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.

A couple weekends ago, I discovered a fine piece of Japanese reality television called Ninja Warrior. It so happened that a Ninja Warrior marathon was showing on G4, a network which typically concentrates on video games and computer related programming. However, it seems lately the network is crossing into the space usually reserved for the Spike TV channel. I ran across the show title while perusing the program guide and sipping my morning cappuccino. Unable to disregard anything with the word “ninja” in it, the 13-year old boy in me tuned in to channel 354. Connor and I were glued to the set for the next 2 hours.

Ninja Warrior is a competition show in which 100 contestants try to traverse a onerous obstacle course exhibiting their athletic prowess and striving to prove the heart of a ninja beats within their chest. In Japan, the competition is call Sasuke and is shown as a 3 hour special while the normal run of shows are on hiatus. The obstacle course is set in 4 stages with participants eliminated at each round. The stages are tough and usually no more than 5 people pass the first stage. The final stage, a timed climb up a suspended rope, has only been completed twice in the 19 competitions that have been held.

To me, the best part about watching Ninja Warrior is the crazy Japanese contestants. Most of them apparently hope to accomplish little more than strutting their stuff on the platform prior to the first stage. If you have ever played one of those Japanese style fighting video games (like Tekken) then you have already seen the kind of things these people do. I always believed the antics in those games were just silly additions to spice up a basic fighting game mechanic, but it turns out Japanese people really do that kind of stuff. They do back flips or martial arts poses. One guy who worked in a fish market brought pots, pans and chop sticks and juggled things. Another guy idolizes Bruce Lee and so dressed and acted like Bruce before the clock began. Another guy dressed in a suit and eye glasses ripped off his clothes to reveal a Superman costume complete with cape. My favorite was a 60 year old who stripped down to his hot pink bikini briefs then quickly failed the first stage. By the way, most of these showmen fail the first stage. We just don’t have anything quite like this in States. The nearest thing I can think of is American Gladiators but I don’t think that has the same kind of following as Sasuke does in Japan.

If you like ninjas, you’ll like askaninja.com

Do you have any projects that you started with the best of intentions but never completed? We all do, don’t we. I thought I would confess one of my little projects that I keep finding ways not to complete. Keep in mind that this is my project–not something someone else asked of me–so you would think I’d have a vested interest.

When we first moved into our house in January, I spent many hours setting up my man station-also known as the entertainment area. I carefully unpacked all the electronics (television, DVD, receiver, DirecTV boxes, Xbox, CD player, homebrewed PVR, network hubs, speakers), wires (speaker wire, A/V cables, ethernet cables, power cords, surge protecters), and remotes (eight or nine including the all-in-one master). Then it was time to meticulously route cables and connect components while taking a few extra minutes to label things for the future day when the cables inevitably work into a morass of plastic coated copper and terminals. A few weeks later, I would do this wiring all over again when I purchased my new TV. Then, the real work began.

The trip from California had rattled my media computer enough to require a re-install off the operating system and software as well as some reorganization of the hardware inside that I had been neglecting. Next, I need to get a network connection to the entertainment area. Luckily, the previous owners had done some home wiring and run ethernet cables throughout the house. Unluckily, they had neglected two rooms that I found to be critical–the living room and the master bedroom. In fact, I need two network connections in the living room (one for the PVR and one for the Xbox) which is readily addressed by a small 4-port switch. After purchasing some special tools (fiberglass wire-puller, 3/4 inch drill bit, and "old work" outlet housing), I got to work.

The living room was easy to complete, there was plenty of room to work and some wires had already been pulled. We live in a one story house with attic access so pulling wires is as easy as locating the desired wall, drilling a hole in the top plate and sending the wires down to a hole cut in the sheet rock below. This is a cinch for interior walls that contain no insulation such as my living room wall. However, the best spot for a network drop in the bedroom was on an exterior wall. That was not fun. Not only was I thwarted by insulation on multiple attempts to pull my wire fshing rod through the wall, but drilling the hole was a challenge. The location of the hole was so close to the eaves of the house that I had very little room to work. (Keep in mind that I am lying on my stomach across ceiling joists covered in fiberglass insulation). After several hours, multiple trips up the attic ladder and a face full of pink insulation, I did manage to successfully pull my cabling into place.

Everything was wired up and in place except for one last detail–and this is my unfinished project. I have the obligatory 5.1 surround sound speaker package that any self-respecting, male, American consumer between the ages of 18 and 35 feels compelled to own. Not wanting to mar the wall with tacked up wires, I decided the right thing to do was pull speaker wires through attic to the perfect spot on the opposite side of the room where I would hang the speakers with some nifty wall brackets. This project was not nearly as complex as my previous endeavor and in fact I now had all the tools and experience I would need to proceed. Upon locating the desired spot to place the rear left speaker, I discovered a little gift from the previous home owner–a roof leak. We had not noticed this leak during the home inspection because it was in the shadow of the eaves and so near that fireplace that leaking rain water had been running down the wall rather than marring the ceiling with a wet stain.

From here, the project went on hold until after the roof repair. I didn’t want to place any wires where there was an active leak. A lengthy process of repair quotes and aborted repair appointments (due to heavy rain!) extended the repair for a couple of months. Then, the procrastination began. By now, I had my surround speakers sitting on the floor for 4 months. I not longer noticed them, the impetus to complete the project was gone. Excuse after excuse has kept me from completing the job like the fact that we hit the summer months and the attic was 120 F. Anyway, this weekend I took another step toward the completion of this project by buying some new speaker wire. That’s right, this is not a story about finally finishing the project. It’s still not done. But now it is cool outside and I finally have a repaired roof and all my materials and tools assembled. No more excuses. I will finish this project.

Last fall as the season’s pilots were airing, I was excited about the prospect of sci-fi coming to primetime. Three series debuted with a theme of alien invasion. This was big news for a science fiction lover. Surface, Invasion and Threshold all had various takes on alien life taking hold on earth. Those shows have all been cancelled. So much for sci-fi being the new sitcom.

So this makes me wonder which of my new shows will survive the cut this season. Currently, I’m watching the falling first timers: Heroes, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, Jericho, and The Nine. Aaron Sorkin and Tommy Schlamme replace the empty place in my lineup where West Wing used to sit with Studio 60. It’s funny in a smart way. Jericho supposes a world where nuclear bombs explode in multiple American cities follows the fate of a small town as they try to find out what has happened. The Nine has potential to be good but I’m not overwhelmed. After a failed bank robbery resulting in a 52 hour stand-off, the captives form new relationships and struggle to deal with lives changed forever. The series promises to unravel the 52 hours slowly over its duration (if it lasts). I’m most excited about Heroes. Even Megan likes this one. It’s reminiscent of the X-men. In an evolutionary shift, people begin to develop extrahuman powers and work together to save the world from impending doom.

These are joined by returning shows Lost, The Office and Battlestar Galactica. Several other shows are still on hiatus or have weird schedules keeping them from starting until January (like 24 and The 4400). Another new show begins in December on the SciFi channel called The Lost Room. I’m looking forward to that one. The SciFi channel has really been trying to build a substantial lineup of original programming.

 I’m sure my current lineup of new shows will be decimated but I hope a couple of them can endure.