Time Warner Cable and Roku have announced the two companies have entered into an agreement to bring TWC TV to Roku streaming devices in the U.S. TWC TV is an authenticated service available to subscribers of Time Warner Cable video service at no additional cost and is expected to launch on Roku this quarter. At launch, TWC TV will feature up to 300 live television channels.
“We’re pleased that our customers will soon be able to access TWC TV via Roku,” said Mike Angus, senior vice president and general manager, video at Time Warner Cable, in a statement. “This agreement will allow our customers to enjoy their Time Warner Cable service through their own Roku box connected to their television set.”
This will be the first time TWC TV is available for streaming on a consumer device connected to a television.
“The availability of a service like TWC TV on an open platform represents significant milestones for both Time Warner Cable and Roku as well as for the industry overall,” said Anthony Wood, founder and CEO, Roku, in a statement. “More importantly, with TWC TV, customers will have more choice in entertainment than was ever possible before.”
TWC TV will be available on all Roku 2 players, Roku HD (model 2500R) and Roku LT players as well as the Roku Streaming Stick. TWC TV is available today on Apple’s iPhone, iPad and iPod touch, on PCs and Macs via TWCTV.com, and on some Android tablets and phones. Channels available on TWC TV are subject to availability in the customer’s area as well as their video package subscription.
Time Warner Cable serves customers in the following 29 states: Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia and Wisconsin.
Source: Roku, Inc.
MacDailyNews Take: A harbinger of greater things to come from Apple?
We wouldn’t buy a TV or any TV-related device right now. Wait for Apple to truly show the way forward, as usual.
I bought a new LG Smart TV for my living room along with a Mac mini and an Apple TV. AppleTV will play my DVD/BRD rips just fine, but doesn’t show subtitles. The built-in Plex player on the LG Smart TV will show subtitles, very helpful with my hearing loss.
I bought a non-smart TV for my bedroom (only Samsung made a Smart TV in that size range). It is attached to my old G5 connected across the VGA port. The old VLC available on PowerPC doesn’t automatically play subtitles. I’m thinking of getting a Roku box for the bedroom to pull videos in from the Plex server running on my Mac mini.
Try XBMC on the MacMini instead. It supports everything you are looking for.
If you hold down the center button on the remote while playing video it will bring up available subtitle options. You can also set default subtitle language and close caption options through settings.
“…available to subscribers of Time Warner Cable video service…”
Ho Hum.
Use HandBrake for DVD ripping, and go into the Subtitles options for the language you want – and burn the titles in.
Are these the same channels that TWC customers can access through their cable boxes?
I don’t understand the point. Maybe the customer can save the rental charge for a cable box?
Clearly, it’s meant for a second TV. I have the TWC TV app for the iPhone. When you start it up, it authenticates, which involves contacting your box. So you’ve gotta have at least one box.
This isn’t a bad deal, actually. What it means is that you can get full digital cable on a second TV, without having the pay the rental fee for the second box. (Provided you’re getting your internet from TWC, which I’d guess most customers do.)
——RM
You don’t need a cable box, but you do need to be a TWC customer.
My TV is still direct connected to the cable, no cable box. The TWC app works fine on my iPad.
My suspicion is that it checks against the MAC address of your modem, which is linked to your TWC account.
Because I don’t use a cable box, I don’t get channels on my TV that I get on my iPad. They are channels I don’t want to watch, so no loss there.
300 channels? How in the world would you ever find what you wanted to watch before the show was over?
Channels are in alphabetical order.
——RM
I hope Verizon does a FiOS deal w Apple TV. I use the Verizon iPad app that works great for live TV. I’d love to dump the FiOS clunker box in my bedroom and just use the Apple TV box…
I don’t understand the point of this either. I use TimeWarner as an Internet Service Provider. I don’t use their stupid pay TV service. Can’t understand why anyone does really. Along with an AppleTV I have a ROKU box. I also have a MacMini connected to my TV. Pretty much all the entertainment I want is available to me that way.
Why would I subscribe to TWCTV just to get TWCTV on a ROKU box?
Until TWC figures out that I want what I want, when I want, wherever I want it and not 300 channels of pure crap, their pay TV services is useless.
Pointless and irrelevant announcement.
It’s “pointless and irrelevant” to you because you don’t subscribe to TWC. TWCTV is a service for subscribers. It’s not meant as a replacement for anything.
TWCTV, which also exists as an iPhone & iPad app, as well as on the web, is simply meant to allow TWC subscribers to watch TV in any room in the house without the need for a cable box or even a TV. I sometimes use it to watch TV while I work out, since there’s no television in that room.
Now with TWCTV on the Roku, a TWC subscriber can enjoy the full digital lineup on a second TV, without having to pay rental for a second box.
It’s a pretty sweet deal if you ask me. If you already subscribe to Time Warner Cable.
——RM
I love the comments on this thread. “I HATE CABLE! SO THIS SUCKS! BLARGH!”
Okay, you don’t like cable TV. Valid viewpoint. But then this service isn’t meant for you. It’s a benefit for subscribers.
I am a subscriber, and this sounds pretty awesome, because it means I could get the full channel lineup in the bedroom where we only have basic cable because we don’t want to pay extra.
But I’m not buying a Roku just for this. I already have a Apple TV and a PS3 hooked up to that TV.
——RM
When Comcast or Time Warner will let me take high speed Internet and pay for the channels I want- unbundled on IPTV- wake me up.