There was a fair bit of conversation at the recent Cable IPTV conference around how Comcast is approaching competition from online video services. Part of the approach involves having its own online video destination, (see news about the upcoming launch of Fancast), and the other part involves using the Internet to push subscribers to cable TV services. The launch of Comcast’s TVplanner definitely falls under that second category.
The functionality is simple (and non-revolutionary) and therefore extremely easy to use. Plug in your zip code, select your television service and voila! Up comes your TV guide. Next Comcast will undoubtedly add a feature for programming your DVR to record the shows you find. Off the Internet you go and back on to the cable TV network.