The New York Times says that Comcast has some big plans brewing that will allow consumers to watch TV and movies over something called the “internet,” as well as offering the ability to remotely control their DVRs.

Comcast has set up a site called Fancast.com where viewers can watch more than 3,000 hours of television shows from NBC, Fox, CBS and MTV and where they will soon be able to remotely program the digital video recorders in their homes. The shows on Fancast are available free. Comcast has yet to say how it will price the rest of the content as its plan moves forward.

Also on Tuesday, Comcast will show off a technology called wideband that significantly reduces the amount of time it takes to download a movie from the Internet

. Mr. Roberts will take the stage with Ryan Seacrest, the television and radio host, to download the two-and-a-half-hour film “Batman Begins” in less than four minutes, rather than the six hours it would take using a standard broadband connection. Comcast plans to introduce wideband to millions of homes in select markets in 2008 before making it available in all of its areas.

Fancast is up and running, albeit in beta, and seems (at first glance) to be little more than Hulu with slightly different branding. What do you think?

Comcast Plans to Offer a Huge Menu of Films [New York Times]
Fancast

Want more consumer news? Visit our parent organization, Consumer Reports, for the latest on scams, recalls, and other consumer issues.