Time Warner Cable to release live TV streaming app for iPad

Time Warner Cable is set to release a brand new app for iPad that will allow streaming of live TV. The app allows customers to stream 30 channels of HD to their WiFi connected iPad.

To use the app, one must subscribe to both cable and internet services from Time Warner and currently streaming is only allowed within the customer's home. Officially supported live streaming is a first for the industry as apps from other cable companoies have simply acted as a remote control or have allowed only streaming of on-demand titles. Comcast has stated that its app will also do live streaming before the end of 2011.

Of course, one can use a slingbox to stream live TV to their Apple device, but this requires an additional hardware purchase and firewall configuration. Time Warner's app does not require any new hardware (except for the iPad itself of course). The video streams are broadcast directly from the headend to the end user via the user's cable modem.

Time Warner Cable's 12.4 million video subscribers make it the second largest cable company in the nation, behind only Comcast Corp. The app is expected to be available free of charge from the App store.