May 31st, 2008
On Demand has Arrived
When I was growing up I remember seeing commercials by AT&T that showed all kinds of “future” technology like the smart fridge or the automated home. The point of the commercial was that AT&T was the company that would enable you to enjoy this type of connectivity.
The one commercial that I remember being most impressed by showed two children selecting a movie from their TV. Once the movie was selected it instantly started playing. At the time (guessing 1996-8) there was nothing like this. There was no Youtube or iTunes. There was really no media streaming to speak of. The average home was just starting to get online.
Fast-forward to present time and it appears AT&T’s commercial is now a reality. Cox Communications recently launched an on demand service. This is true on demand television. Simply pick out the show you wish to watch and hit play. The show starts instantly. From here you can fast-forward, rewind and even pause.
The system works pretty smooth overall. This is not to say that there isn’t room for improvement. There is no search functionality and the navigation is slow and ugly(8 bit). Both of these could easily be resolved and may be related to my older cable box. It would also be nice if the shows would remain available for an indefinite amount of time. Currently they are available for a set period and after that they are replaced by newer programming.
Even with its short commings it is definetly worth a try. If you are a Cox digital tv subscriber simply turn to channel 01 and enjoy.