Fantastic FiOS

The shortest FiOS TV review is “GET IT IF YOU CAN!” The only weakness is the free video on demand selection. Here’s a bit of FiOS TV SD (Standard Definition) video from last night’s Red Sox game (reduced to 400×300, of course, with lossy compression). They lost to the Padres 6-1. Last time I made some screen caps and the Sox lost then, too. Most of my friends are Sox fans, and they’re a superstitious lot, so I promise to stop watching the games and jinxing them.

[flv:http://www.dograt.com/Video/JUN07/RedSoxSanDiego.flv 400 300]

For myself, not having XM or Sirius, Music Choice adds significantly to the value of FiOS TV. The selection is great (although a Folk station would be welcome) and the Dolby Digital sound quality is faultless. I’ve just hooked up my CCrane FM transmitter, so the audio from FiOS TV is being broadcast throughout the house, and the Music Choice channel of the moment is anywhere I want, including the bedroom clock radio.

Music Choice

Pop-up Previews

WordPress blogging software can be enhanced with numerous plug-in features. The audio player and video player (the site wouldn’t be much without them) are examples of plug-ins.

I’m looking over the various plug-ins currently available, and one of them I might try will pop up a preview image of a link. Here’s an example of what it would look like.

Wordpress Snap Shots

This looks neat, but it could get annoying. I’ll be updating WordPress soon to the latest and greatest version, and once that’s done I can start playing around with some plug-ins.

Verizon FiOS TV Revisited

Before my database blow-out I had a couple of posts, now lost, about getting FiOS TV installed. I’d mentioned that Verizon screwed up two install dates, which didn’t please me, but my initial impressions of the service were positive.

Now that I’ve had it for a few weeks, I am plenty pleased with Verizon FiOS TV. A columnist at Network World magazine (which I drive past every day on my way home from work), Paul McNamara, has some complaints with his service [Link], but so far my experience has been 100% positive. Over on the DVR Chatter site there’s a lengthy positive review of FiOS TV. I agree with his comment about the standard definition picture quality. It’s perfect! [Link] Totally clean and noise-free, with dead-on accurate color.

I’ve put some screen shots below. Click the thumbnails to see them in full 640×480 size. To avoid making them look soft I didn’t de-interlace them, so keep in mind that the jaggies aren’t seen when watching TV, except when freezing the image using the DVR.

Red Sox v. BravesRed Sox v. BravesRed Sox v. Braves
Red Sox v. BravesRed Sox v. BravesRed Sox v. Braves

Comcast gave me a real sell job, albeit a soft one, to keep me as a customer. I had their analog service without premium packages, and no set top box. Reception was horrible on all of the local channels. Often they wouldn’t tune in at all. Yes, I had called for service, but they could never improve it and I gave up. Those same stations on the analog band that FiOS provides in addition to the digital channels come in perfectly. There’s just no way I’ll go back to Comcast.

Comcast NoteWhen I canceled service with Comcast I asked for a final total to close out the account. They gave me the amount and I sent it in. A few days later I received this note, along with a business card. Obviously, I must represent a trend. I could practically smell Comcast’s fear! Then today I got a bill for two months’ service! Grrr. I called Comcast and they acknowledged that payment had been received, but the rep said I still owed two dollars and change! Sorry, I told her, but I was given a total and I’d paid it. She agreed and said she would cancel the charge.

Apple Jungle

Apple Safari Screen CapMy friend Tom Tastewar (yes, that’s a handle) pointed out that Apple has released Beta 3 of its Safari browser for Windows. [Link] Click the thumbnail picture to enlarge a screen cap I made after installing Safari. Overall, it seems slick and smooth, although the Cleartype fonts are a bit overdone to the point of being fuzzy. Safari seems to work all right for viewing my blog, but it screws up the WordPress editor. Perhaps it’s more compatible with the latest version of WordPress, which is something I intend to install in the not distant future.