Comcast dropping Microsoft TV software
Source: http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/
Comcast Corp. plans to drop Microsoft Corp.’s television software and on-screen program guide from its digital cable boxes in the Seattle area and the rest of the software company’s home state.
The cable provider confirmed Monday morning that it plans to replace the Microsoft technology used in its Washington state cable system with the GuideWorks software and on-screen program guide used throughout the rest of the country.
“We’re focused on developing a single guide and a platform across the country,” said Steve Kipp, a regional Comcast spokesman, explaining the decision to shift to GuideWorks in the state.
The company’s TV initiatives lately have focused on a different area, its technology for Internet Protocol Television, or IPTV, which is being rolled out by a number of telecommunications providers, including AT&T in the United States.
Comcast’s decision is “the latest of many, many years of problems that they’ve had getting their software into use by the cable industry,” said Matt Rosoff, an analyst with independent Directions on Microsoft research firm in Kirkland.
Comcast says GuideWorks will be rolled out automatically to existing digital cable boxes, including those with digital video recording capabilities, in stages from June through early September.
Separately, Comcast and digital-video recording pioneer TiVo Inc. are expected to offer TiVo functionality to Comcast customers, but Kipp said it was too early to give any details about the timing or nature of those plans in Washington.