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Comcast's Video Download Store Is Wholly Unremarkable
Posted by Mark Wilson at 3:10 AM on September 4, 2008
Comcast's internet video site, Fancast, used to be a place to check out Hulu clips and waste away your data cap along with your brain. Now it's a place to buy and rent full-length movies a la Amazon Unbox or iTunes to play on your Windows PC (and up to two other authorised computers). Filled with the same US$3.99 rentals and US$13ish purchases, we wouldn't be writing about this service if Comcast weren't behind it...hopefully with plans to improve things down the line. [Fancast via Zatz Not Funny]
Comments (AU Comments · US Comments)
There are currently no AU comments for this post.
zanella
Posted 3:33 AM 4/9/08
Comcast Execs to Product Marketing:
"Nice timing on the product release gang. Our customers will understand that we bring VALUE to their lives through our products and services. Our new FanCast site will be a breakthrough in media-on-demand services and will be instantly available to everyone, except for those who have reached their monthly bandwidth cap. For those folks, well, you can still see FanCast next month.
And for all our faithful customers who have advanced media-on-demand services from NetFlix using your XBOX 360 or Roku player, or for any of our customers who are playing online games, or for those who are actually trying to further the pursuit of scientific discovery by Folding at home, I'll be using my uncapped FIOS connection from Verizon.
Bang up job! I can hardly wait for the next product release! Go Comcast!"
Ugh.
zanella
cotr
Posted 3:32 AM 4/9/08
i love how they always end the call by saying "thank you for choosing comcast." Its never been a choice. If i could get FiOS, DISH or DIRECTv, i would throw the box right into the toilet and hit it with a hammer until i could flush it.
how can they be a monopoly like this? i hope comcast burns in hell. after paying the Hell service fee, the Connection to Hell fee, and the Support fee.
cotr
lilaliendog
Posted 3:24 AM 4/9/08
so wait they KNOW that by offering this that the download cap will be hit by their normal customers yet they keep the cap? f u comcast
lilaliendog
92BuickLeSabre
Posted 3:24 AM 4/9/08
@strider_mt2k: You know when you accidentally type the wrong url, like [www.netflx.com] or [www.googlle.com] that's what it looks like to me.
In any case, I'm just glad to see that the internet is getting more just more stuff. Because really, if there is one thing the internet is short of, it's just more stuff.
92BuickLeSabre
Joseph
Posted 3:20 AM 4/9/08
They charge to cap you on one end, charge your for the media, then send it to you across your capped connection. That's awesome.
Oh BTW? Can one of you guys on Giz tell someone at Gawker that it would be cool if we could purchase some of the art from [artists.gawker.com]
Joseph
Mr.SithNinja
Posted 3:19 AM 4/9/08
Screw you Comcast. You data cap and expect us to use our cap to buy more crap from you? Up yours!
Mr.SithNinja
strider_mt2k
Posted 3:14 AM 4/9/08
-or the Kush...
strider_mt2k
strider_mt2k
Posted 3:13 AM 4/9/08
That pic could be the box art from a new video card.
They always have to open their mouths like that so that their lungs won't burst from the high levels of performance.
strider_mt2k
Jon B.
Posted 3:39 AM 4/9/08
"Non-Windows users welcome" ???
Lol that sounds a little unprofessional. Should say "Mac and Linux users welcome".
Dang Comcast.
So lemme get this straight, they offer the movie service, you stream/download the movie, and you jump up to your data-cap faster so they can charge you?
Cotr said it perfectly - "i hope comcast burns in hell."
Jon B.
axiomatic
Posted 4:08 AM 4/9/08
Yeah have to agree with the rest. Screw you Comcast. If you are going to cap me, I'm definitely buying video rentals elsewhere.
I don't think you thought your dastardly plan through all the way.... which I find "Comcastic."
axiomatic
Enochrewt
Posted 4:08 AM 4/9/08
Does this stuff actually go towards your cap? If it doesn't it's strike against net neutrality.
Enochrewt
x3r0
Posted 4:06 AM 4/9/08
Wow, how stupid.
I hope all Comcast users are as attentive as you guys, because if anyone using Comcast actually uses this service, they're pretty much selling their souls to Satan.
Yea, that's how bad this looks to me.
x3r0
Mr.SithNinja
Posted 4:01 AM 4/9/08
@Jon B.: Yeah, that "non-Windows users welcome" makes me think of signage from the south back in the day, "Non-Whites Welcome!".....
Mr.SithNinja
pevans34
Posted 5:26 AM 4/9/08
@Mr.SithNinja: except apple seems to have a monopoly on "white"
but i get your point
pevans34
quickstrike
Posted 5:37 AM 4/9/08
As long as the offer diff movies from ON Demand, I say this is a good thing
quickstrike
Mr.SithNinja
Posted 6:30 AM 4/9/08
@quickstrike: I am not sure about differing content but I do know that if you have digital cable and internet, they charge your On Demand content against your internet data cap as well. So either way you are screwed.
Mr.SithNinja
VideoVampire
Posted 7:03 AM 4/9/08
Heres how Comcast will improve it, they will raise the price 6 times in a year, that oughta do it.
VideoVampire
DigitalNoise
Posted 8:49 AM 4/9/08
A) I highly doubt this will be counted towards the cap, since the transfers are internal to the Comcast network.
B) Why do people keep bitching about Comcast not being a choice? It's a very simple one - if you don't like them, don't take the service. What, they're the only one? Well, that doesn't mean you have to take them - you choose to do so. I choose for almost 4 years not to have Internet or Video services - though I could afford to.
DigitalNoise