There certainly isn't a shortage of apps that allow for the streaming of movies and TV shows to your tablet or smartphone. But even with this plethora of applications there are relatively few that allow you to download content for offline viewing. Enter the newly updated Comcast Xfinity TV Player app for Android and Apple's iOS.
The new app allows Comcast Xfinity subscribers to not only stream TV Shows and movies from your favorite networks, including
premium channels like HBO, Starz, Showtime, Cinemax and cable channels
like TNT, TBS, Cartoon Network and BBC America but it now allows you to download movies and TV shows from Encore, MoviePlex, Showtime, and Starz for offline viewing (and yes you need to be subscribed to those premium channels in your cable package to be able to download content).
You'll have the choice between "medium" and "highest" quality resolution with the later being the best visual quality however at a much larger file size. The difference in file size is quit large. For instance to get "21 Jump Street" at highest quality you'll need
2.4GB of free space. However, the medium-quality version consumes just
478MB. Something to take into consideration when adding movies!
The Comcast Xfinity TV Player app works on Android phone or tablet running Android 2.3 and higher. On the iOS side, it works with iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4 and 4S, the third, fourth and fifth generation iPad touch devices, and iPads. The Xfinity TV Player version 1.2 requires Apple’s iOS 5.0 or later and is optimized for the iPhone 5.
Note that this is not the same app as the Xfinity TV app, so be sure you have the correct app installed before looking for downloads.
So far there has been no word from Comcast about the availability of downloadable content for other channels, though I suspect they will eventually add a few more. I know I'd like to see HBO on there so I can download Game of Thrones so I can fix going even when I'm on the go.
Thanks for the news, but I guess I don’t get it. Why would I want to take time to download shows, and take up space on my phone when I can stream them? Sometimes I get pretty bored in my office at DISH, and I use the DISH Remote Access app to stream something. I can pick from live TV or from anything stored on my DVR. It’s instant gratification, and I don’t have to delete stuff from my phone!
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DeleteI don't know about you but occasionally there are place I might not have service to stream videos so downloading them might be a good option. Also the app works over wifi so maybe those on a cheaper limited data plan want to download the videos over wifi so they can have them on their phone or tablet for later.
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