The Interview hits online, Netflix says goodbye and hello and 4K apps on Vizio.

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CordKillers: Ep. 51 – I’m Not a Reality Show Kinda Guy
Recorded: December 29, 2014
Guest: None

Intro Video 

• Reporter vocal warmup

Primary Target

• YouTube, Web channels show Sony’s ‘The Interview’ a day before theaters
• The Interview’ rakes in $15M online in opening weekend
• Apple makes ‘The Interview’ movie available on iTunes
• – The Interview went to willing theaters on Dec. 25
  – Went online via MS, Google, and Sony (Seetheinterview.com) 12/24 US and Canada only
  – Released on iTunes Sunday 12/28
  – Brought in $15 million in first four days (2 million)
  – $2.8 million in the same four days in 331 movie theaters

Signal Intelligence

• What’s new on Netflix and Amazon for January 2015
• What’s leaving Netflix by January 1

Gear Up

• Vizio brings Amazon’s 4K video to its TVs and fixes an annoying bug
• – Vizio P-Series 4K TVs getting new apps “soon”
  – Amazon app w/ 4K support
  – 4K UltraFlix and Toon Googles apps
  -(Plex, Spotify and 4K Netflix already on Vizio TV)

Front Lines

• Aereo is auctioning its technology as part of bankruptcy.
• -Broadcasters can veto any sale. There are 17 potential bidders for the tech with bids expected Feb. 20.
• Popcorntime.io added an optional VPN service to its desktop app run by VPN.ht.
• -It costs $5 a month though popcorntime users get it for $1 for the first month or prepay a year at $48.
• SyFy show 12 Monkeys premieres Jan. 16 and includes a “light track” that controls Philips Hughes lightbulbs as you watch using the SyFy sync app.
• Mike Furth reordered all scenes from Marvel movies into chronological order. He ended up worth a 12 hour 15 minute cut of phase one.

Under Surveillance

• Netflix is reportedly buying Pee-Wee Herman movie after it was dropped by Universal. Shooting scheduled to start in 2015.
• Brian: The Interview, Doctor Who (some of the marathon), The Profit, Marco Polo (ep 3)
• Tom: The Interview, Doctor Who, Die Hard, Peaky Blinders, Marco Polo (ep. 3), The Shield (404)

2014 Winter Movie Draft
draft.diamondclub.tv

1. Scott: $378,364,906
2. Tom: $325,740,292
3. Brian: $317,556,820
4. Brett: $223,479,164
5. John: $133,316,656
6. Justin: $74,147,621

Dispatches from the Front

Brian,

I already told you… eBay your jail broken first gen AppleTV. You will get enough money to buy at least two current gen AppleTVs in return. Look on eBay and see for yourself. Get it done, and stop bashing the AppleTV!

David

 

 

Hey Brian and Tom,

I just thought you would find this confirmation of the ending of the legend of korra series.
One of your bosses

Rodrigo

• http://www.vanityfair.com/vf-hollywood/2014/12/legend-of-korra-creators-confirm-korrasami-is-canon

 

 

Im now saving 136.00 a month I cut the cable tv and phone and just kept internet went from 187.00 down to 51.00. I spent around 200.00 to install a DB8E antenna on the roof with a four way distribution amp. I live about 40 miles from new orleans and mississippi gulf coast so i have one antenna bay pointed to new orleans and the other to the gulf coast and I get all the channels from both markets a total of 41 channels. I have a roku stick on each of the four tv’s and with the antenna and roku’s with amazon, hulu, and netflix im set.

Randy

 

 

Hi Brian and Tom,

I have been watching you all for a couple of years now and really like the show. I wanted to let you know about this device I came across the other day, it’s called Brilliant TV. It’s from a small start up company near West Palm Beach, FL where I live. From what I can tell, this device seems to be close to what the old Boxee Box use to offer. It’s a small set top box that runs a version of Android and it’s an aggregate of all on-line content that is available for free. To include TV Shows, Movies, sporting events and foreign television as well.

Again, they are a small company and the device is a little expensive.($500 is what they told me but is says $599 on their web site.) However, these guys seem to have done a pretty good job on the delivery of the product from what I saw in the demonstration.

Take a look at this device and see what you think. You can find it at this URL: http://geekypickers.com/product/brillianttv-set-top/

I look forward to hear what you all have to say about this device.

Keep up the great work Brain and Tom.

Jimmy 

 

 

[SPOILER TALK] for The Walking Dead

On the last spoilerin’ time I listened to you mentioned that you stopped reading The Walking Dead comics before the Eugene reveal and I realized that you did the exact same thing as me. I read the comic up to the point where Abraham’s crew appeared and stopped, and I watched the show until the disappointment that was the governor and stopped. My roommates continued to watch the show in the living room where I catch glimpses and can tell what part of the story they are in (me being the only one to have read the comics in the house) and they got to the point where Abraham appeared and I thought “Oh no… I don’t want the crappy show version to ruin the comic for me” (though now that I have seen parts of season 4 and 5 I see that they are taking even more liberties with the source material and is at best loosely based on the comics) so I took the plunge and read (renting from the library) the nearly 100 issues I needed to to catch up, it was the best decision I have made in a long time. The most recently completed story arc literally shook the core of my humanity (maybe not so much, but it was really good), so I suggest that you continue the comics.

TL;DR Continue the walking dead comics!

 

 William

Links

patreon.com/cordkillers
Dog House Systems Cordkiller box

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Brian is fascinated by the Korra ending, the best Christmas ever for a horse, Marco gets a partial Polo and The Shield overperforms for Tom.

00:35 – Legend of Korra
03:35 – Bojack Horseman Christmas Special
10:36 – Marco Polo
18:39 – The Shield

 

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What should Sony do with The Interview? Will anyone watch Vessel? Do you want a wristband to pause your TV?

 

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CordKillers: Ep. 50 – State-sponsored Satire
Recorded: December 22, 2014
Guest: Justin Robert Young

Intro Video 

• Marvel vs. DC mashup trailer

Primary Target

• You Will Get to See “The Interview,” Sony Lawyer Says
• -Sony lawyer David Boies told Meet the Press Sunday:
  -“Sony has been fighting to get this picture distributed. It will be distributed.”
  – “What Sony is trying to do is to get the picture out to the public but at the same time to be sure the rights of its    employees and the rights of the movie going public are going to be protected.”

Signal Intelligence

• Former Hulu CEO Jason Kilar Pulls Back the Curtain on Vessel, His YouTube Rival
• – Jason Kilar posted 12/17 Vessel last week trying to encourage creators to apply.
  – Creators give Vessel a 3-day exclusive
  – Creators paid out of a pool of 60% of subscription revenue PLUS 70% of ad revenue (YT shares out 55% of ad revenue)
  – Has Shane Dawson and Ingrid Nilsen and Alec Baldwin
  – Has Time Inc. and Warner Music Group deals
  – Subscribers pay Vessel $3 a month plus watch ads
  – Free tier has ads too but not the early access
  – Vessel still won’t go live until next year.

Gear Up

• New wearable tells your DVR to record a show when you doze off at the TV
• – KipstR wristband pauses a DVR starts recording when you fall asleep.
  – UK Virgin Media trialing in 2015
  – Monitors your pulse
  – Ryan Oliver, 15, and Jonathan Kingsley, 14, are both students at Manchester Creative Studio commissioned by Virgin

Front Lines

• Netflix Brings Private Recommendations To Android Phones And Smartwatches
• –Just like Facebook users, Netflix for Android users can privately share and receive Netflix recommendations from friends right on their phone. It’s compatible with Android Wear as well so the notifications can show up on a watch. 
• Netflix: Offline video watching is “never going to happen”
• –Netflix Director of Corporate Communications and Technology Cliff Edwards told TechRadar that offline viewing of Netflix was “never going to happen,” saying the option was a “short term fix for a bigger problem,” of “WiFi access and quality.”
• NBC is launching a live stream of its shows
• –NBC launched a live stream of its broadcast programming available to cable and satellite subscribers. The Web version is up and mobile is coming early next year.
  -ABC offers a similar live stream, CBS offers live as part of it’s $6 a month all access package.
• Netflix now on Dish’s Hopper in first big pay-TV partnership
• –Wednesday Dish announced Netflix was now available on the Hopper settop box. Dish subscribers can launch Netflix from any channel by clicking the blue button on the DISH remote and selecting the Netflix icon, or finding the Netflix icon on the Hopper main menu.
• The FCC slipped out an official notice of proposed rulemaking to consider widening the definition of a Multichannel Video Programming Distributor
• – Including Internet delivery alongside cable and satellite. The change would technically remove the requirement that an MVPD have transmission facilities thus allowing the use of the Internet as that facility. All that means broadcasters have to negotiate for carriage with anyone who wants to carry multiple channels of live TV.
• Hulu’s new Disney-ABC deal brings ‘X-Men’ and ‘Resurrection’
• –Hulu struck deals with FX Networks and ABC-Disney to bring exclusive content to Hulu Plus. Hulu will be the exclusive home of all episodes of Resurrection and Mistresses, and prior episodes of Devious Maids. Subscribers will also get exclusive access to full seasons of new series from FX Productions like Tyrant, The Strain, Married and You’re the Worst and future series Man Seeking Woman, The Comedians, Sex&Drugs&Rock&Roll, Taboo and Baskets and even M. Night’s Wayward Pines.
• Hulu’s push for exclusives gets a big boost from Fox
• DirecTV launches its Latino streaming service Yaveo
• –Direct-TV launched a Latino-oriiented streaming service called Yaveo. Three live channels, Hola TV, BeIn Sports and Cine Sony Television, and 2700 hours of on demand programming for $8 a month. On-demand content is being supplied by Univision, MTV, Cine Sony Television, Caracol, TMN, Nick en Español, Canal Once and others.

Under Surveillance

• Netflix drops in a surprise ‘Bojack Horseman’ Christmas special
• Brian: Bojack Horseman Xmas special, all of Legend of Korra season 4, Marco Polo, Peaky Blinders
• Tom: Marco Polo, Bojack Horseman Christmas Special, The Hobbit, The Shield (403)
• Justin: Bojack Horseman Xmas special

2014 Winter Movie Draft
draft.diamondclub.tv

1. Scott: $362,056,280
2. Tom: $299,168,428
3. Brian: $201,148,554
4. Brett: $129,002,243
5. John: $57,795,715
6. Justin: $55,114,516

Dispatches from the Front

I think HBO will offer a two tier pricing structure. A 24.99 per month plan and a 19.99 per month plan with a 12 month contract. They will do this to discourage people from signing up just to watch a season of a particular show. I would guess there is more overhead if a lot of people subscribe to watch Game of Thrones and then cancel. Then they resubscribe to watch True Detective and again cancel when that season is over. This type of behavior will happen a lot more with a streaming service as I am sure it will be easier to cancel than trying to cancel from a cable company.

 

Ken

 

 

OK, so as your boss, I thought it would be a good idea for us to have this little chat. You see, as I look at my Patreon, I’ve been your supervisor now for 368 days… you know what that means? It means several things:

1.) I’m not a crappy boss, because you’re still here

2.) I need to give you more work, (see #1)

3.) It’s time for our annual employee performance review – please see attached, sign, and have back on my desk by close of business today.

Also based on you’re scores (if budget allows for it in 2015) there will be a Merritt increase for cost of living allocation, congratulations.

Thank you for your service to the organization, and let’s make 2015 a very successful year.

Your Boss

BigJim <>

 

 

 

Hi guys,
My wife and i just finished watching all episodes of Marco Polo ,we really enjoyed it, well, much more than you guys did. We were really looking forward to your spoilers on Marco Polo, , we agree with your initial critique of the 1 st ep , story really gets better after 3rd ep.

After watching it, what a disappointment the MP segment of spoilers was. you actually dd not even spoil anything. You guys became Shwood & Meritt @themovies, and proceeded to thrash the heck out of MP. Calling it a netflix flop ( maybe to those who didnt watch the entire show) , no story, etc. what bothered me, was you actually formed your opinions, not on 1 ep , but what you assumed the whole movie would be after only watching 45 min of a 500 min movie, wow, i could understand if you watched 5 or 6 eps and give up on it, .
I Just feel you were very harsh on MP, especially, since you spent so little time viewing it.

In past eps, you guys would want to stop watching certain show, but was told by the other, “just stick with it” it get better. imo, MP does get much better., Not games of thrones better, but what show right now does.?

you still might come to same conclusions of MP even if you had watched all episodes , now, that’s fair, but bashing a entire show based only 1 episode, i think thats a disservice to your viewer. But then again, i might be way off .

Some shows/ documentaries we loved an you might want to checkout, or not. Damages, The Killing, Happy Valley, Luther, Ripper Street, Peaky Blinder, Black Fish, Altman, Cray Love, Hot Coffee, Talhotblond, and one the best reality docs ‘Dear Zachary’.

thanks for your time.

cordially,
John G

Oh yeah, love the show

 

 

 

 AHEM! -> “Black Mirror: White Christmas
This feature-length special of Charlie Brooker’s dark drama series stars Mad Men’s Jon Hamm and consists of three interwoven stories. In a mysterious and remote snowy outpost, Matt and Potter share a Christmas meal, swapping creepy tales of their earlier lives in the outside world. Matt is a charismatic American trying to bring the reserved, secretive Potter out of his shell. But are both men who they appear to be? With Rafe Spall and Oona Chaplin
Channel 4 9:00pm Tue 16 Dec”

I guess you’ll have to wait to watch it since you don’t believe in VPN’s 😉

Carlos

 

 

 

Hey guys,
Last summer I wrote in to share my experience of reading the Game of Thrones books after having seen the show. After finishing the last book (and getting depressed when searching for info on the book 6 release) I decided to rewatch the series.
My wife had never expressed any interest in the show and had repeatedly told me that it wasn’t the type of genre she likes. I convinced her to at least watch the first episode with me and told her that she could go back to her other shows afterward. When the credits rolled on that first episode she grabbed the remote and immediately started episode 2. Now she makes me call her Khaleesi.
I thoroughly enjoyed the rewatch. The scenes have so much more meaning to me and I knew who everyone was and where everyone came from. Sharing it with my wife I immediately became that guy, the one who would pause the show every 10 minutes to fill her in on who people were and their back story. I also took great pleasure in seeing her reaction to the big series moments.
Now we both anxiously await the next season and it’ll definitely be a show that’s been added to the “don’t commit TV adultery” list.

Thanks,
Scott from Houston

 

Links

patreon.com/cordkillers
Dog House Systems Cordkiller box