Cable Makes Big News At CES

Here’s our major takeaway from January’s Consumer Electronics Show: 

Cable + Internet Connected Devices = Revolutionary Stuff.

It was impossible to come away from CES without feeling that something seriously exciting is going on around the blending of cable video service with a new breed of video-capable Internet-connected devices. In case you missed it, a highlight of the show was the joint appearance by the CEOs of Comcast and Time Warner Cable at the Samsung keynote.  The cable demonstration included new applications that essentially make a full range of cable video services available over Samsung Smart TVs, tablets and other IP devices. This collaboration delivers a best-of-both-worlds experience by blending cable’s highly reliable and robust video offerings with the portability, interactivity and capability of new video-capable, Internet-connected devices. During the demo, Comcast CEO Brian Roberts showed off a nifty feature that allows a customer to select a full-length movie from Comcast’s Xfinity On Demand library, start it on a full-screen TV set, pause it, and resume watching on a Samsung Galaxy tablet. Time Warner Cable CEO Glenn Britt later introduced an integrated video service that lets Samsung Smart TV and tablet owners plug into the full Time Warner Cable video service without the need for an intermediary set-top box. We think you’ll agree: this is cool stuff. And it’s also certain to be a focal point of discussion and demonstration at The Cable Show 2011.