As promised back at CES, Time Warner Cable’s newest set-top box is a Roku… and the free “Channel”, comprised of up to 300 channels, is now available to all currently shipping Roku devices – which start a mere $50. As you might expect, access to TWC on Roku requires a traditional cable subscription – and supposedly only works in regions served by TWC. However, unlike Comcast Xfinity or Verizon FiOS TV on the Xbox 360, a TWC broadband account is not required.
Don Wegeng took a look at TWC TV on Roku, and while his initial reaction was disappointment due the lack of On Demand content (compared to the iOS app), he seems pleased overall with the speed of navigating the available live channels and the quality of HD content – once the higher res stream snaps in after a few seconds. However, as you can see from his video walk-thru (below), SD content is rendered with both letterboxing and pillarboxing. Yuck. But, all in all, not a bad first cut. And surely better than every other cable company’s non-existant Roku offering.
View Comments
But what, exactly, is the use-case scenario here?
You pay a hefty monthly bill for cable, but don't want to pay a small fraction of that monthly cost for a DVR? I guess it makes slightly more sense for a rarely used secondary teevee, where you don't want to rent a DVR, a DVR extender, or even a simple STB.
I can (barely) understand the use-case scenario for live cable streaming to tablets in the LAN, since there is no option for a DVR there. But I'm a bit more flummoxed at seeing the utility for this in the lean-back space.
I've said this before, what is the point of having a bunch of live streaming channels? It would be just like when I watched TV in the seventies and early eighties. Before I started using a VCR.
Why would someone want to go back to watching TV like they did decades ago?
Dave, I'm glad that you found the video walk through helpful. Sorry for the crummy audio.
That TV is in my basement and is used for gaming and lean-back when someone is working out on our treadmill (which is often in the early morning when there is no interesting live programming on TV). Along with the Roku LT and a couple game consoles, there's a S2DT Tivo and a TWC HD STB connected to the TV.
BTW, everyone in my family loves the Roku, and hates the TWC STB (so it doesn't get much use). The old Tivo could be replaced by On Demand if the STB experience wasn't so awful.
My disappointment with the TWC app is based on my desire to use it to provide a better user experience for watching On Demand. This would also eliminate two monthly fees (STB & Tivo).