Time Warner Cable has followed through on its promise to deliver live streaming video content to Android-based smartphones and tablets, but the catch is that those devices need to be running the Ice Cream Sandwich operating system.
TWC TV 2.0, which is now available on Google Play, lets Time Warner Cable subscribers watch live cable channels, including Food Network, Bravo and CNBC, on their Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich-based devices.
Time Warner Cable director of digital communications Jeff Simmermon noted in a previous blog posting that the cable operator is only supporting the live streams in Ice Cream Sandwich (ICS) “because it’s currently the only version of the Android OS that allows us the security and stability necessary to distribute video over our private network.”
“While we now offer live video to users with Ice Cream Sandwich on their Android devices, we have no control over whether or not your particular device has Ice Cream Sandwich yet,” Simmermon wrote in yesterday’s blog. “Once your device upgrades, you’re off to the races.”
To date, there aren’t a lot of devices out there with the ICS OS, but tablet and handset manufacturers have been scrambling to add it into their devices.
Simmermon also noted that the Android-based live streaming doesn’t work on rooted devices and that users who are experiencing difficulties should try uninstalling the app and then reinstalling it.
Time Warner Cable first released its Android-based app in December, minus the live streaming.
The nation’s second-largest cable operator released a live TV app for the iPhone in January, while the live TV iPad app became available in March of last year.
