In what is a first for the company, Time Warner Cable is letting its customers in San Diego area watch TV over their broadband connections on a PC. Broadband TV (some FAQs here), as Time Warner calls its service, offers the same 75 channels that are available with its standard Advantage service.

It is a six month test for 9,000 of its customers who subscribe to both cable TV and its Road Runner high-speed Internet service. (Keep in mind, this is a closed network, much like a university cable system…)

Interestingly, TW is using RealNetworks’ RealPlayer for this trial..

After the service has been tested, Time Warner will decide whether to expand it to other customers in San Diego County or even elsewhere in the nation.