Comcast's upcoming app to eliminate the need for set-top boxes

Comcast has announced that they plan to launch a new app later this year, enabling customers to watch TV without using a set-top box. The Xfinity app will run on Roku devices and Samsung smart TVs. It will allow users to record their favorite shows, get on-demand video and watch live TV. In short, the new app will do the job that a cable box does, except that there will be no need to use a cable box at all.

So far a few other cable companies have provided such a feature; for instance Time Warner Cable. Comcast's Xfinity app will soon be available to consumers who own a smart TV. This move will enable both set-top box and TV manufacturers to embed the Comcast app into their products, including live TV and DVR recordings.

And while this seems like great news for consumers, it does not seem to appeal to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) that just recently announced they want to provide customers with more choice with regard to set-top boxes. According to the FCC, the new Comcast app isn't good enough. A representative of the Commission explained in a statement that:

"While we do not know all of the details of this announcement, it appears to offer only a proprietary, Comcast-controlled user interface and seems to allow only Comcast content on different devices, rather than allowing those devices to integrate or search across Comcast content as well as other content consumers subscribe to."

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