Comcast’s X1 Platform Might Have “National Known Issue” Stopping It From Actually Working

(Consumerist)

Comcast is really pleased with their Xfinity X1 platform, the set-top app-running digital-tuning computer that is their latest interpretation on the cable box. And it does indeed do some nifty things! But it’s also had some pretty bad, extremely widespread issues. And if what one customer service rep told a customer is true, it seems that far from being something sporadic and unpredictable, the problems with the X1 may instead be known issues that Comcast has yet to fix.

Consumerist tipster Michael points us to one Comcast subscriber’s complaint about his issues with the X1. The subscriber’s issues are particularly weird: a brand-new piece of technology insisting that it’s 44 years old, for example, and claiming that its hard drive is full before anything is recorded. But the more telling part is in the response the subscriber received from a Comcast rep in a private message.

The rep replied: “I must apologize, but from the information I’ve received so far, the issue you’re experiencing is a part od a national known issue with our DVR recordings. … It might be best to wait on the tech visit. Each market has their own way of dealing with this known issue.”

Comcast has been loudly touting the features and consumer benefits of the X1 — calling it “the future of TV with a state-of-the-art user interface and product features that revolutionize the viewing experience” — in their filings and statements about their planned merger with Time Warner Cable. Of course, the expansion of the platform also benefits Comcast. If the X1 really is being rolled out nationwide with known defects that prevent it from working as advertised, that kills the few benefits consumers do ever actually see.

We’ve asked Comcast for comment and will update if we hear back.

by Kate Cox via Consumerist