Last month, I talked about Verizon FiOS and how quick and reliable it has been for our family. In fact, it just passed the Hurricane Irene test with flying colors. The next thing I wanted to try out is Flex View, which allows you to watch an OnDemand movie on your TV, laptop, or mobile device.
I actually used Hurricane Irene as a reason to try out Flex View. I didn’t want the kids in the living room because we had so many windows, so I set up a play tent in our kitchen with sleeping bags and pillows. I gave each of the kids a flashlight, made some pop corn and downloaded The Little Engine That Could onto my laptop using the Verizon Media Manager (which I had previously downloaded and installed).
The Media Manager is relatively straightforward to use, although I admit that when I used it, there was no way to scroll through the movie titles. That has been fixed, however. You can either buy a movie or rent it. Renting it gives you 30 days to watch the movie from purchase, or 24 hours from when the movie playback begins. You can also sync the movies to supported mobile devices. Unfortunately, the iPad is not on the list of included devices, so that will impact the portability for some families.
There are still some quirks in the system and the 24 hour period to watch a movie seems a bit too short for rentals that cost on average between $2.99 and $5.99. Still, it’s useful for families who have only one TV and want to be able to provide entertainment for kids and parents at the same time. Or when you’re on vacation and want to have some kid-friendly shows on hand. Sometimes it’s nice to not be tethered to the living room couch!
Disclosure: We received free services for review purposes, as well as compensation for participating in this review program. There were no promises of a positive review, and the opinions contained in this post are my own.
I wrote this review while participating in a brand team campaign by Mom Central on behalf of Verizon FiOS. Verizon will send me a gift card to thank me for taking the time to participate.
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