Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Audio / Video
  3. News

Comcast’s Xfinity Share lets you stream content live to any X1 set-top box

Kyle Wiggers
By

comcast announces xfinity share notification on tv
Image used with permission by copyright holder
Some years ago Dish Network realized that its set-top boxes had a whole lot of untapped potential. As a result, today’s Dish hardware goes beyond simple channel tuning and DVR recording by offering users the ability to stream live and recorded video to a smartphone or tablet, download recordings for offline viewing, and even access web apps like Netflix. Now, incumbents like Comcast are looking to play catch up and grab themselves a cut of the action, but you’ll be disappointed if you were expecting Netflix or YouTube. A new feature announced today, Xfinity Share, takes the form of an app for Android and iOS that lets X1 set-top box owners live stream or send photos and videos to  any other X1 box, even their neighbors.

Currently available only to Xfinity Triple Play customers, Xfinity Share’s intended application is much narrower than much-publicized streaming apps like Persicope and Meerkat. Comcast envisions families sharing memorable occasions with friends and families across the country — birthdays, graduations, and the like. “We’re giving our customers the power to share special moments in their lives as they happen,” said Patti Loyack, Vice President of Communications for Comcast, in a statement.

Xfinity-Share-Birthday
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Judging by the features (or lack thereof), that sounds about right. Xfinity Share is about as basic as they come — to get it working at home, all you need to do is launch the app, tap the “Stream Live” button, and accept the prompt that pops up on your X1-connected television (in high-definition, if the bandwidth is good enough). Photos and videos sent through Xfinity Share are automatically uploaded to the Xfinity Photos App, with advanced playback and recording for live streams absent right now but coming “later this year.”

Recommended Videos

Regarding sharing, you can direct the stream to whomever you choose… as long as the person you’d like to share with has fortuitously associated the number in your contact list with their Comcast account and configured their X1 box to view streams. In the likely event those two prerequisites aren’t met, Comcast’s adding additional ways to share in the future, among them the ability to e-mail URLs to the stream and share with up to five people simultaneously.

Related

Comcast told The Verge that Xfinity Share has no built-in controls to prevent piracy, a trend currently plaguing Periscope. The company said sharing protected content without permission would obviously run afoul of its copyright infringement clauses, but there isn’t a built-in mechanism to actively prevent sharing. Given the number of X1 users, it’s probably unnecessary, but welcome all the same — you needn’t worry about music in a bar muting or shutting down your stream. At least for now.

Xfinity Share is available for free through the Play Store on Android and the App Store on iOS.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Kyle Wiggers
Kyle Wiggers
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Kyle Wiggers is a writer, Web designer, and podcaster with an acute interest in all things tech. When not reviewing gadgets…
Tidal vs. Qobuz: Which hi-res music streaming service is for you?
Tidal app showing on iPhone 15 Pro.

Spotify and Apple Music may be the most popular music streaming services in the world, but services like Tidal and Qobuz offer plenty of great features and a higher level of listening to anyone making a switch. Each offers hi-res audio and is available on desktop and mobile devices. Thanks to a recent switch in Tidal subscriptions, the prices between the two services are now very comparable, although one is slightly cheaper.

Below, we compare Tidal and Qobuz based on price, sound quality, and supported devices to determine which platform is better.
Price
For many years, Tidal has stood out for its hi-res music offerings, a feature long shared with Qobuz. However, the landscape has changed, and now other services like Apple Music and Amazon Music (and soon Spotify, hopefully) have also ventured into the hi-res music space.

Read more
OTC hearing aid sale discounts 15 models, from just $80
Bose SoundControl Hearing Aids

If you need a hearing aid, you’re going to love the OTC hearing aid sale going on at Crutchfield right now. Currently, you can buy a pair for as little as just $80 with up to $500 to be saved on select models. With 15 models in the sale, we recommend you click the button below to see what’s on sale for yourself. But you can also read on while we highlight some of our favorite hearing aid deals. Don’t delay as the deals are unlikely to stick around for long.

What to shop for in the Crutchfield hearing aid sale
With some of the best OTC hearing aids including models from Lexie, go straight for the . It’s currently $799 instead of $849. It has a slim, visually discreet profile with a behind-the-ear fit style. A built-in feedback management system helps reduce high-pitched feedback while there’s a noise reduction circuit which decreases the volume of constant background sounds such as vacuum cleaners or A/C units. It also has level-dependent gain and compression which keeps loud noises from becoming too loud during conversations. The app also provides bass and treble controls along with left/right balance adjustments, and directional focus modes. It’s a really well-rounded hearing aid.

Read more
GoldenEar subwoofers are up to $755 off for a limited time
The GoldenEar SuperSub XXL subwoofer in the living room.

Upgrading your home theater setup's sound output is easily achieved by buying from soundbar deals, but if you want extra bass, you'll want to purchase a subwoofer. If you're thinking about it, you may want to checkout Crutchfield's sale on GoldenEar subwoofers with prices that start at $595. These premium subwoofers will give you all the bass that you need for watching streaming shows, epic movies, sports programs, and any other form of content, but you'll have to hurry with your decision on what to buy because these discounts are only available for a limited time.

What to buy in Crutchfield's GoldenEar subwoofers sale
The cheapest option in Crutchfield's GoldenEar subwoofers sale is still pretty powerful -- the GoldenEar ForceField 3, which is an 8-inch subwoofer with digital signal processing and a built-in 500-watt RMS digital amplifier. You'll also get a front-firing 8-inch long-throw woofer and a 9-inch by 11-inch down-firing passive radiator for , for savings of $55 on its original price of $650. You can also take a step up with the GoldenEar ForceField 30, which offers most of the same features but with an updated design with a curved top and metal grills, for instead of $900 following a $155 discount, or the GoldenEar ForceField 40 with a front-firing 10-inch long-throw woofer and an 11-inch by 13-inch down-firing passive radiator for a , down by $205 from $1,200 originally.

Read more