Oceanic finally rolls out TV app to customers with iPads

Oceanic Time Warner Cable customers with iPads can finally download a TWCable TV app that will work in Hawaii. In addition, Oceanic has launched the ability to program and otherwise manage your DVR, or digital video recorder, remotely from a desktop or laptop computer, tablet or mobile device.

Mainland Time Warner customers have had the ability to watch cable TV shows on iPads for about six months, while we in isolated Hawaii have had to wait. More on the why part from Oceanic President Bob Barlow a little farther down.

The iPad app for Hawaii is live now. All an Oceanic customer needs to do is get a MyServices user name and password, obtained online (myservices.timewarnercable.com), download the TWCable TV app, log in and watch live TV on their iPad anywhere in or around their home. An Android version of the app is in the works.

For now a user has to be in range of their home network, but you could be, say, outside grilling and still be able to watch the game/boxing match/other favorite live show. Just don’t let the steaks burn — they were expensive.

"This is IPTV (Internet protocol television)," said Allan Akamine, Oceanic advanced services director. A customer’s modem has a range of up to 150 feet, meaning a viewer needn’t be chained to the couch.

The iPad app also offers the program guide and various settings options, including parental control adjustments.

Another kinda big deal is the ability to remotely access and manage one or more digital video recorders at home, from any desktop or laptop computer, tablet or mobile device with an Internet connection, using Time Warner’s MyServices portal.

Say you’re at your office and a gripping fear comes over you because you’re not sure whether you set your DVR to record "Project Runway," "Top Gear," "Breaking Bad" or another favorite show. You now can set the DVR remotely via the MyServices portal.

A future generation of the app will likely allow you to watch your DVR recordings via the iPad or other mobile devices, Akamine said.

An Oceanic service called "Whole House DVR" also just rolled out, which enables customers to record a show in one room and play it back in up to four rooms, with viewers in each room able to rewind, fast-forward or pause without affecting other viewers’ experience. It has other whiz-bang features as well.

While Oceanic is the state’s largest cable provider, competing satellite providers also offer services in Hawaii, and each boasts its own technological advances. DISH Network offers "TV Everywhere," which allows customers to watch live TV and DVR content on mobile devices outside the home. Remote DVR management is also offered.

DirecTV offers NFL programming on the go and allows remote DVR access and management.

DirecTV and DISH Network offer versions of the whole-house DVR service, in which one unit can feed multiple TVs, but they each have competing bells and whistles. Researching each company’s site to find out which service better suits a viewer’s needs and budget can make a head swim.

Now, why did Hawaii have to wait so long for the Oceanic iPad app?

Parent company Time Warner Cable had to build an interface that worked with Oceanic’s billing system, which is the smallest of three billing systems within Time Warner, explained Oceanic head Barlow. The mainland has two billing systems which each cover about 7 million customers, while Oceanic’s covers about 400,000 customers. Given the arithmetic, the larger groups of customers got higher priority for the app.

Why not convert Hawaii’s billing system to play nicely with one or the other on the mainland?

Because it does things that neither mainland billing system will do, Barlow explained. The functionality of Oceanic’s billing system is apparently superior and is therefore protected from assimilation by the mainland systems, he said.

The other question might be why corporate doesn’t adopt Oceanic’s billing system, but no suits from Time Warner’s headquarters were present in Barlow’s Mililani office to provide an answer.

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Reach Erika Engle at 529-4303, erika@staradvertiser.com, or on Twitter as @erikaengle.