Comcast to deliver live FIFA World Cup games in Dolby Vision HDR

With 4K resolution coverage of the upcoming FIFA World Cup in Qatar being much more readily available than it was at the previous tournament back in 2018, Comcast has turned its attention to another picture quality innovation to steal the headlines this time round: Dolby Vision.

The media giant has confirmed this morning that its Xfinity X1 box is going to be the only device in the US through which football/soccer fans will be able to experience Fox’s live 4K match coverage delivered in Dolby’s premium HDR format.

Fox’s coverage will be available elsewhere in the more basic HDR10 format, but the Xfinity X1 will be the only way you can experience the richer detail, greater contrast, more intense highlights and more vivid, natural colours that live Dolby Vision delivery can unlock.

Please bear in mind, though, that since Dolby Vision is a full end to end production eco system, your TV will need to be Dolby Vision capable (which immediately excludes all Samsung TVs) in order to enjoy the feature through an X1 box.

The ground-breaking Dolby Vision support is just one of a raft of innovative features Comcast is introducing for the World Cup across its Xfinity X1, Xfinity Flex, Xfinity Stream app and XClass TV platforms. For instance, all the platforms will aggregate all of the available English and Spanish live coverage and on-demand replays into one comprehensive destination, providing a simple and intuitive way to get to all the World Cup coverage from the likes of Telemundo, Universo, Peacock, FOX, FS1 and Tubi.

Thanks to this new one-stop World Cup coverage destination, accessing the wealth of World Cup content headed our way over the coming weeks is no more complicated than saying either “World Cup” or “Copa Mundial’ into an Xfinity Voice Remote.

X1 customers will also be able to create a customised FIFA World Cup experience, where live coverage and match highlights relating to their favourite teams will be given pride of place in the World Cup destination interface. Favourite team selections will port over to the Xfinity Stream app too, so the same personalized experience will also be available on the go.

It’s even possible for Xfinity users to request notifications on their TVs and/or mobile devices whenever one of their favourite teams is about to play, and to receive direct links to post-match coverage and highlights.

Finally, Comcast has introduced a DVR Highlight system, where machine learning technology makes it possible to provide football fans with notes in the playback bar of DVR recordings pointing out where significant events such as goals, penalties, great saves and near misses take place.

“The FIFA World Cup™ is going to be one of the biggest sporting events in 2022, and with streaming coverage from Peacock and Tubi, there will be more ways to watch than ever,” said Vito Forlenza, Executive Director, Product Management, Comcast. “Our platforms will bring together all the various viewing options into one comprehensive destination, making it easy for our customers – whether a pay TV customer with X1 or a steamer with Flex or XClass TV – to enjoy all 64 matches, live or on demand, in the language of their choice.” Forbes