Now Launching TWC TV for PC – in Beta « Time Warner Cable Untangled

Feb 14 2012

Now Launching TWC TV for PC – in Beta

Have you ever been sitting at your computer and thought “man, I would love to watch streaming TV on my iPad, but I don’t want to stand up and walk all the way to the other side of the room to get it?”

If so, you’re in luck. You’re really going to want to clean your feeding tubes out for this one:

Today, we’re launching the beta version of TWC TV, available on any computer to Time Warner Cable subscribers. That means you can stream live TV right to your desktop computer, as well as manage your DVR and tune your set-top box.

Ever since launching the TWC TV app for the iPad, we’ve been expanding the platforms that our customers can use to get value from their video subscription, and this represents the latest star in that particular constellation.

If you’re interested in checking it out, just visit the website at http://www.twctv.com.

Here’s the full list of features:

Live TV – Users scroll the “channel browser” to see a list of available channels with listings displaying network logo, show name, and episode name.
Guide – Up to 7 days of listings data. Option to filter guide display by “favorites only,” “HD only” or ”available to watch on PC.” You can also set channels as favorites from the Guide.
Set-top box tuning – “Watch on TV” button within the program description to tune an MDN/ODN set-top box directly to the channel.
PC tuning – “Watch on PC” button within the program description to tune PC directly to the channel.
DVR management – Schedule one-time and series recordings on MDN/ODN DVRs directly from the Guide’s show pages. Click on the “DVR” tab to see a list of all upcoming recordings and make changes or cancel recordings.
Search – Ability to search the Guide by show title, episode and/or by person.
Settings – Ability to manage Favorite channels, link to set Parental Controls, choose the Device (STB/DVR) to which you are connected for STB/DVR management, and turn on/off Closed Captioning on the website’s video player.

This will work for both PC and Mac. Here are the supported browsers:

Internet Explorer 7.0 and up
Firefox 4 and up for mac and windows
Safari 5 and up for mac and windows
Chrome: Latest stable release which is 17

You’ll need to download or possibly upgrade Silverlight to version 4.

Customers with iGuide or SARA set-top boxes and analog video customers cannot tune their TVs using the TWC TV apps or website. Furthermore, you’ll need a high-speed data connection to use this. If you don’t happen to get our HSD service from TWC or Earthlink,we have to install a “video only” wireless gateway to enable the live video feature within the app. Program guide and set-top box tuning as well as DVR scheduling are accessible from any internet connection both in and out of home.

As always, we will be making refinements and improvements to this over time, adding features, functionality, and fixing bugs in upcoming releases.

Categories: Broadband Penetration/Deployment, Content Delivery, Cool Stuff, Digital Cable, Future of the Industry, Product Launches, Programming, TV Everywhere

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110 Responses to “Now Launching TWC TV for PC – in Beta”

jmf
Feb 14, 2012
at 11:49 am

Do you think it might be helpful to post a link to TWC TV for PC?
Vito Ielati
Feb 14, 2012
at 1:09 pm

Working Great! Can’t wait for more channels to be added!
Jeff Simmermon
Feb 14, 2012
at 1:30 pm

Of course – can’t believe I forgot. It’s in there now.
Santeno
Feb 14, 2012
at 4:30 pm

Good stuff, but where the dickens is the update to the Android app?
motorola870
Feb 14, 2012
at 5:28 pm

Keep getting you error messages saying that I can’t watch channels at this time eventhough I am behind a TWC Extreme 30 connected SBG6580. or this app is offline currently
Andrew Solmssen
Feb 14, 2012
at 5:31 pm

I’m a TWC SoCal customer with a home office, and I have residential cable television service and TWC Business Class internet. I’m prevented from using the Live TV features because of that. Is there a way to make it work?
jimmy
Feb 14, 2012
at 5:58 pm

Signed in and got “we apologize, the application is currently offline”
Ian M.
Feb 14, 2012
at 6:27 pm

Has the service crashed? I keep getting application offline and when I try watch live tv it does not work. Although when it worked, it did so quite well!
Tom
Feb 14, 2012
at 6:31 pm

I’m getting a message “You Cannot View This Content At This Time.”

However, I’m able to access my DVR and all other settings EXCEPT Live TV. Anyone else experiencing this?
Mark
Feb 14, 2012
at 7:44 pm

I click watch tv and nothing happens.,
Jon
Feb 14, 2012
at 9:10 pm

Wow works kind of like Hulu but only that it is live TV and I can edit anything I have to record on my DVR. I like this now I don’t need a second cable box and my girlfriend and me won’t have to fight over the TV.
Art
Feb 14, 2012
at 9:16 pm

Does this not work for anyone else?
Rob
Feb 14, 2012
at 9:23 pm

Don’t care about the PC, what about Droid phones?
Ken
Feb 14, 2012
at 9:52 pm

Not working for me – I get “You can not view content at this time.” But I did notice that I am missing channels, the same ones I am missing on my ipad/iphone (and ones I’ve been missing for two weeks and no one seems to know how to fix it).
Ben
Feb 14, 2012
at 11:08 pm

Does it work away from home or is it crippled like the iPhone app? That said, at least it has an HD filter! Navigator doesn’t even have that yet and it’s going on 6 years!!!
chad
Feb 15, 2012
at 7:39 am

Hmmm anything new on the Android live tv update? I have The new 4.0 ice cream sandwich update on my phone and my tablet, still haven’t gotten the update.
Jason
Feb 15, 2012
at 10:27 am

I want to stream live TV to my laptop when I am NOT at home. The fact that you must be on your “home network” to stream defeats the whole purpose.

Not cool.
Tony
Feb 15, 2012
at 11:35 am

@Andrew Solmssen – not sure if the same would apply, but if you don’t subscribe to TWC Broadband (which is why I wonder if this applies since you do – but business class service – and not instead related to this being Beta), they will come install a “video only” wireless gateway for you.
Scott
Feb 15, 2012
at 11:54 am

It’s a good starting point, but one of the things it’s lacking is a comprehensive set of preferences that stick with the user account after log-off.

For example, I can log in & choose my Favorites (channels), but they’re wiped out as soon as I log off.
Josh Jones
Feb 15, 2012
at 12:51 pm

You should make the Mac version and actual app and put it in the ‘Mac App Store’. It would be a stable way use this service without having to worry about installing Silverlight and other internet browser add-ons which can slow the computer down! I am excited about this, though!
Mysti
Feb 15, 2012
at 1:02 pm

All I get is you can not watch tv at this time because you are not connected to your home network. I am taking this to mean a) there is some network set up they forgot to mention or b) if you don’t have internet through time warner cable you can’t use this service. Im guessing is b and if it is. That’s incredibly lame.
mad
Feb 15, 2012
at 1:57 pm

Working Great!!!!I now can enjoy my Live Tv at home on PC.
Jeff Simmermon
Feb 15, 2012
at 1:58 pm

Mysti – this is the same situation for all of our other apps on Android and iOS. You have to be on your home network.
TWCableJim
Feb 15, 2012
at 4:05 pm

@Motorola870- I apologize for the issue if you could please email some account information to twcable.help@twcable.com I would be happy to investigate?
TWCableJim
Feb 15, 2012
at 4:07 pm

Andrew Solmssen- We may be able to provide a wireless gateway router to allow you to view live TV. If you could can you please email some account information to twcable.help@twcable.com so I may be able to investigate?
TWCableJim
Feb 15, 2012
at 4:09 pm

@Jimmy- Are you currently experiencing the same error message?
TWCableJim
Feb 15, 2012
at 4:11 pm

@Tom- If you could please contact us at twcable.help@twcable.com I would like to take a further look into the issue?
TWCableJim
Feb 15, 2012
at 4:13 pm

@Mark- Are you currently receiving a blank screen or an error message when attempting to view live TV?
TWCableJim
Feb 15, 2012
at 4:14 pm

@Ken- If you could please email some account information to twcable.help@twcable.com I would be happy to look into the missing channels?
CrazyEddy
Feb 15, 2012
at 6:17 pm

Well you dont have to be on your home network. Im watching this on the train using Splashtop remote. Dials me into my pc and i get the internet stream off my PC. Very easy. Not as fluid but defintely usable.
Eric P. Wilson
Feb 15, 2012
at 7:43 pm

I just tried this out and got:
“We apologize, this application is currently offline”

I’m on a Mac running Lion using Google Chrome 17.0.963.46 and have Silverlight 5 (5.0.61118.0) installed.

I’m curious why this was built with Silverlight instead of using modern, plugin-free web technologies like HTML5.
Derek Goodall
Feb 15, 2012
at 7:45 pm

I’m a TWC cable and broadband customer but get the following error message.

You can not view content at this time.
Live streaming is not available for user’s subscribed package level.
Kevin
Feb 15, 2012
at 10:07 pm

What is the “wireless video gateway”? TWC is my TV provider but not my internet. I am unable to view live TV. Does someone need to come to my house to install the gateway? Is there a charge? Any help appreciated.
Mile L.
Feb 15, 2012
at 10:45 pm

I had issues with live tv on my imac, everything worked fine except live tv, black screen, in safari and firefox with up to date silverlight plug-ins. Ran through google chrome with no probs, watched Resident Evil while my wife watched her girlie stuff!
Evelyn Dohrenburg
Feb 16, 2012
at 12:04 am

What does this message means?

You can not view content at this time.

To watch live TV, you must be connected to your home network.

Reload this page.
JustaBob
Feb 16, 2012
at 12:30 am

Worked great last night, now I am getting message “HTTP Status 599 – unexpected.failure: Failed parsing JSON source: java.io.StringReader@1ef15c1 to Json”. I updated to latest Java version, still getting error.
David
Feb 16, 2012
at 8:54 am

The features works very well on my PC, picture quality is outstanding. However it doesn’t include any local channels, or other common content like the full ESPN lineup that I get on my TV (only ESPNNews and Classic). I’m sure this is a licensing issue but it is a real drag to hold the customers hostage over business issues. We are customers, we pay our bills, and deserve the full channel lineup on the PC that we get on our TV’s.
Anon
Feb 16, 2012
at 9:14 am

I’m guessing they went with Silverlight for DRM purposes. I don’t know that you can have digital rights management with HTML 5 for video.
Neet
Feb 16, 2012
at 10:42 am

Great Stuff, looking forward for remote connection and more number of channels.
TWCableJim
Feb 16, 2012
at 2:21 pm

Eric P. Wilson- I would like to take a further look into the issue if you could can you please email some account information to twcable.help@twcable.com
kat
Feb 16, 2012
at 2:21 pm

Scott,
A few questions:
What are your OS and browser version numbers?
How long were you logged out?
Did you use a different browser when you logged back in?

Thanks!
TWCableJim
Feb 16, 2012
at 2:24 pm

Derek Goodall- I do apologize for the issue if you could please email some account information to twcable.help@twcable.com I would like to take a further look into your subscription?
TWCableJim
Feb 16, 2012
at 2:27 pm

Kevin- The wireless gateway is a router that allows you to use our twctv.com and out various applications. We would have to install this device at no additional cost, if you could email some account information to twcable.help@twcable.com I would be happy to assist?
TWCableJim
Feb 16, 2012
at 2:29 pm

Evelyn Dohrenburg- That message means that you must be on your home network to view this content if you are and still receiving that error message there may be more going on. We can be reached at twcable.help@twcable.com if the problem is ongoing?
TWCableJim
Feb 16, 2012
at 2:31 pm

JustaBob- If you could please email us some account information to twcable.help@twcable.com I would like to take a further look into the error messages you’re receiving?
Jose
Feb 16, 2012
at 3:36 pm

All these Browsers but none of them include Opera. I hope that it will be supported soon
Robert
Feb 16, 2012
at 4:48 pm

Working great for me. A little choppy but I suspect that’s Silverlight’s fault (Netflix does the same).

I have a question though.

I have a PC hooked to a bedroom TV. I am concerned with bandwidth usage. Is 3-4 hours a day going to be a problem? Or is this something we should use only occasionally?
Vito Ielati
Feb 16, 2012
at 8:54 pm

Is there a list of channels currently available on pc?
menifred
Feb 17, 2012
at 10:00 am

Every single time I try I get “We apologize, this application is currently offline”. Frustrating.
TWCableJim
Feb 17, 2012
at 5:03 pm

Menifred- I do apologize if you could please email some account information to twcable.help@twcable.com I would be happy to take a look?