Cordkillers 115 – Strike While the Corpse is Hot (w/ Christina Warren)

Cordkillers / April 5th, 2016

Buying tickets to your couch, streaming fatigue, TiVo complains when their own ads get skipped. With special guest Christina Warren.

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CordKillers: Ep. 115 – Strike While the Corpse is Hot
Recorded: April 4 2016
Guest: Christina Warren

Intro Video

Primary Target

  • Flix Premiere tries to apply theatre distribution model to streaming  service
    – Curated movies (good indie films that haven’t found an audience)
    – Only platform exclusives
    – Promote movies online, trailers, interviews, behind-the-scenes to release date
    – 8 titles each week
    – pay a couple bucks for the “ticket”
    – Can still see what was playing in previous weeks. 12-month exclusive on all films
    -ios and Android more to follow
    – US and UK now in testing, end of May after Cannes Film Festival expand to Australia, Canada, France, Germany and Spain. 

Signal Intelligence

Gear Up

Front Lines

Under Surveillance

Dispatches from the Front

 

You were ruminating on Redbox creating a digital rental service and speculating on whether they would be able to maintain their price advantage over iTunes/Amazon et al rentals with that move; it made me wonder if either of you had heard of or used the service VidAngel. (vidangel.com). They have an interesting ‘purchase-and-return’ loophole scheme going on that allows you to ‘rent’ movies digitally for $1-2 (SD/HD). Pretty wild, but as far as I can tell, completely legit… I’ve heard them advertise on nationally syndicated radio shows, so I don’t think they’re trying to fly under the radar. They’re also interesting because they support filtering objectionable content in the video for families, and they rent some HBO/Netflix shows as well (Game of Thrones, House of Cards). They even have filters for Jar-Jar Binks scenes and ‘new edits’ in Star Wars… so they have a sense of humor about it. And they have apps on all the devices you’d want… If you haven’t checked them out, you might want to.

Anyway, great show guys! 

– Gabriel

 

 

 

Check this one out. They are offering me cable for 10 bucks a month!  Last one was for 30 bucks with HBO and Showtime. The next one will probably be for free. They won’t get me!  Gladly, my wife Teresa agrees.

Thanks,

– Steven
Cedar Park, Texas

 

 

 

Dear Cordkillers,
 
As one of your bosses, I wanted to point out some interesting numbers that recently came out about TV viewing.
 
“1,004 hours were spent watching live TV, up from 936 hours a year ago, and time spent watching programs on DVRs up to 15 days after they originally aired rose to 356 hours from 332 hours.”
 
“Among millennials, time spent viewing live TV has been eclipsed by use of desktop computers and phones. Live TV still accounts for 47% of time spent.”
 
 …comScore/Rentrak use electronic devices to register TV viewing in all their markets not just the top 50 or so…. Rentrak uses equipment like cable boxes and other electronic means to get the their numbers. 

 
– Jay

KEY POINTS from report

– comScore also says that the largest digital media properties can reach as big an audience as the Big 4 broadcasters in primetime. Google websites reach 247 million people per month, compared to 228 million for the top broadcast network.

– The TV landscape continued its shifting of time and space, with more delayed, on-demand and digital viewing of TV programming than ever before.

– Digital media usage continued to grow at a fast rate, driven by smartphone app usage which is inching closer and closer to 50 percent of all digital media time spent.”

  • 2016 U.S. Cross-Platform Future in Focus
  • Nielesen getting access to Dish Set-top box data
    – “The competitive pressure on Nielsen also got ratcheted up when two of its competitors in the measurement space—Rentrak and comScore—merged in a $770 million deal that was announced last year and closed in February. Rentrak already has deals with a number of cable and satellite companies like Dish to get data from their set-top boxes, and comScore specializes in online measurement.”

 

 

I think that there are many ways to kill the cord and it seams your show dismisses physical media and TV antenna viewing when you should be embracing both “”old”” technologies as another way to kill the cord (unless you consider the cord from my antenna to my TV and the cord to my Blu-Ray player to be the enemy also).

Thank you and keep fighting the good fight.

Sincerely,

– Richard

 

Links

www.patreon.com/cordkillers

2016 Summer Movie Draft
 

Cordkillers 114 – Shill for Big Indie

Cordkillers / March 28th, 2016

Why Netflix should have made us mad, why Redbox should try again, and why Vizio won Brian’s heart.

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CordKillers: Ep. 114 – Shill for Big Indie
Recorded: March 28 2016
Guest: Lamarr Wilson

Intro Video

Primary Target

  • Netflix is going to help you stop rinsing your mobile data
    – Netflix admitted Thursday it reduces the default bitrate of its streams to viewers using AT&T or Verizon in the US to 600kbps. Netflix normally streams at 3-5 Mbps. In May Netflix intends to release a ‘data saver’ application that will let customers choose what video quality they receive on mobile. T-Mobile limits streaming of its partners like Netflix to 1.5 Mbps. Sprint restricted all streaming video to 600kps until last year. 

Signal Intelligence

Gear Up

Front Lines

  • This Chrome extension solves one of Netflix’s most annoying features
    – Two Chrome browser extensions to help you with your Netflix viewing. One called Flix Assist clicks the “Continue Watching button for you and removes the 30-second countdown to the next episode. The other called Netflix Party lets you sync up your Netflix watching with someone else on the Internet and adds group chat. 
  • Vimeo for Roku now lets you buy on-demand content straight from your TV
    – Vimeo’s Roku app can now handle transactions meaning you can pay for Vimeo’s on-demand shows without having to use another device. Vimeo also added adaptive streaming support.
  • Nielsen starts breaking down TV streams by device next month
    – Starting April 25, Nielsen will break down viewing by device. Devices tracked will be Apple TV, Roku, Fire TV, Chromecast, Xbox will be tracked.
    Also, “Total Use of Television” will track smart TV use along with over-the-air or cable viewing metrics.
  • TCL’s 4K Roku TVs are available today from $599.99
    – TCL started selling their 4K TVs with Roku built in on Amazon last week. The 55-inch TV is $600 and the 65-inch one os $1,000. Four more sets were announced but no release date was given. Those will come with a headphone jack in the remote. That series starts with a 43-inch set for $499.99, a 50-inch model for $599.99, a 55-inch set for $699.99, and a 65-inch one for $1,099.99.
  • Hulu now has an app for Samsung Gear VR
    – Hulu launched an app designed for the Samung Gear VR headset available in the Gear VR Oculus Store. It includes normal content as well as 25 exclusive original VR shows and films. Those are available even if you’re not subscribed to Hulu. Hulu says its the first of several VR apps for different platforms.

Under Surveillance

Dispatches from the Front

 

Great podcast guys… yours is the first one I’ve supported, count me amongst the hopefully now 2000 Patreons.

Just a note on Playstation Vue. Someone on the show a few weeks back mentioned you can’t move your PS4 from location to location. Just as a warning, according to their FAQ this applies to ANY TV-connected device. I’m sitting in a hotel with my Fire TV Stick and just looked this up.

Other than that, this really has been a great experience. I’m in Miami, so after AT&T kicked us off their network and credited our ETF (they chose not to send tech #5 to try to get service working well), we signed up. In Miami, I have CBS, FOX, NBC live, but just on demand for ABC. I have both local Fox Sports channels, and unlike Sling, five streams at a time not one. For 75mbps cable modem service at $49.99 and $55 for Vue, I’m saving a FORTUNE. And unlike U-Verse 45mbps service that was often 3 mbps, Comcast has been delivering 90mbps at 75mbps pricing.

This is the future. I never wanted to cut the cord because I had bundles. I wanted to cut the cord because I hate cable boxes. A couple of Fire TVs I wanted anyway, is a different story.
– Scott

 

 

 

“Those Bastards at Sony Vue finally cracked the code!”

I signed up for the 7 day trial and naturally dove in wallet first choosing the “”Elite”” plan $54.99 for 100+ channels with Machinima and EPIX Hits included, but the basic plan provides everything a boy or girl could dream of, AMC, HGTV, the FXX, FX,  Cartoon Network AKA Adult Swim plus much more.

Screen shots of plans attached. Link to plans: https://www.playstation.com/en-us/network/vue/

I left out Showtime ($10.99) because it’s less expensive through Amazon Prime ($8.99) or Hulu. 

I live 90 minutes outside of the city, (New York City) in a dead zone that makes it impossible to get Fox, NBC, ABC and CBS with an OTA antenna. The death of Aereo was painful. (http://www.aereo.com/)

With Playstation Vue, I get the major local networks ABC, CBS, NBC FOX, and a clearer more focused lineup than my sole option for cable and high-speed Internet Cablevision/Optimum. Broadcast channel availability will be different based on your region.

Unlike Sling (which I left 2 months ago) this service has polish no bloat, level commercial volumes and smooth DVR playback. If you designate a show as “”My Show”” it automatically DVR’s the program which was a pleasant surprise the following day. This truly feels like the future of TV. 

After the trial I will likely drop to “”Core”” ($44.99) to keep IFC and Sundance, which are not included with “”Access”” $39.99. Currently all channel plans are discounted by ten bucks. 

The standalone channels are discounted $1-2 if you are a Playstation Plus member. (Showtime, EPIX Hits, Machinima, & Fox Soccer Plus) 

I do not own a Playstation, however I created an account on the Playstation website and downloaded the app via a banner add on my Fire TV. Finally a banner ad worth clicking on! 

I was on the fence about whether or not to buy a PS4 of Xbox One, now I’m leaning towards the PS4, because of this and the fairly reasonable price of their VR bundle. 

Lastly this might work for my parents, my Dad watches daytime court, the news and wrestling. My mom watches the 4 major broadcast networks, Netflix and Amazon Prime. I think a Fire TV w/ PS Vue and the continued sharing of my Netflix and Amazon Prime will convert my retired parents into cord killers before the year is out.

Between my Roku, Mac Mini HTPC, Xbox 360 and Fire TV, I never though that I’d only ever really need an Amazon created streaming device to consume nearly everything under the Sun. 

By the way it only cost me $0.00 after the 1st unit I got for $89.99 (Amazon Black Friday Deal) malfunctioned and they refunded my original purchase price. 

Unfortunately if you want it all, things can get costly. With HBO Now, PS Vue, Netflix, Showtime, Prime and Internet you hit about $146.20, if you choose the top tier plan. Knock of $10-20 if you choose one of the lower plans. I left out Hulu as DVR and broadcast network channels are included in PS Vue service. Either way all of this is way too much content for one person to consume, watching TV has become like a second job.

Oh,  and chrome cast support is limited to IOS. Apple could forgo their own deals and simply have the PS Vue app in the Apple TV store

Potential Monthly Costs for me using only the Amazon Fire TV:

Optimun/Cablevision Standalone Internet: $49.99
Playstation: $39.99-$54.99 plus standalone channels
Amazon Prime: $8.25/month
Netflix: $8.99/month
$122.22

Optional addition KODI with Repositories: Free 

Any insight into how Sony managed to out do Dish owned Sling would be great. Did you all watch the latest episode of Black Mirror?  You will never look at your personal/spousal relationships the same again. 

Apologies for being verbose. I look forward to becoming a Patreon soon. 

Keep up the good work, guys. Great Job!

– Noel

 

 

Hi Brian and Tom,

When Brian said Fandango is NEW movies and FandangoNow is OLD movies, I was thinking maybe they should have called it FandangoThen.

– Alan

Links
www.patreon.com/cordkillers

2016 Summer Movie Draft

Cordkillers 112 – DVD Swingers Club (w/ Ben Howard)

Cordkillers / March 14th, 2016

Would you pay $50 to see a brand new movie in your house? And why PlayStation Vue is not what you think it is. With special guest Ben Howard.

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CordKillers: 112 – DVD Swingers Club

Recorded: March 14 2016
Guest: Ben Howard

Intro Video

Primary Target

Signal Intelligence

  • PlayStation Vue service goes nationwide in US
    – PS Vue added outside New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, Dallas, San Francisco, and Miami without local channels
    – Packages are cheaper $30, $35 and $45
    – New packages offer ABC, FOX and NBC on demand with CBS to be added “at a later date”
    – PS4, PS3, Amazon Fire TV, and Fire TV Stick, iPad and iPhone Google Chromecast on iOS

Gear Up

  • 4K Roku TV from Best Buy starts at $400
    – Best Buy’s Insignia brand beat TCL to the punch to become the first 4K TV with Roku built-in to hit the shelves. 43, 50 and 55-inch models run $400, $500 and $650 respectively. Online now and in stores in April.

Front Lines

  • Comic-Con will launch a streaming service on May 7th
    – The company Comic-Con International is teaming up with Lionsgate to offer a streaming service of classic SciFi and Fantasy as well as live streams of select panels from conferences like San Diego Comic-Con. The service called Comic-Con HQ soft launches on Free Comic Book Day May 7th for free with a formal launch (and likely a fee) in June. Adam Sessler will host an interview series and Kevin Pereira will executive produce a talk show, also Impossible Science, Her Universe (Geek fashion) and Kings of Con (scripted)
  • Vimeo unveils its next set of Originals, including its first-ever feature film and concert
    – Vimeo announced Thursday its second slate of original programming. Vimeo’s first feature-length film is a documentary called “Wizard Mode” about one of the world’s greatest pinball players. its first concert film features indie “chillwave pioneer” Toro y Moi. CollegeHumor’s Jake Hurwitz and Amir Blumenfeld (“Jake and Amir”) bring a series called “Lonely and Horny. “Garfunkel and Oates: Trying to be Special,” features Riki Lindhome and Kate Micucci. All four premier this year at various times starting in April.
  • YouTube Gaming expands to 4 new countries alongside new pop-out player feature
    – YouTube Gaming announced it’s iOS and Android apps are now available in Canada, New Zealand, Ireland and Australia. The app also got some changes, removing the sidebar for a simplified homepage and adding a Live tab. The Android app gets a pop-out player for watching video while using other apps as well as adding in DVR and 60fps playback support.
  • Following YouTube Red, video subscription service Vessel goes ad-free for paying subscribers
    – Vessel is now ad free for all paying subscribers and there’s a new subscription plan where you can choose to pay$19.99 for a year instead of the normal $2.99 a month.
    Vessel also announced plans to offer year-long exclusives on some shows from creators like Linus Media Group, Brittani Louise Taylor and JeromeASF.
  • Another Vote for Sports on the Web: Fox, Sky Invest in Streaming Soccer Startup FuboTV
    – 21st Century Fox and Sky are investing in soccer subscription service FuboTV. 40,000 subscribers pay $10 a month for a mix of matches from La Liga, the MLS and others. 

Under Surveillance

Dispatches from the Front

Hey Cordkillers,

Wanted to share my experience when I called Charter to ask about their internet only TV package called Spectrum TV Stream. The first part of the call was a combination of the customer service person not knowing what I was talking about, and then being transferred several times. The person who finally know something about what I was talking about had to look it up. Bottom line is that it is $13/month for a bunch of crappy channels (i.e. HSN), and ‘local’ 3 network channels. Its $19 if you want anything decent. I took a pass.

 

 

Hi Tom and Brian,

Any chance of getting Tom’s cord cutting guide in iBook or PDF format for us non-kindle users?
Love the show and I just became a Patreon or as you all like to say, I am now one of you bosses. 🙂

– Jimmy

 

 

 

Long time supporter here to chime in about your recent conversation about HBO and how it’s performing.

While I think Tom and Brian have both brought up good points, you may be overlooking one thing.  You may recall when HBO launched a year ago it did so only on the Apple TV when the new season of Game of Thrones started.  It wasn’t until after the season concluded they launched on other devices including the device with the most penetration in the market, that being the Roku.  

This combined with HBO making the recent season available for purchase around the same time they launched their service on these other devices, in my opinion led to the masses choosing to purchase the season as opposed to the service.

I think once the new season of GOT comes and goes we’ll have a much better idea of how HBO is doing as many people, including myself, won’t be trying the service until that new season is aired.  If I like HBO enough I might just stay for more.

– Gary

 

 

Fan TV, after telling it I was interested in this show many moons ago, just notified me that Don’t Trust Andrew Maine is now available on Amazon instant video. I’m watching it now, finally.

– Ben

 

 

 

Hey Dudes!

This kickstarter is intended to share physical dvds over the internet. It reminds me of some odd mix of Napster and Aereo. 

So, they’re screwed right? 

Or is it saved by the European/French court system?

Rock and Roll!

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1151191861/movieswap-join-us-to-freethemovies

– Ryan

 

Links

patreon.com/cordkillers

Cordkillers 111 – Technology Make Things Fast (w/ Andrew Mayne)

Cordkillers / March 8th, 2016

Netflix is 50% killing television, Facebook might get NFL games, and Roku won’t take the FCC’s side. With special guest Andrew Mayne.

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CordKillers: Cordkillers 111 – Technology Make Things Fast
Recorded:  March 7 2016
Guest: Andrew Mayne

Intro Video

Primary Target

Signal Intelligence

  • Facebook Wants to Pay for NFL Streaming Rights but Apple Doesn’t
    – NFL selling digital rights (owners meeting March 20)
    – Stream 18 regular season games
    – Peter Kafka ReCode says these are the interested parties
    – Facebook
    – Amazon (looking for streaming sports exec too)
    – Verizon (has mobile rights)
    – Yahoo (submitted preliminary paperwork)

Gear Up

  • Afraid Of Upsetting The Cable Industry, Roku Won’t Support FCC Quest For Increased Set Top Box Competition
    – Roku’s spokeswoman Tricia Misfud to IBD: “We have not been advocating for a rule making in this area at this time. While we are known for selling streaming players, it is only one area of our business. Customers also access our platform through smart TVs and streaming players that operators deploy.”
    – Roku partners w/ TWC and Charter on skinny bundles over Internet, Telstra and Sky license hardware for co-branded streamers
    – Working on a hybrid streaming/cable box (sky etc.)
    – Investment by Viacom, 21st Century Fox, and UK cable operator Sky might be shaping Roku’s thinking as well
    – Essentially Roku thinks it wins either way
    – No FCC rule, first in line for slower cableco adoption (the TiVo route)
    – FCC rule, Roku probably gets a big chunk of the market.

Front Lines

Under Surveillance

Dispatches from the Front

Great work guys I was just listening to your latest podcast and I have to tell you that I am cancelling my Sling TV service. The concept is great but it is the only application that doesn’t seem to take take full advantage of my 150mbps connection at home. It constantly pauses, stops and otherwise finds ways to make me unhappy of my TCL Roku TV, my windows 2in1, my iPad AND my MacBook Pro. The connection is not the problem. Either the app or the infrastructure is. Too bad. But I can’t continue to pay for something with promise that continues to not work.

Oh, and little to no problems with any other similar app.

– Jay

 

 

Hey Tom and Brian,

Long time listener and fan of the shows. You guys have talked about the X-ray feature on Amazon Prime and needing to pause and such like that.  I wanted to mention I have the Amazon Prime app on a Nintendo Wii U.  I love the Wii U as a streaming device for a variety of reasons, but that’s for another time.  The Wii U, if you recall, has a tablet screen as part of the main controller.  In Amazon Prime, while you’re playing a show on your TV screen, the controller tablet screen lets you do things like show cast members, the synopsis, as well as a live version of Prime’s X-ray.  So as characters come on/off screen and scenes change, I can see who’s playing those people as well as get more info.  I can prop up the controller and sneak a peak at this 2nd Screen or pause and do the same.  I think this feature works similar on the Nintendo 3DS, but I don’t have experience there.  Just wanted to throw my 2 cents in.

Your fan,
– Stuart

P.S. Tom, Citadel 32 is next on my list.

 

 

 

Dear Tom and Brian,

I thoroughly enjoyed your discussion about HBO NOW and wanted to chime in on a few points.

First, I wholeheartedly agree that $15/month is too much to pay for the service when you compare the available content with other services. The best direct comparison IMO is Showtime Anytime. For $12/month (same as Hulu ad-free) I get access to a lot of quality programs (though a rather poor movie catalog). Better yet, I can save $3/month by subscribing through Hulu, Amazon or PS Vue. Likewise, I can subscribe to Starz via Amazon for $9/month and get access to some movies before they’re available on HBO.

The other point I wanted to hit upon is the quality of HBO’s programs. Throughout your discussion, Tom echoed that HBO hasn’t produced a major hit since Game of Thrones. I would propose that HBO has produced some fine programs since then that have celebrated various levels of success, but just not on the same level as GoT (I would include Veep, Girls, The Newsroom, True Detective and Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, the latter two Tom mentioned). Each of these programs has done well to very well in terms of Golden Globe and Emmy wins and nominations (I’ve included a breakdown below, along with GoT’s stats for comparison), and while awards aren’t exactly the best measure of success (I’m looking at you Arrested Development) they can at least indicate a high-level of quality.

Call me crazy, but I would compare GoT to the iPhone, in that they’re both a once in a lifetime blockbuster product that people are fanatic for around the globe. Apple has since released popular products like the iPad, AppleTV, Apple Watch and new iterations of the Mac lineup, all of which have done so well that they would be a very good businesses all on their own, but are nowhere at the iPhone’s level. I suspect it will be a long time that we’ll see HBO (or most other content providers) release a mega-hit GoT that has captured the world’s imagination like GoT has.

Love the show!
– Jesse (a.k.a. hometownrival)
Indianapolis, IN

 

 

 

Tom and Brian, 

I enjoyed your lively discussion regarding HBO on the last episode. I have to agree with Tom about the lack of high-quality content coming from HBO at the moment. The only show I gravitate to HBO for right now is Game of Thrones. 

Take a direct competitor, Showtime, for instance. Showtime introduced Showtime Anytime, which I can add to my Amazon Prime subscription for $8.99 month. I understand that on other platforms, the price is different, but still cheaper than HBO Now.

Showtime has been killing it, in my opinion, with original shows recently:

Homeland
Masters of Sex
Billions (*new)
Ray Donovan
The Affair
Shameless
The Tudors
Penny Dreadful
I would much rather pay for Showtime than HBO right now. Game of Thrones is still the best show on TV and one that I will always find a way to watch HBO for – but once it’s done, they better get some more quality content to get viewers coming back. 

AMC and FX are two other networks that are doing a great job with original content, but don’t yet have stand-alone streaming services. If they did and the price was reasonable, I would much rather pay for them than HBO. Hopefully HBO can get back to attracting amazing shows, because people will follow the content. 

– Sean

 

Links

patreon.com/cordkillers