Cordkillers: Ep. 3 – We got them HBO Go Passwords here

Cordkillers / January 20th, 2014

We chat with Plex developer Tobias Hieta about why HBO doesn’t care if you share passwords, and Netflix is flying high to quality.

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Cordkillers Episode #3 We got them HBO Go Passwords here
Recorded: January 20 2014
Guest: Tobias Hieta, Plex Developer

Intro Video

Primary Target

Secondary Target

Signals Intelligence

Gear Up

Under surveillance

Front Lines

On our radar

On Screen

Dispatches from the front

  •  Cricket Australia started offering streaming of the entire cricket season this yr for 19.99 – for Aussie IP addresses

    @strumpet101

 

  • I was just listening to Spoiler Time 2, and wanted to throw my thoughts into whatever mix there is.

    With ad-supported television, it is not the viewer’s responsibility to ensure that the ad is seen, or effective. If we decide that the viewer has an obligation to the show/network/advertiser who is ‘paying’ for the show then we have a whole host of problems to deal with about viewers who mute the ads, change the channel (to another show that they’re not ‘paying’ for) or otherwise somehow dilute the ad’s effectiveness.

    I feel like in our consumer-focused economy we’ve been lulled into thinking that ‘watching an ad’ or paying for cable/netflix is the same as buying a good at the store. Services are not tangible items, and there’s a lot of ambiguity as to what you gain when you pay for a service. When you pay for Netflix, you’re not paying to watch a show. You’re paying to access the system. It’s even worse with cable (which is why we’ve all eschewed it, right?)

    With region-locked media, we’re equating ‘where you are’ with ‘should you be able to watch’. This is a really poor model, because it assumes consumption generally. From tvlicensing.co.uk:

    “You need a valid TV Licence if you use TV receiving equipment to watch or record television programmes as they’re being shown on TV.”

    Excellent! I don’t ever consume BBC programming when it’s being shown on TV, I’m exempt!

    This of course, doesn’t make sense. (I’m also fortunate in that I’m watching programs, rather than programmes, another exemption!) Likewise, the person in the UK who tunes in (yay for anachronism) a few times a year to watch a live special is paying the same fee as a person watching every night.

    While a lot of this comes across as ethical/moral justification, the counterbalance is that the people making these rules (both in ad-supported as well as pay-for TV) have left a large gap – and one that I suggest is there such that they do not wrap themselves up in legal red tape. Laws are things that function as double-edged swords for content providers. The Aereo stuff being a prime example.

    There are a LOT of layers between a studio getting paid to make a show, and the cost to a viewer to see that show.

    So – I’ve written a lot, and edited a lot. If any of it doesn’t make sense, let me know and I’ll deny it completely 🙂

    Thanks for a great show (One which, I will add some amount of irony, I am happy to pay for)

    Aaron

 

  • First, Sherlock and if it’s a gray area to watch it via Hola or whatever ‘VPN’ tech du jour.

    My academic response would be, “As a security professional, I can easily say that you are using a technology intended to provide privacy, encryption and non repudiation as a form of obfuscation to circumvent security controls (in this case Region control of BBC Intellectual Property). As with any cat and mouse game, security tools are invented for specific purposes but will be used in a way never intended by the creator. And not to get to Jurassic Park Goldbloom on you, but just because you can, doesn’t mean you should. Clearly its a gray area……

    Now to talk out of the other side of my mouth… I did the EXACT same thing. The internet was not designed or created with International boundaries in mind. The BBC has to know that the lines drawn on paper by whatever her or his majesty ordered them to be don’t translate into a world without arbitrary walls built on the blood of past generations.

    Second issue, I feel better….. and worse….

    http://www.tvovermind.com/hbo/hbo-doesnt-care-youre-sharing-hbo-go-password-227861

    http://www.buzzfeed.com/mattlynley/hbos-ceo-doesnt-care-that-you-are-sharing-your-hbo-password

    So basically this guy’s marketing strategy is the same as a Philadelphia crack dealer, “Give them the first 8ball for free to get them hooked. “

    J Snyder

 

 

  • It’s good to see you continue to help those of us who want to cut the cord!

    Let me start with the back story to my current cord cutting results. We have been Time Warner Cable customers for almost 10 years now but about 2 years ago, I called to cancel our subscription because we were interested in switching to DISH. At the time, we had digital cable with DVR. The customer service rep sold me on upgrading to a whole-home system with 3 extra boxes at the same price we were paying at the time, around $150 or so per month. Since then, costs slowly rose while we found ourselves streaming more and more content from Netflix and Hulu Plus and various content providing websites. We decided it was time to cut the cord so I called TWC to do so. When I explained that I wanted to cancel our TV subscription but keep our internet service, the customer service rep immediately put me on hold to talk to his supervisor. In less than a minute, he was back on the phone and offered me basic cable while allowing us to keep all of our current equipment (3 cable boxes plus DVR) at a cost reduction of $1.25 from what we would have paid for internet service BY ITSELF! So they are paying us $1.25 to watch basic cable on their free equipment. We lost the whole home setup so the remote boxes don’t read from the DVR and we can no longer use the TWC app on our iPads but I have an AverMedia device hooked up to one box and a Slingbox Solo on the way to hook up to the DVR for my wife. We are now saving around $115 per month which after less than a month paid for both the AverMedia and Slingbox devices together. The only program that we can’t watch with the basic subscription is The Walking Dead but guess what? They feed it to us through the on-demand service that we still get! So, we really lost none of the programs we were watching with cost savings that will put almost $1400 back in our pockets this year!

    Yeah, cord killers! Thank you for keeping us informed and encouraging those that are interested in cutting the cord!

    Your faithful listener,
    Glenn

 

Cordkillers: Ep. 2 – Sony: Dreamweaver or deceiver?

Cordkillers / January 14th, 2014

Tom takes Brian and guest Nicole Spagnuolo on a roller coaster ride of emotions as he explains the ins and out of Sony’s online TV announcement. Also can Aereo win at the Supreme Court? If they lose it might affect you more directly than if they win. Find out why.

 

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Cord Killers Episode #2 Sony: Dreamweaver or deceiver?
Recorded:  January 13 2014
Guest: Nicole Spagnuolo

Intro Video

Primary Target

Secondary Target

Signals Intelligence

Gear Up

Moving targets

Front Lines

Winter Movie Draft

  1. Fr. Robert Ballecer:  $599,679,357

  2. Justin Robert Young: $526,820,937

  3. Casey McKinnon: $506,462,602

  4. Jeff Cannata:  $420,370,709

  5. Tom Merritt: $317,689,929 

  6. Brian Brushwood: $226,142,950

On our radar

Under surveillance

Dispatches from the front

  • As fan from the 90s I am not too interested in the current product, but for $9.99, having the pay per view shows and the large library from when I was a religious viewer makes this a viable option and worth the price alone.

    I think the more interesting development though is that the WWE ended up here after they had been trying to pitch this network for years through conventional means. By deciding to go this route in the end, they have become the guinea pigs for a full streaming model, including their original content along with the full library and the live shows. 

    I’m rooting for their success as I would love to see more “”””online networks”””” if the model starts to take off. “””

    Carlos

     

  • I am donating to the CordKillers show via Patreon. After you get some money in the coffers do you think there would be a Roku app in the future.

    In the meantime, I have a work around viewers can use to watch the shows on on Roku:

    Just install the hidden Roku Channel and type: ITPC code to add it. That will give you access to all of the audio and video podcasts in iTunes right on the big screen. Of course it will allow you to listen to DTNS as well.

    I wrote a step-by-step “How to” article about it if you’re interested, or want to share it with your fan base.

    http://www.groovypost.com/howto/itunes-podcasts-channel-roku/

    Hope this helps. And as always, love everything you’re doing!

    Brian Burgess
    Editor in Chief – groovyPost.com

     

  • Hey guys, loving the show so far. I’ve been trying to cut the cord for a year now, but haven’t been able to fully pull the trigger yet. My only available internet is Verizon FIOS. With their currently price plans, Internet is just about the same price as their Internet and TV bundles, so its hard to justify the jump. I’ve already switched to a TiVo with a CableCard over renting Verizon’s set top box, so I think when everything is all said and done, I’d only save about $10 more.

    Any advice to making the jump in this situation?”

    Dennis

  

 

    Spoiler Time: 1 – Orange is the New Black & Sherlock

    Cordkillers / January 8th, 2014

    Name is still TBD, but ladies and gentlemen THIS is the spoiler area where Tom and Brian will chat about all the spoilery things they both have watched. Patreon backers get these first mind you. But fear not we will not hold them back from you forever, expect them a few days after they are recorded.

    In this, the premiere episode of Spoiler $VAR we discuss the entire run of Orange is the New Black, and the first episode of Sherlock Series 3.

    You have been warned!

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    Cordkillers: Ep. Beta 2 – Ear love

    Cordkillers / December 30th, 2013

    Are more people really cutting the Internet than TV? The answer is sort of, if you squint. And find out what game is the most pirated video of 2013 with thrones.

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    Cord Killers Beta 2 – Ear love
    Recorded: December 29 2013
    Guest: Fraser Cain

    Intro Video

    Primary Target

    Secondary Target

    Signals Intelligence

    Gear Up

    Moving Targets

    Front Lines

    Winter Movie Draft

    1. Justin Robert Young: $503,513,000
    2. Fr. Robert Ballecer: $485,056,000
    3. Casey McKinnon: $445,324,422
    4. Jeff Cannata: $350,016,348
    5. Tom Merritt: $252,303,646
    6. Brian Brushwood: $177,515,619

    Under Surveillance

    Dispatches from the Front

    • Great start to the new show, thanks for bringing us what we want when want and whatever…

      When Netflix launched profiles back in the summer, they broke parental controls by allowing kids to choose which profile to login with. Since there’s no authentication or PIN for profiles, kids can start watching Human Centipede or whatever they want, when they want etc.

      I emailed you guys about this when profiles launched and you thought it was a niggle that Netflix would sort out. Nearly 6 months in and it hasn’t changed despite other changes to the service and software.

      I’m the parent and it’s my responsibility to protect my kids, but if the tools aren’t there to help me supervise their viewing, then I won’t let them use the service, simple. But that’s not really in Netflix’s interest, surely?

      James

       

    • Never lose the sharpie on cardboard!
      That is all.

      Bill

       

    • Thanks for changing the format of the video in the feed. Was frustrating seeing that I got the beta episode, but wasn’t downloaded. (Course, went to the website to grab it).

      Now, can you offer a smaller sized version of the video? 1.28GB is kinda huge for video file to play on a phone.

      Just asking.
      Thanks,

      Corey

     

    Cordkillers: Episode (Beta) 4K getting more OK

    Cordkillers / December 23rd, 2013

    Tom and Brian kick off the very first Cordkillers with special guest Justin Robert Young. Netflix is leading the charge for 4K, Hulu has millions but is it enough, and why Atari’s famous ET game failure could help Xbox.

     

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    Cord Killers: Beta
    Recorded: December 23 2013
    Guest: Justin Robert Young

    Intro Video

    The Big Story

    Another Big Story

    SlipStream

    Tube Tops

    Film Falm

    Scan Lines

    What we’re watching

    Winter Movie Draft

    1. Justin Robert Young: $483,480,275
    2. Fr. Robert Ballecer: $392,813,988
    3. Casey McKinnon: $390,058,157
    4. Jeff Cannata: $265,369,223
    5. Tom Merritt: $182,530,164
    6. Brian Brushwood: $119,438,873
       

    Premiering this week

    Feedback

    Gentlemen, in your honor, my wife, Wendy, and I cut the cord with Verizon today. We cancelled our Cable TV, but kept our FiOS internet service, so we still have one cord, but it’s the good one. And Verizon said we’re “welcome” to keep 13 local TV channels for free. Ha, I guess we don’t get to keep the UHF channels. 🙂

    Now we’re saving $70 a month. Oops, just found out that we’re only saving $65 a month, because, “dear valued customer,” it’s actually $5 more per month than they said. Oh, and we also have to pay an additional $10 to return our DVR. (I feel like I just made a deal with some guy on Canal Street.)

    We will continue to feast from our AppleTV, where we watch Netflix and iTunes… and podcasts, podcasts, podcasts. So we’re ready for your next show!

    Happy Holidays to you both. Thanks for all the years of information and inspiration. Excited to see what you guys will do next.

    Cheers,
    Philip & Wendy Shane
    Brooklyn, NY

     

    See what you can do when the TV network is NOT in the USA? <sigh> 180 channels, $15/month, 8-day replay period without needing a DVR (they record & store everything), inside home/outside home, looks great if you were an international sports/soccer fan.

    Now Playing on Slingbox 500: DishWorld

    Jamie