XfinityTV Website

[skiesareclear]

So, given the recent press I'm now acutely aware that I can watch television via the Xbox xfinity app without risking a nastygram about "excessive data usage."  

Does the same hold true for watching on the xfinity iPad app and the website, or do those rack up the GBs?

[JayInAlg]

All data coming across your modem is now under the new data policy, it doesn't matter what the device is.

[skiesareclear]

What's the new data policy - that everything counts?

[JayInAlg]

The official post is at the Comcast Blog HERE.

[skiesareclear]

Thanks, I did read that.  It's not quite clear, IMO.  It says that they have always treated everything the same (or something to that effect - paraphrasing), but I was under the impression that the xfinity iPad app did not count toward the data cap, so I don't understand how the two mesh up.  

edited to add:  I just reread it.  This is where my confusion point is:  They say they have consistently treated all data that comes over the public internet the same.  But the argument in favor of not counting xbox xfinity app streaming against the data cap was apparently that it's not transmitted the same way, right?  I'm wondering if the same goes for the iPad app and, if so, if that policy will remain in place.

[JayInAlg]

It was only the recently released Xbox app that didn't count, eveything else did including any tablets or other portable devices.

[skiesareclear]

That's interesting.  Totally different than what I had been told... and good to know, thanks.  

I'm really bummed about the data caps.  I just signed on with Comcast and no one mentioned it to me.  It's probably going to be the thing that makes me cancel.

[rog286713]

That post says right now there is no data cap, and they are raising it to 300gb from 250.

In both approaches, we'll be increasing the initial data usage threshold for our customers from today's 250 GB per month to at least 300 GB per month.
In markets where we are not trialing a new data usage management approach, we will suspend enforcement of our current usage cap as we transition to a new data usage management approach, although we will continue to contact the very small number of excessive users about their usage.

If you go to your users and settings tab and the data meter is gone you have no cap.  That is how I am reding this.  If I go there I have no data meter as my area is not part of the trail.

[ComcastTerry]

All,

I'd like to share a piece of my home setup to bring data usage into perspective.

I have a family of 5 and everyday there is between 2-5 PC's running, an XBox 360 and a blu-ray player with Netflix enabled. My youngest is almost always on youtube via a PC. My eldest plays XBox Live non-stop and my middle child lives on Netflix, as she claims to be the worlds biggest Anime fan. My wife and I are gamers and spend several hours a week online. We have iTunes accounts which the kids keep very busy and my eldest is enjoying the Xfinity for Xbox app in between gaming sessions.

To make a long story short, my internet activity is constantly on the go!

My usage meter has never gone any higher than 16 gigabytes.

People who come close to their cap are either running a server from home, (which is against Comcast policy for residential service,) or frequent those websites which allow for unlawful downloading of media.

If anyone has a different story and would like to share it with me, please drop me a private message and I'll look into your usage. Bear in mind that I cannot see where you have been on the web, I can just see the amount and type of traffic that crosses your modem.

P.S.. Just to answer a previous question:

Xfinity on XBox content is delivered in a similar way that Video on Demand is delivered. This is why you keep hearing that the XBox app doesn't count towards your data usage.

-Thanks!

[rog286713]

terry I share your comment.  I have never come close and have the same issue in my home.  seems if you are doing things legally this cap should never affect you.  unless you have an unsecure connection and someone is stealing your signal

[skiesareclear]

ComcastTerry - I have to say I'm amazed that you can have that many people, that type of usage, and only use 16GB.  We have 3 people, all of whom have computers and iPhones, one xBox, and one iPad.  (We don't use them all at the same time obviously.)  We're on the go a lot, but when we're here we're often using these devices.  My son uses YouTube, Netflix, and his xBox.  The adults use HBO Go and sometimes Netflix.  We're certainly not running a server or engaging in unlawful downloading of media.  (There isn't a single one of us in this house that would have a clue how to do that.)  We occasionally use Skype - perhaps once or twice a week - but not generally for long periods.

As of today, we've used 146GB.  In May, we used 116GB.

[skiesareclear]

Just wanted to add that I contacted the Comcast Security Assurance team this week because, given the information on this thread, I was worried there was something off.  The fellow I spoke with told me that streaming Netflix in HD uses a little over 2GB an hour.  With that information, having such high usage makes more sense... and it makes it even more inconceivable to me that the majority of Comcast users would have very low usage.