Comcast starts Netflix trial on set-top boxes

Comcast XfinityUS pay TV giant Comcast is due to start rolling out a beta version of the Netflix app for its X1 set-top box in the coming days.

Comcast and Netflix customers will be able to access the test in the ‘Comcast Labs’ section of the X1, with a formal launch to follow “later this year”.

Comcast said the Netflix Beta Programme has been “a major effort for teams at both companies” with the trial period designed to make sure the product works smoothly ahead of its general release.

“We built this experience on the core foundational elements of the X1 platform, taking advantage of key technical advances like universal search, natural language processing, IP stream processing and a cloud-based infrastructure,” said Comcast in a company blog post.

“We have expanded X1’s voice control to make watching Netflix content as simple as saying, ‘Continue watching Daredevil.’”

X1 customers will be able to access live, on-demand, DVR, and Netflix programming from one place, making it easy to choose and switch between linear content, recordings or Netflix programming, according to Comcast.

The beta trial comes after Comcast first announced that it would add Netflix to is X1 pay TV service in July, marking Netflix’s biggest deal to date with a US cable or satellite provider.

The development marked a major breakthrough in the relationship between the two companies, who have clashed at various points over the past half-decade.