23 Dec 2008

Pretty cool -- Time Warner 'Enhanced TV'

As the saying goes, there is certainly no love lost between Time Warner and me. For starters, their internet service to my apartment in New York tends to be extremely slow, especially at peak times. The TV, while more reliable than the internet, also cuts out from time to time, and definitely isn't as good as offerings from Verizon FIOS or even some of the stuff I've seen Comcast do. However, I was watching today, and when I clicked on a channel to watch a movie already started (Click! with Adam Sandler...so/so), I was presented with this option:
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I clicked it, and sure enough, the movie started over! Pretty cool. It was a on FX, so I figured that it was just some gimmick that FX had going. Later that night, I flipped on House on TNT. Same message! Seems like a bunch of channels are participating. The 'Enhanced TV' features allow you to start from the beginning, pause or rewind the shows (no fast-forward, however, presumably to prevent you from skipping commercials). I checked out the Time Warner Enhanced TV site and it seems like there is a whole slew of features available in certain markets:
Start Over - Missed the start of your favorite show? With Start Over™, you’ve got the power to restart and watch it from the beginning. Over 60 popular TV channels currently offer Start Over™ and it's free with digital cable service.
Quick Clips - Watch video clips of your favorite shows and news programs whenever you like with Quick Clips. New content is added every day and it's free with digital cable service.
Look Back - Ever wish you could go back in time and catch a show you missed? Now you can. Look Back lets you watch shows you missed, as many as 48 hours after the program originally aired.
PhotoshowTV - PhotoShowTV is a new, easy, and FREE way to share your digital pictures and videos with friends and family, right through your computer and TV! It's free when you subscribe.

Not bad. Seems like Start Over is the only feature available for me right now, but I'm particularly intrigued by the PhotoshowTV option. If they do it right (a big if -- pictures are hard, since everyone already has their favorite backup and picture services, and its a pain to switch), it would be pretty neat to be able to pull up your pictures on your TV to show. Those photos from Costa Rica probably look a lot better on a 52" plasma than on your smaller computer monitor in the den.