broadband subscribers in San Diego access to up to 75 cable channels—including CNN, MTV and ESPN—on their computers.
“We’re offering it for free to subscribers of our video and high-speed data service,” says Peter Stern, Time Warner Cable executive VP of product management. “We believe the PC is just another outlet for video programming in the home. If the subscriber has already paid for the service, they should be able to receive the signals on their PC.”
Even more interesting:
With help from RealNetworks, Time Warner is looking into offering digital video recording for the computer, as well as multicasting (the ability to open up several RealPlayer windows simultaneously). Closed captioning will be featured in version 1.2 in the next couple of months, and video-on-demand is on the horizon as well.
