Comcast rolls out “AnyPlay” live TV streaming for iPad users

They’re not the first, but they’re definitely the biggest. Today, Comcast announced that it has begun rolling out its AnyPlay service that will give Xfinity HD Triple Play customers in the areas of Denver and Nashville the ability to live stream television to their tablets at no additional charge.

If you don’t live in Nashville or Denver, don’t worry, as they plan to add more areas in the coming months. To start off, the service will only be available for the iPad, and compatibility for the Motorola Xoom is in the works.

With AnyPlay, you can watch the channels that are included in your linear channel subscription through the Xfinity TV app on the iPad®, and very soon the Motorola Xoom™ tablet. This means that while someone else watches a program in the living room, for example, you can watch another show on your iPad from the backyard deck, kitchen or other places around the home. Here’s how it works…the AnyPlay device works the same as any other set top box in the home, but instead of delivering the incoming channel lineup to a television, AnyPlay delivers the lineup to the Wi-Fi router on the home network. The router then distributes the secure video signal to the iPad or Xoom over your home’s wireless network. So as long as your tablet is within range of the home wireless router, you can turn it into another television screen.

For those of you who aren’t fortunate enough to live in Denver or Nashville, you can still use the company’s existing Xfinity TV app for the iPad to watch thousands of hours of on demand movies and TV shows, available for viewing both inside and outside of the home. I use Verizon FiOS, so… what’s up Verizon? Live TV coming soon?

Jared is a web designer with a passion for writing. Co-founded, The Industry & Evomail. Editor at teamtreehouse.com.