By Peter Covino
Entertainment Editor

It wasn't all that long ago when just having access to the Internet at home was a technological marvel.

With the evolution of smart phones, you can take the Internet with you pretty much wherever you travel.

The next big thing in the Internet is about to happen in Central Florida: Bright House Network cable subscribers will soon be able to access some of their home cable channels via their laptops, even when they are away from home, Brian Craven, director of public affairs and communications for Central Florida's largest cable-based operation, said.

“So much is happening now,” Craven said. “It's an incredible time.”

Dubbed “TV Everywhere,” the new service will provide — at no extra charge to those cable subscribers — the ability to watch TV programs on PCs or laptops and other Internet-connected devices.

Craven said the new service would be implemented on various channels over the next several months.

Similar services also will be available from satellite and telephone companies that provide TV service, according to National Cable & Telecommunications President and CEO Kyle McSlarrow.

TV Everywhere is just one of many new services that are already available or will be soon to the nearly 1 million Bright House subscribers in Central Florida, Craven said.

Already in place and new in October are two new services that make it easier to watch your favorite shows, even if you have a hectic schedule.

Look Back is now available for all Bright House Network’s digital cable subscribers, Craven said.

With the Look Back service viewers can watch a program for up to three days after its original airdate. Look Back works for both DVR (digital video recorder) and non-DVD converter boxes.

Look Back is being launched slowly in the coming weeks, Craven said. The initial launch includes NBC, Bright House Sports Network, The Learning Channel, Discover, History Channel, Syfy, Animal Planet, A&E, USA and the Food Network.

More channels will be added in the coming weeks, he said.

"Today's television consumers want to watch what they want, when they want it,” Chris Fenger, president of Bright House Network’s Central Florida division, said.

Look Back is similar to the company's Start Over service, which began earlier this year. Now available on more than 50 channels, to use Start Over, customers simply press the select button on their remote control either when the Start Over prompt appears on the screen or at any time during the scheduled broadcast.

Also new this month is the DVR Remote Manager, which allow viewers to access a DVR anytime, anywhere, Craven said.

Customers can set programs to record on their DVR through a personal computer or mobile phone. The DVR manager works with iPhone, Android and Blackberry devices, as well as many other mobile phones with Internet access.

Features of the Remote DVR Manager include advanced search functions to make finding and selecting programs easy. Customers can search TV listings for shows by title, person, rating, channel or date, or browse by categories, Craven said.

Customers can access Remote DVD Manager by logging into their online account at www.brighthouse.com/myservices.

Bright House customers also may have been confused in recent weeks by the duplicate channels found among the HD (high-definition) channels. The duplication was implemented, Craven said, as the company began putting HD channels grouped by categories such as sports, news and family.

The HD channels were being broadcast both from their original locations in the channel lineup as well as the new grouped locations, Craven said. Beginning this week, the channels will appear in the lineup only in the grouped categories. HD channels are part of the regular digital channel lineup at Bright House. There is no additional fee.

Beginning Monday, Bright House will be raising the rates of its optional sports package from $4.99 to $6.99.

But Craven said the sports package now includes new channels Fox Sports Ohio, Fox Sports Detroit, Fox Sports Wisconsin, ESPN Goal Line HD, SportsSouth, Big Ten Network Extra Football (channels for four different games), New England Sports Network, GolTV, MavTV HD and PrimeTicket.

All of these additional services, especially the remote access services for TV viewing with a laptop, will require faster Internet speeds, Craven said, and Bright House is keeping up with that demand with its new Road Runner Lightning service, which also was launched a few weeks ago.

The higher-speed Internet gives Osceola County customers a next-generation cable-modem technology known in the industry as wideband.

The new service features download speeds up to 40 Mbps (megabytes per second) downstream and upload speeds of up to 5 Mbps. Roadrunner Lightning includes a new cable modem designed to take advantage of greater bandwidth and costs $15 to $30 more per month, depending on a customer's current service level.

Customers have to sign up for the service. Those who signed up on a pre-registration list are being contacted by Bright House to schedule installations. Customers can register online at www.brighthouse.com/rrlightning or call 877-892-EASY.

Bright House also recently entered a new long-term agreement with the Disney/ABC Television Group, which will result in additional programming for customers including Disney Junior, a pre-school-age channel (coming in 2012); and ESPN3.com, ESPN's live sports broadband network. The Internet network delivers more than 3,500 live, global sports events and is available for all cable subscribers who get ESPN.