monitorhead

After watching a few episodes of my favorite programs online, I thought it would be useful and fun to briefly review the offerings from the major broadcasters and at least one cable channel. This review is not exhaustive but points out a few important details for each site.

A few notes:
I prefer Firefox as my browser and I attempted using it first for each site. If successful, I assumed the site would play in Internet Explorer as well. Several sites failed with Firefox. In those cases, I was able to view video with IE7 and it is listed as the browser. I also pointed out the failure to play in Firefox. There really is no excuse for this since all players relied on Flash which is available for both browsers. I tested on a pc running Windows XP with service pack 2 and all the latest updates.

All the sites had a few common aspects:

• Flash plugin is required for your browser
• Forced ad viewing at normal commercial breaks
• Timeline navigation, and pause available
• Navigating past a commercial triggers the commercial to be viewed
• Once viewed, commercials disappear

CBS - www.cbs.com
Program viewed: Jericho
Browser: Firefox 2.0.0.12
Comments:
+All episodes available from current season
+navigation to video area was easy
-no full screen viewing option
+video quality is decent at the resolution available
+overall very pleasant experience

ABC - www.abc.com
Program viewed: Lost
Browser: Internet Explorer 7.0
Comments:
–would not run in Firefox
+Full episodes from all 4 seasons of Lost
+Standard resolution looks good at “normal” and “big” settings, “Fullscreen” shows pixels
-Significant delay at beginning of video while buffering
+time navigation bar is nice with cursor tracking your mouse and showing time in seconds
-annoying, required click to continue after ad completed
+HD streaming option at up to 1300×770 resolution
-requires 2mbps internet connection and fast computer (dual core, 128Mb video ram, 1Gb ram)
-not true fullscreen but large, bordered window

NBC - www.nbc.com
Program viewed: The Office
Browser: Firefox 2.0.0.12
Comments:
+All episodes available from last season
+Fullscreen option hides window border and desktop
-video doesn’t quite fill screen, but better than other options
+Limited number of shows available for download (Conan, Tonight Show)
+Vintage NBC shows available (A-Team, Battlestar Galactica, Miami Vice)
-navigation was odd and busy, first go to new webpage for show and then wade through options to find
video
+/-Some episodes available for download, but requires browser plugin for playback (not portable to device)

Fox - www.fox.com
Program viewed: Prison Break
Browser: Internet Explorer 7.0
Comments:
Fox on demand (FOD) is in beta
–completely crashed Firefox
+Nice interface devoted to full episode viewing
-limited shows available
-3 screen sizes, not true full screen, bordered window
-30 sec forced ads

Sci-Fi - www.scifi.com
Program viewed: Battlestar Galactica
Browser: Firefox 2.0.0.12
Comments:
-only 5 episodes available
+fullscreen option but video does not fill screen, 2 sizes
+same viewer as NBC since both are owned by Universal
+navigation to viewing episodes was quick

In summary, all of the options failed in one way — I never had the illusion of watching TV. It was video on my computer. The navigation options while functional, required use of a mouse. More importantly, only two options allowed a fullscreen-like experience with no browser window. Even those options were handicapped by the fact that the image did not fill the screen but included a graphical border. The addition of two features, keyboard shortcuts for navigation and true full screen playback, could allow me to simulate a living room experience via playback on my media pc. It is already connected to my big screen television and a properly programmed remote would allow me to pause and rewind from my couch. Of course, this is probably not what the networks are trying to achieve, but people expect to watch TV from their couch on a big screen with remote in hand. Until then, online viewing is a useful, but limited experience.

If you have been watching Battlestar Galactica, then you’ll appreciate this hilarious summary of seasons 1 through 3. If you have never seen an episode but you are interested, then this is 8 minutes well-spent to catch up.

1. I have never responded to a tagging…until now.
2. I started the blogging trend in my family.
3. I am the least proficient blogger in my family.
4. Nicknames I’ve had: DT, Thurmanator, Del, Derek the perek, Derelichte, Mago
5. I am a geek.
6. In grad school, I had 7 PC’s, at the same time. All of them worked.
7. Currently, we have 4 PC’s, 1 Mac, and 1 handheld computer.
8. My favorite hobby is gaming.
9. I am a big geek.
10. Calling me a geek or nerd will not hurt my feelings.
11. I started playing soccer in the first grade when I was 6 years old.
12. I still play soccer on an indoor team once a week.
13. I was inspired to play indoor soccer by Ryan.
14. I don’t enjoy interior decorating.
15. I mow my own lawn because it is the only time I regularly spend outside and because I am cheap.
16. I reached my full height by the 10th grade.
17. I weighed 165 lbs. from age 15 to 29.
18. I had my first stitches at age 2.
19. I have had stitches 4 times…all on my head or face.
20. I subscribe to A Word A Day.
21. I still remember the first word I learned on A.W.A.D. 6 years ago: Potemkin village.
22. I have been accused of having a photographic memory.
23. I rarely remember things my wife just told me 5 minutes earlier.
24. I have lived in 9 cities.
25. I had my first paying job at age 9: paper boy.
26. My formal education spans 24 years.
27. My favorite color is blue.
28. During junior high school I rarely wore clothing that was not grey, black or blue.
29. I played organized football for the first time in the 8th grade. I made the starting team.
30. In the 9th grade, I played football and soccer at the same time and often left football practice after school and went to soccer practice.
31. My personal best in the high jump is 6′.
32. Growing up I often claimed my goal was to be a garbage man.
33. My boys get up early on Tuesdays and Fridays to wave at the garbage man.
34. I eat the same breakfast and lunch almost every weekday: bagel and coffee for breakfast, PB&J, chips and an apple for lunch.
35. I am a creature of habit.
36. I love cars made by Honda and may never buy anything else.
37. I have performed x-ray scattering experiments on two continents at 3 synchrotron sources.
38. I enjoy reading science-fiction and western novels.
39. Being a good dad is one of my top goals in life.
40. I have no fashion sense and it does not bother me at all.
41. I wear a size 8.5 shoe.
42. I like sports but rarely make time to watch them.
43. The World Cup is the exception.
44. I have written a simple computer program before.
45. I like skiing.
46. I have not skied for nearly 10 years.
47. I would like to learn snowboarding.
48. I tore a ligament in my knee.
49. I have never broken a bone in my body.
50. I have worn a beard since high school with only short clean-shaven stints.
51. I don’t like to shave.
52. Growing up, I was the only one in my immediate family who did not wear corrective lenses.
53. Growing up, I was the only one in my immediate family without mold and pine alergies.
54. Growing up, I was the only one in my immediate family with blue eyes.
55. My wife married me for my blue-eyed genes.
56. Science-fiction is my favorite genre for movies and television.
57. I believe chocolate and coffee are better the darker they are.
58. Lately, I only read books while on an airplane.
59. I love electronic gadgets but don’t care about advanced mobile phones.
60. Of the 350 minutes of cell phone airtime we use in a typical month, my calls account for about 25 minutes.
61. I always liked dogs better than cats until we got a cat.
62. I saw the recently released The Transformers at the theater by myself.
63. I have an original series Optimus Prime toy along with original packaging in my parents’ attic.
64. I have a box a box full of all my old soccer jerseys since I was 13.
65. While in college, I once got two speeding tickets in the same week.
66. I got my driver’s license at age 17 (a year late) because I didn’t own a car at 16.
67. I get freckles.
68. I got braces when I was 18.
69. I don’t wear hats anymore. Not as a rule but as a habit.
70. I think khaki pants are the new blue jeans.
71. I haven’t bought a new CD for more than 5 years (with the exception of Zane Williams music).
72. I am an author on 5 scientific papers.
73. At one point, I had a library of nearly 200 videos and DVDs.
74. I only purchase children’s movies now.
75. I have been bungie-jumping.
76. I asked my wife to marry me in a magnolia tree.
77. I hate local news programs on television.
78. I get my news from the internet.
79. I don’t generally care for politics or politicians.
80. I read the newspaper when I am traveling but never when I am home.
81. I don’t get sick very often.
82. I taught myself to play guitar.
83. I was in a band in college.
84. I like fixing things.
85. I actually like my commute to work. It’s relaxing.
86. I always eat italian dressing or vinagrette on salad.
87. Between January and May this year, I spent 0 of my working days on business trips. 
88. Between June and September this year, I spent 1/3 of my working days on business trips.
89. I prefer water to carbonated drinks.
90. I have a fear of riding motorcycles that stems from childhood.
91. I read slowly but tend to retain what I read.
92. I am not a picky eater and I will eat almost everything except liver.
93. I think chiropractrics is useful.
94. I never wanted to be a medical doctor because I get shivers just thinking of bodily harm to other people be it accidental or intentional.
95. I have a very high pain tolerance.
96. I have visited Carlsbad caverns.
97. I have never visited Niagra Falls.
98. I think boxing is a good way to hurt your face.
99. I am a good speller but I missed the first word in the only spelling bee I ever participated in.
100. The longest blog entry I have ever posted is this list.

I tag Patrick and Caleb. They are the most likely people to still be reading my blog.

OK. So I’m no daily blogger. I give up.

I suppose I enjoy reading other people’s thoughts more than my own. But then, this might be true for other people too–people like you, dear reader. For a short time I thought I could blog every day (like Ryan used to do). Then, I decided it was more practical to blog at least once a week. Now I am struggling to keep a pace of one a month.

I suppose I could invoke that old addage about quality, not quantity. However, I just skimmed through my last few posts and reconsidered that notion. No, I can’t imagine anyone reading this blog because of its insightfulness or educational value. I’m not convinced that I even make this blog interesting (I try). Why then do you read?

I suppose it might be for a little glimpse into my life, a small connection, a stirred memory triggered by a turn of phrase. When I read blogs of my closest friends, I can almost hear them in my head relating their stories in that same old familiar way.  It’s like I am there. This must be what the attraction is in blogging–connection between reader and writer.

I managed to locate blogs of 5 old friends today. What a delight! I hope that my discovery leads to more connection. After all, I just convinced myself that blogging is fundamentally about connecting. Now I’m feeling a bit more motivated to post more often. Maybe I’ll blog everyday. We’ll see–I don’t even shave everyday.

Our company employs web filtering software to limit access to certain kinds of content on the internet. I have run up against this restriction on a couple of occasions. These were understandable exclusions-one was a news story at a game related site (RESTRICTED: games), another was a message board on Yahoo! Groups (RESTRICTED: personal or classified ads), and another was the music section of apple.com (RESTRICTED: music). These were all reasonable exclusions since my internet access is supposed to be for work purposes.

Today, I was shocked to find that I can no longer check Megan’s blog or my own from work (RESTRICTED: non-traditional religious, cult or folklore). I have no idea what content on our site elicited such a filter classification. I would really like to know how this happened. If you see anything on my blog or Megan’s blog that you think would fall into that category please post a comment.

So, I suppose this will put a further damper on my already infrequent blogging.

______________________________________________________

On a side note, Ryan’s post today covered a litany of subjects he would rather not blog on today. I completely agree with his disgust with the fear related to the U.A.E. owned company that will be overseeing operations at a handful of American ports. Furthermore, I think this has really blown up in the face of the Bush administration and led to a historically low approval rate for the President.