Tag Archives: FiOS TV

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Take Charge with FiOS Parental Controls

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Summer is a great time for teens and tweens to relax and take a break from those school and study routines. But it also leaves them with a lot of time on their hands – time that can be spent surfing the Internet or watching inappropriate TV.  If you don’t want to spend all your time monitoring your kids viewing habits or checking up on their Internet searches, then you need some parental controls that can give you a little peace of mind.

Now I know what a lot of parents think about parental controls: good in theory but not so good in practice. They are either too complicated for most parents to set up, or it’s just too easy for kids to find a workaround. The end result is that most available parental controls are simply ignored and the battle over screen time and inappropriate content continues much as before.

That was pretty much the case in my house until we switched to FiOS Quantum Internet and FiOS Quantum TV. Now, the FiOS Quantum Gateway router gives me the ability to manage Internet access by time and by device. That means my 13 year-old daughter can’t access the Internet on her tablet after 8 pm at night, while my 16 year-old son can keep going until 9 pm. It also means I can switch off Internet access at any time of the day on any device when I feel that the kids have had too much screen time or are not following the rules.

With FiOS TV parental Controls, I can block specific channels or use the age preferences to block content for a particular age group. I can even block access to certain TV widgets, such as Facebook and Twitter.

Best of all, both Internet access and TV parental controls can be managed remotely from my smartphone or tablet using the My FiOS and FiOS Mobile apps. If my babysitter tells me my daughter won’t stop Skyping with her friends, I can cut her off right from my office 10 miles away! Similarly, if I need to relax those TV restrictions so my kids can catch a PG-13 movie, I can do that remotely as well.

I’m a big believer that digital technology needs to be carefully controlled, otherwise it can end up controlling you. FiOS puts me firmly in charge – and makes those endless summer months a time when we can all relax!

The Online Mom LLC receives a fee for participating in certain promotional campaigns for Verizon.

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A New Age of Flexible TV

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I still remember the time I was trying to clear some space on my old DVR and accidentally wiped out the first four seasons of Modern Family. I wouldn’t say my family gave me the cold shoulder but there was definitely a chill in the air!

Sadly, that old cable DVR just wasn’t built for the way families now watch TV. Gone are the days when everyone would huddle together on the couch to watch the latest episode of a must-see drama series or sitcom. We now have our own favorite shows and our own timetable for watching them. If that means recording five episodes of a favorite show and then binge-watching them in a popcorn-fueled TV marathon, then who are we to judge!

Accommodating the various TV-watching habits of every household member is not easy, but that’s where FiOS Quantum TV comes in. With FiOS Quantum TV, you can store up to 200 hours of HD content, record up to 12 shows simultaneously, and control live TV (pause, play and rewind) on up to 10 different TVs. That’s a lot of flexibility and a lot of different ways to catch your favorite shows.

Of course, an increasing number of people don’t want to be tied to the TV at all but want to watch their favorite programs on their smartphones and tablets instead. FiOS TV takes care of that as well through partner apps and the FiOS Mobile app. You can also subscribe to premium packages so you can stream movies as well as TV shows.

TV is no longer the one dimensional medium that we remember from our childhoods. In many ways, TV has succeeded in adapting to the demands of the digital age far better than other more traditional media platforms. With more programming, anytime viewing, and the option to watch your favorite shows on-the-go, we are entering a new golden age of small screen (and even smaller screen) entertainment.

The Online Mom LLC receives a fee for participating in certain promotional programs for Verizon.

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FiOS TV Delivers Flexible Fall Programming

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Fall is probably my favorite time of year. I’d like to think it’s because of the crisp, cool air and the beautiful foliage we get here in the Northeast but I suspect it also has something to do with the Fall TV schedule.

With a host of brand new shows and the return of some old favorites, every night of the week seems to be packed with quality programming. In fact, there are so many good shows that it’s almost impossible to see every one. Almost impossible but not quite…that’s the beauty of a DVR and flexible viewing.

We recently upgraded to FiOS Quantum TV, which has completely transformed how we record and watch our favorite shows. With the ability to store and watch over 200 hours of HD content, there are no more fights over whether last season’s Modern Family has to go to make room for this season’s Shark Tank. Everyone’s favorite series can be accommodated without the need to prioritize.

With FiOS Quantum TV, you can also record up to 12 shows at the same time. (Yes, that’s 12!) No more waiting for reruns and no more squabbling over the remote. And with multiple set-top-boxes, you can pause, play and rewind live or recorded shows on any TV in the house.

But perhaps the biggest difference in the way we watch TV comes from mobile devices and mobile apps. With FiOS Mobile and other partner apps, you can live stream dozens of channels to your iPhone, iPad or Android device. Many of those channels are also available for out-of-home viewing, including ESPN, Showtime, CNN and the Disney family of channels.

As well as live programming, the FiOS Mobile app lets you stream hundreds of movies and shows from the FiOS On Demand library, as well as schedule recordings remotely, and even control your TV right from your phone.

Perhaps it is the cool nights and the foliage that makes the Fall season so special, because with FiOS Quantum you can have great TV every day of the year!

The Online Mom LLC receives a fee for participating in certain promotional campaigns for Verizon.