Hidden, helpful use of the 30

xfinity-on-demand.png

Matt Elliott/CNET

The wife and I finished “Breaking Bad” on Netflix a month back and after a period of mourning — not for Walt but for the greatest TV show of all time being over — we turned to Xfinity X1’s on demand offerings to find a suitable replacement. We have found that many on demand shows, particularly current-season shows, begin with the message, “While watching this show, fast forward and other functions may not be available.”

Not only must you sit through commercial breaks, but on demand shows force you to watch the same commercial at each break. It’s maddening. Or was, until I discovered the 30-second skip button I programmed works in such instances. (Read my article from last year about the simple, two-step process that turns the 5-minute skip ahead button into a more useful 30-second skip.)

So, the next time you think you are stuck watching an Xfinity on demand show without fast-forward, try the page-up button instead of the fast-forward button. With the page-up button reprogrammed as a 30-second skip, you’ll be able to zip past on demand commercial breaks, which is all the more satisfying when Xfinity tells you that you shouldn’t be able to do it.

Check Also

‘House of the Dragon’ Season Finale Recap: This Means War

King Viserys finally passed away in last week’s episode, but Rhaenyra and Daemon Targaryen didn’t find out about it. Unbeknownst to them, a new king, Aegon the Second, had already been crowned. They learned of these bombshells in Sunday’s fiery House of the Dragon season 1 finale, which saw the first dragon fight of the …

Leave a Reply