Cordkillers 100 – Cat Video Stink

Cordkillers / December 15th, 2015

How YouTube could win a Golden Globe and why Mystery Science Theater is genius.

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CordKillers: 100 – Cat Video Stink
Recorded: December 14 2015
Guest: Hammond Chamberlain

Intro Video

Primary Target

  • 23% of Households Will Be Cord-Cutters by 2019, According to eMarketer
  • The Future of Television: More Choices and Greater Quality
  • Cord-Cutting Is Accelerating
    -The total number of households that don’t subscribe to pay-TV by the end of 2015 will be about 17% of U.S. households.
    -Analyst eMarketer estimates 23% US hh w/o trad. TV by 2019
    – WSJ says 20.8 mm by end of this year 17%
    – Logan Hill WSJ interview on future of TV
    – President of AMC Josh Sapan “Before the current generation, the term “TV show” meant something a little dumb. And so you can say there are too many shows relative to the economics of the old system, but with the new system, I would not say there are too many shows.
    – Maker Studios President Ynon Kreiz “No matter what device you use, the big advantage is the freedom to make those choices. I see a golden age of television that’s less about apps or channels, and more about the when and where.”
    – Lachlan Murdoch, Executive chariman 21st Century Fox “In a world of limitless choice, mediocrity is death”
    – Max Cohen, head of Mobile at Oculus Rift “ Down the line, we’ll get full-length VR movies, where you’re the star and interact with all the characters. We’ll get a 360-degree camera at the end of the piano at a Billy Joel concert, where it feels like he’s singing to you. “

Signal Intelligence

  • Amazon and Netflix land a dozen Golden Globe nominations
  • Cord-cutting services net huge nominations at Golden Globes
    – Amazon (5)
    – Transparent (Best Comedy)
    – Mozart in the Jungle (Best Comedy)
    – Gael Garcia Bernal – Mozart (Best Actor Comedy)
    – Jeffrey Tambor – Transparent (Best Actor Comedy)
    – Jusith Light – Transparent (Best supporting)

    – Netflix (8)
    – Robin Wright House of Cards (Best Actress – Drama)
    – Orange is the New Black (Best Comedy)
    – Uzo Aduba OITNB (Best supporting )
    – Idris Elba – Beasts of No Nation (Supporting actor)
    – Narcos (Best Drama Series)
    – Wagner Moura – Narcos (Best Actor Drama)
    – Aziz Ansari Master of None (Best Actor – Comedy)
    – Lily Tomlin Grace and Frankie (Best Actress Comedy)

    – Hulu (1)
    – Casual (Best Comedy)

Gear Up

Front Lines

  • Verizon Fios will let you stream from your DVR when you’re out of the house
    – Verizon Fios TV service customers can now stream “Nearly all of their DVR-recorded shows” anywhere with an Internet connection. So nearly as good as setting up a slingbox. Verizon likes things that are almost something. Like FiOS TV’s director Maitreyi Krishnaswamy saying on a TV of Tomorrow conference panel that she has “pretty much cut the cord.” She was talking up Verizon’s Go90 service.
  • AT&T to Launch Mobile Entertainment Service, CEO Says
    – AT&T Chairman and CEO Randall Stephenson told an investor conference last week that AT&T is planning to launch its own mobile entertainment service. He also said that in January AT&T will launch a ”premium content” package that will offer “mobile stacked content together with a really robust wireless asset.” He also said they would offer “proprietary content” through DirecTV or mobile and possibly in cooperation with joint venture Otter Media which has a majority stake in Fullscreen. DIGITAL!
  • Yahoo Launches A Video Guide App For Cord Cutters
    – Yahoo wanted cord cutters so bad it paid for a whole season of Community.It’s latest effort to win your love is a new app called Yahoo Video Guide for iOS and Android. You look for shows to watch and it will find them among services you have installed, like HBO, Netflix, Amazon and Hulu, and even launch the apps for you. 
  • That Mystery Science 3000 Theater Kickstarter Just Set A New Record
    – Mystery Science Theater raised a record-breaking $5.76 million on Kickstarter towards 14 episodes including a Christmas special. The new MST3K will star Felicia Day, Jonah Ray, and Paton Oswalt and Dan Harmon and Justin Roiland are tapped to write!
  • Sling TV adds local content to its Latino streaming service
    – Sling TV’s spanish-language package Sling Latino is adding local broadcast feeds from Univision and UniMas. (Univision’s own service offers local news in New York, Los Angeles and Houston)
  • Google Play Movies and TV gets AirPlay support, but Apple TV app still missing
    – Google updated it’s Google Play app for iOS to include airplay. So you can now send your Google Play videos to your 3rd or 4th generation Apple TV. 

Under Surveillance

Dispatches from the Front

Dear Cord Killers,

My email should be reaching you in time for the last episode before the release of Star Wars: The Force Awakens. I’m sure that you’ll be going to see it on release day, and so I need to ask you for a solemn promise: PLEASE. DO. NOT. SPOIL.

Personally, I’m waiting until I am back home with my family, so I won’t be seeing Star Wars until around Christmas. I’m aware that other places and people will be throwing spoilers left and right, but I’d like you to set the standard: Please keep spoilers to Spoilerin’ Time, at least for the first two weeks.

Please (and I’m looking at you, Brian) try to avoid dropping little tidbits here and there as you skirt around important plot points. If you liked it, or you hated it, I’m fine with that, and by all means say so, but I don’t need to know why right now.

Or, if you don’t think you’ll be able to contain yourself, please tell me now, and I’ll hold off on watching Cord Killers until the new year.

See you on the other side!

–Karl

 

 

 

 

Hey Brian & Tom,
 
With the release of The Force Awakens just around the corner, I thought I’d share my view on the craziness surrounding the premier of this movie.
 
I’m 23, I’m a geek, and I love sci-fi and fantasy stuff. That being said, I’ve never been in to Star Wars. My parents where never really in to it, and when the prequels came out, I was still a bit too young to really notice or care on my own. I actually hadn’t even seen a Star Wars movie the whole way through until 2013, when I decided I’d finally sit down and watch all the movies.
 
I hate to say it, but I was really underwhelmed. I’d had basically everything spoiled from me from the ridiculous number of references in pop culture, and that certainly contributed to my indifference, but besides just that, it seemed like any other cheesy 70’s sci-fi movie. I wanted to love Star Wars as much as I see everyone else loving it, but I couldn’t understand the hype surrounding this franchise.
 
So I thought about it for a while, talked to some of my friends about it, and I think I understand why it seems like so many people love it and why I personally can’t get in to it: Nostalgia. Everyone 30+ seems to LOVE everything Star Wars, but when I speak to people around my age about it, they respond with the same passive interest as me. No one hates it, but they don’t love it either.
 
I think a lot of the hype surrounding Star Wars comes from the fact that people grew up with it, and as children we’re much more forgiving and think things are much cooler. My generation actually has something similar to this: Harry Potter. It comes up in like 90% of conversations we have, we get super hyped for anything new in the series, and we look back on it with fond memories. My friends and I are even trying to plan a trip to Harry Potter World in Universal Studios. On the other hand, I don’t think Star Wars has come up more than a handful of times in conversation, even with the leadup to Episode VII.
 
It’s been an odd experience watching the hype build for The Force Awakens. It seems like 50% of the news stories are related to it in some way, podcasts are dedicated to it, no one seems to be able to stop talking about it. I’m not complaining, and I’m not asking you guys to stop, I just think it’s interesting from an outsiders perspective.
 
Of course I will go see the movie when it comes out, and I do hope I like it enough to start getting in to this series a bit more. Just thought I’d share. “””

– Jacob

 

 

 

How can we make an argument for ABC, NBC, CBS and FOX to stream their programing on demand? Now we record their shows and blow by the commercial with the 30 second forward button. Streaming on demand we are forced to watch the commercials.  Try to fast forward and they make you watch another commercial.  Would that not be a good selling point to their clients? 
Best Regards,  

– Stan

 

 

 If NBC wants me to fork over $4 a month for their streaming comedy service Hoo-Ha* there is only one way for them to make it happen. Stream all of David Letterman’s Late Night and his morning show and I will gladly subscribe.

* Hoo-Ha may not be the name for their service but it should be.

– Mark

 

 

Just wanted to share a thought on YouTube Red after hearing you talk about the value of it.  I have to admit, I was definitely one of the people that saw no reason why I would ever pay for YouTube Red (since YouTube is free after-all)  but after using it, unbeknownst to me, since the day it came out I don’t think I will want to go back to the days of free YouTube with ads. 

Google/YouTube made the smart move of including this as part of the Google Play All Access membership.  I signed up for a great music service and ended up with a great ad free video service as well.  
I was also pleasantly surprised at how seamlessly it all appeared on my devices. Roku, XboxOne, and obviously my phone all gave me the YouTube Red logo at the top of the app on day one.

The way they did this reminds me of when I had my 4 disc a month Netflix account in college that then introduced streaming, and eventually lead to my streaming only account.  Or my Amazon Prime account that I started for the shipping that  also lead to yet another streaming account I use on most of my devices.

Have you being using Red? Thoughts?

Cheers!

– Byron

 

 

Nile Says: I think Brian asked about this, but it might have been someone else on one of Tom’s other shows. I never speed up the playback of a podcast I’m intimately familiar with, because the change in voices messes with my head. HOWEVER, when I start listening to a new podcast, I’ve been in the habit of playing it at around 1.25x so I get the efficiency, and my mind thinks the hosts voices sound that from the very start. Thanks for the show guys!

– Nile

 

Links

patreon.com/cordkillers

2015 Winter Movie Draft

 

Cordkillers 98 – Ask-It Basket

Cordkillers / December 1st, 2015

The top shipping streaming boxes may surprise you as will how well TiVo is doing. And Amazon wants all your streaming money in one place.

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CordKillers: 98 – Ask-It Basket
Recorded:  November 30 2015
Guest: None

Intro Video

Primary Target

  • Chromecast Crushes Apple TV, Roku And Amazon Fire In New Sales Figures
    – Stratgey Analytics report
    – 1/4 smart TVs in use worldwide is Samsung
    – Chromecast top streaming device sales 9.2 million 35%
    – Apple TV 20%, Fire TV 16%, Roku 16% (Q3 shipments BEFORE new Rokus Fire and Apple TVs)
    – All connected devices (Smart TVs, Blu-Ray game consoles, streamers) reached 53 million in Q3, on pace for 17% rise 221 million units full year.

Signal Intelligence

  • Amazon to bundle other services into Prime Video
    – “People with knowledge of the plans” say Amazon will let Prime members bundle on-demand networks
    – Add “major, well-known movie and TV channels”
    – “Amazon will also sell prepackaged bundles of its own creation”
    – May go live as soon as next month
    – “Amazon will manage customer relationships for major media companies“
    – Landing pages for each service would exist within prime
    – Also working on technology that would permit users to directly log into other streaming services using Amazon credentials.
    – Prime estimated to have 44 million members (Consumer Intelligence Research Partners)
    – Netflix reports 43. 2 million US

Gear Up

  • TiVo revenue rises on increased subscribers
  • TiVo Quick Mode comes to Roamios
    – TiVo reported 12% increase Q3 revenue of 12$ (profits down)
    – Added 429,000 subscribers to 6.5 million up 26%. (4 million outside US)
    – Churn rate fell from 1.6% to 1.4%
    – Increased distribution agreements – services and software rose 22%
    – Costs rising
    -Projecting loss of 5-8 million in Q4 because of 11-12 million payout to departing CEO Tom Rogers
    – QuickMode, the TiVo feature that lets you speed up video playback with pitch-corrected audio, has arrived for all TiVo Roamio models. The feature came to the new TiVo Bolt last week. Romeo users will also see a new look on the Guide and faster OTA channel scanning. 

Front Lines

Under Surveillance

Dispatches from the Front

Amazon video vs Netflix interface. Yes, there’s a lot wrong w/Amazon’s interface, BUT, its X-ray feature, which I dismissed at first, makes it feel like Netflix is missing out on a huge feature. X-ray, you click a button and it tells you the name of the characters on screen and the actors. Very useful for keeping track of who’s who in shows with huge casts. Click up and you can drill down into each actor and it lists the movies and shows they’re most famous for. Click down and you’re back in the content. It’s like those popup bubbles on I forget what cable channel it was, but when you want it and what you want. You may already have talked about it and know about it but I’ve ignored the feature for so long, I didn’t know what I missed. Maybe others have as well.”

– Steve

 

 

 

Android TV as a platform has a lot of the big native apps. It adds even more with Cast support built-in.  But the only standout Android TV hardware, the NVidia Shield, is focused on gaming first.  TiVo is stuck trying to convince developers to support yet another platform.  TiVo misses enough of the big apps that it can’t be a cord cutters Only box.  TiVo would easily stand out IF they could make a combined OTA DVR & Android TV box.  The combined feature would be unmatched by the other big players.  Google should have incentive to help in order to drive further adoption of their platform. Partnership is cheaper and easier than building or buying a platform.  It is a big IF on how they could develop such a box, or even IF the new CEO would want one.  But looking at the lessons of Blackberry & Nokia in phones, if this is the move, better to make it sooner than later.”

 

–  Roy

 

 

Hi Tom & Brian,

Just a brief review of my experience on the PlayStation Vue service that I tried over the holiday weekend.

I don’t own a PlayStation, but used the service with my Fire TV Stick.  I like the interface and the picture quality is more than good enough.  While watching live TV you can almost forget you are watching streamed content.

However, the DVR functionality was lacking.  After advancing or rewinding, the video would repeat itself multiple times.  It would often freeze as well, causing me to close the app and restart it.  Of course, this happened while I was trying to sell my wife using this to cut the cord.  

I wondering if these problems are due to me using the Fire TV stick, a problem with the service or just bad luck.”

– John

 

 

 

“In episode 97, the talk of people now being more loyal to individual shows instead of broadcast networks really struck a chord (no pun intended) with me. I rarely even think about what network a show is on anymore. I don’t think, “”Oh yeah, FOX is the channel with Gotham.”” I just know I need to watch it on Hulu. The network is mostly irrelevant to me.
… I think a la carte becomes far more interesting when we’re talking about picking and choosing individual shows instead. …I would love a streaming service that charged perhaps a nominal base fee per month, and then allowed you to pick and choose shows to add to your monthly account at a reasonable monthly rate. Want to subscribe to Agents of SHIELD for an additional $2.99 per month? Just click the check box. Decided you really didn’t care for Heroes Reborn after a few episodes? Uncheck it for next month.

You can kind of do program a la carte now by buying seasons on Amazon, iTunes, Google Play, etc., but at ~$20 a season, it’s a much bigger up-front investment, and locks you in to a show that you might not want to continue watching a few episodes in.

Love the show,

– Justin

 

 

 

As a long-time timeshifter (Three Beta machines at one time, then TiVo, now MythTV and RoKu), I’m still in search of something that fully replaces the TiVo season pass.  Sure RoKu and other streaming devices allow searching across multiple services to find a program, but I want something to manage the shows that I already do watch..  So, when the new Daredevil episodes come
out, they should pop onto the list of available un-seen episodes automatically.  I shouldn’t have to constantly check Man in the High Castle to see if the newest episodes are out yet.  So, I want the device to keep track of what series I watch and keep tabs for new episodes, then once I have watched them..  The Netflix “”My List”” can sort of do that, but just for Netflix content, so long as I manually add/remove shows when new content is available and when I finish the current episodes..  With all of the steaming
services coming around, I want to manage all of them consistently and not have to constantly be manually polling each service and show to find if new episodes are available.  That tedium is what computers are good at.”

– Marcus

Links

patreon.com/cordkillers

2015 Winter Movie Draft

 

It’s Spoilerin’ Time 97

Cordkillers / November 25th, 2015

Winter Movie Draft, Triage, Agents of SHIELD, The Man in the High Castle (103), Jessica Jones (101-104), Fargo (206)

01:19 – Winter Movie Draft

05:00 – Triage (Winter Movie Draft)

07:17 – Agents of SHIELD (to date)

12:02 – The Man in the High Castle (103)

20:43 – Jessica Jones (101-104)

33:39 – Fargo (206)

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It’s Spoilerin’ Time 96

Cordkillers / November 18th, 2015

Winter Movie Draft, Triage, Fargo (204), W/ Bob and David (Season 1), Star Wars Rebels (Season 1)

01:32 – Winter Movie Draft

02:56 – Triage (Winter Movie Draft)

04:02 – Triage (Fargo)

07:20 – Fargo (204)

12:39 – W/ Bob and David (Season 1)

24:45 – Star Wars Rebels (Season 1)

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It’s Spoilerin’ Time 95

Cordkillers / November 11th, 2015

Winter Movie Draft, The Walking Dead (601 & 602), Fargo (204), The Leftovers (206), The Shield (713)

01:19 – Winter Movie Draft

06:18 – The Walking Dead (601 & 602)

16:54 – Fargo (204)

25:17 – The Leftovers (206)

33:49 – The Shield (713)

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