Tag Archives: TV

DRMTV - Speak now…

May 20, 2008 – 2:07 pm

Broadcast flag… or forever hold your peace and don’t bother complaining later.

In case you missed it, something very important happened last week, when some DVR users were prevented from recording a particular NBC television program.

By all accounts of the parties involved, it may have been a “mistake” on the part of MS and/or NBC. Leaving that discussion aside (since it’s speculation and not the point anyway) , it’s critical to realize that a test of public opinion has been conducted. Whether this test was initiated intentionally or accidentally doesn’t matter nearly as much as the results of the test, and so far they’re not encouraging.

In case you’re wondering, the essence of the test is determining how the public will react to these sorts of restrictions. Ever since the Sony vs. Universal case of 1984 established the consumer’s right to time-shift their media-consuming experience, the content producers have been looking for ways to undermine that right. (See DIVX - for those of you not old enough to remember this, it would have changed the concept of DVDs as we know them)

With the advent of digital distribution, they sought to reassert this same old claim, this time using technological means, since it had already been denied them via legal channels. Fortunately, three years ago consumers successfully rallied to defeat the broadcast flag mandate, a collusion between the FCC and the studios to take back this right from the consumer again.

With that decision, it was established that while content producers could pass a flag indicating that they don’t wish particular content to be recorded, software and device manufacturers (and consumers) are under no obligation to honor that wish, since it would violate their previously established right.

As of last week, two things are clear: some manufacturers have decided to willingly honor it, and some content providers have decided to attempt to make use of it. The test is how we as consumers will respond to those two actions. Will we make it clear that such actions are not acceptable and force them to reconsider disrespecting that right, or will we not bother since it doesn’t really affect most of us right now?

The sad answer is probably the latter. After all, tons of people have already gotten used to the idea of “buying” crippled and restricted media (music and video) from stores like iTunes, essentially endorsing the same kind of perpetual producer-ownership mentality that is behind the broadcast flag, by voting in the way that’s most meaningful to the companies involved - their dollars.

By JB | Posted in Blog Posts | Also tagged , , | Comments (3)

Man vs. Wild - Is it fake?

July 31, 2007 – 11:46 am

This article from the BBC raises a question about the authenticity of the survival show Man vs. Wild. It seems to be based around the allegations of one guy who was involved in the production, and since the production company has not come forward to publicly refute the claims, they have gained some degree of credibility in the eyes of many.

My take? It’s an entertaining show either way, so it doesn’t matter too much to me.

As for the rumors / allegations that he has (on one occasion, which is all the claim states) not stayed out in the wild at night after the cameras were off, I’ll take those reports with a grain of salt. It’s only the report of one person formerly involved with the show (who may or may not have some personal grudges), about a few isolated incidents where there may have been some assistance provided that wasn’t shown in the edited version. If it’s true (and I haven’t seen anything to confirm it), it wouldn’t really detract from my enjoyment of the show.

All that aside, the most interesting parts are when he comes up with some creative solutions for getting food or accomplishing certain other tasks. To take it as an authoritative source of real information for how to survive in the wild is probably not the intent of the show. Especially since he often takes hugely unnecessary risks like jumping off / between high cliffs or rocky mountainsides to save himself some time. Of course, if you actually were stranded out in the wild on your own, you wouldn’t take those kinds of risks (especially if you’re already near a water source, which he often is) because medical attention will be much more difficult to come by than the extra food and water required for taking the extra time to walk around the obstacle.

By JB | Posted in Blog Posts | Also tagged | Comments (5)

Moore pulls no punches on CNN live

July 10, 2007 – 8:08 pm

Check out this excellent video where Blitzer leads into an interview with Moore with a classic teardown piece (which Moore later discredits - see link at end of article) centered around his new film.

The trap totally backfires on Wolf, when Moore launches into a scathing reprimand of CNN and mainstream media in general, for all the crap they’ve pulled in the recent age of commercially dominated journalism, especially their woeful negligence around all aspects of the Iraq war.

I’m by no means a die hard Moore fan (and please let’s not turn this into a debate around any of the subjects of his films - I’m not interested), but I have to give him major props for this one.

UPDATE - the page does have links to the followup pieces as well. Part two is great also, when Wolf brings up some obscure, out of left field rumor about a Sicko showing in Iran, and Michael responds brilliantly.

By JB | Posted in Blog Posts | Also tagged , | Comments (3)

Heroes - NBC Please Read

May 15, 2007 – 2:34 pm

The quotes below are reversed in this article, but they fit my point better in this order…

Good news:

As a breakout freshman hit, “Heroes” has reshaped NBC’s thinking in several ways. By increasing the number of episodes to 24 this season, and adding six episodes of “Heroes: Origins” to the schedule next year, NBC gets 30 total episodes and makes a significant attempt to keep viewers from scattering during the inevitable rerun period. (”Origins” will air on Monday nights when “Heroes” takes a break.)

Bad news:

Perhaps the biggest news from NBC was the announcement that it would, in effect, spin off “Heroes” into a second series called “Heroes: Origins,” a limited-run, six-episode drama that will introduce a new character each week and incorporate an online element that will allow “Heroes” fans to vote on which of the six new characters on “Origins” will be added to the original series.

Dear NBC,
No. Don’t do it. Heroes is an excellent show. The creative team behind it is doing an excellent job. As much as it sounds cool to “give the fans a voice”, I’d rather you didn’t. Look no further than Lost, which altered its schedule this year to accommodate the fans’ complaints of too many reruns, only to have those same fans whine about the longer break between the two uninterrupted parts. Those fans will be whining again in a couple weeks, as they prepare for the longest hiatus the show has ever had, despite the fact that “they don’t like reruns or breaks” is exactly why this is happening. The most outspoken fans (especially on the “internets”) often do not show good judgment, and I don’t think their opinions will necessarily translate into good ratings. Even if they do in the short term, I think the integrity of a quality series will win out in the end over one that tries to pander. In summary, the fans don’t know what makes a good show, you do. That’s why they pay you the big bucks.

By JB | Posted in Blog Posts | Comments (0)

Switching to Myth

March 13, 2007 – 8:21 pm

Well, it looks like since the DVRs at the new cable company are on indefinite back order, we’ll be making the switch fully to Myth TV for all our DVR / media center needs.

It won’t be a big move, since we’ve really been using the Myth box for everything lately anyway, just because it can do so much more than a regular DVR. Now that I think about it, I don’t think I ever posted about how we’ve been using Myth TV for quite some time now, and how enjoyable it has been.

It’s difficult to explain how much is gained by making the switch from regular TV watching to using a DVR, and I’d say the same thing about switching from a “regular” DVR to Myth - there’s almost too much good stuff to cover it all. Here are some highlights, though:

  • Much better commercial skipping - While cable company and corporate owned DVRs actually take measures to prevent you from being able to skip commercials, Myth offers a free, open system that exists only to serve the needs of its users, and as such has excellent features like intelligent commercial skipping. This is a high point for me not only because it works well (no need to fast forward or press any buttons, it just skips them for you), but also because it’s a prime example of the difference having an open system makes. Some DVR manufacturers have actually removed commercial skipping functionality from their systems in the past, in spite of the users’ desires, whereas on Myth there is a world community that is always working on adding new and more efficient commercial detection, to make it even better and thwart attempts to prevent skipping.
  • (Virtually) unlimited media library - This is a big one for the kids as well as us (or at least me). Unlike a traditional DVR, a Myth system can be expanded to store as much data as you want, and in whatever format you want. And that includes not only recorded programs but content from any source (ripping your whole DVD library, etc.). I’ve got every single episode of many of the kids favorite cartoon series (which they love), as well as doing the same for shows I enjoy. If I want to pick a random Twilight Zone episode at any moment and watch it, I can, because every single one is on there. Same goes for any other show.
  • Web based scheduling - In case I happen to be away from home and realize I’ve forgotten to set up something to be recorded, I can remotely connect and view the whole schedule and pick which shows I want to record, set recording options, etc.
  • Transcoding - You can schedule custom jobs to be run on any newly recorded content, which can copy / convert the recording to any number of formats that you’d like. This would be useful for syncing to other portable devices (video iPod, etc.)
  • Frontend/backend architecture - You can serve any number of front end systems (using very basic PC hardware) from a single backend system where all the shows are stored, allowing you to view content from any room you want.

There are lots of other features as well; too numerous to mention. It can hold and play all your music, if you’ve got a home theater type setup. You can run emulators for many popular console and arcade games, so you have a virtually unlimited gaming library as well. You can check their web site for more info and features.

I already ordered an HD capture card (since that’s the one thing my current setup lacks) and that reminds me of yet another bonus: this card (specifically made for Linux) has open driver software, and explicitly ignores the broadcast flag in HD content.

By JB | Posted in Blog Posts | Also tagged | Comments (8)

The 4400

January 16, 2007 – 10:37 pm

I’ve been catching up the sci-fi show “The 4400” lately when I catch a rare window of TV watching time. I’m about halfway through the second season so far.

Brooke recommended it a while back, but I haven’t gotten around to actually watching it until now. If you like Heroes, I’d highly recommend it, as it’s very similar. I’m not saying Heroes copied them, but the concept is really close to the same.

By JB | Posted in Blog Posts | Comments (7)

Heroes

December 24, 2006 – 1:54 am

Well, I finally got around to watching the first 11 episodes of the show Heroes this week, just in time for it to start back up again next month.

Now I don’t have to tell everyone to be quiet when they talk about it in order to avoid spoilers.

Of course, I really like it so far. It’s a very “comic book” style story, in many ways, which isn’t surprising considering the involvement of people like Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale in the creative process.

One of those ways that I wasn’t expecting (because of the frequent comparisons to Lost) is the slightly more spoon-fed style in which they dish out what’s happening in the plot. I’m not saying that’s a bad thing in any way, but I was just expecting more of a mysterious aspect because of the Lost talk.

By JB | Posted in Blog Posts | Comments (2)

Netflix - who needs it?

October 19, 2006 – 3:57 pm

This post on Jason’s blog got me thinking about how I’ve had my current Netflix rental sitting at home for almost a whole month and still haven’t watched it - they are really loving me as a customer.

Why? Because I’ve got a continually growing backlog of stuff I want to watch that’s ready to go, whenever I find / make the time to watch something, but that list is growing a lot faster than I’m knocking stuff off of it. I haven’t even watched last night’s Lost episode yet, which I think is the first time I haven’t seen the episode the same day it aired since I started watching the show (mid season 2).

I have a feeling that I could easily go without having Netflix at all, but it is still nice to have when an occasional movie reference pops up and reminds me of something I want to see, and it’s just so convenient. I think for now I might clear out my queue and give my spot to either Martha or the kids’ queues, until I find something I really want to see again.

By JB | Posted in Blog Posts | Also tagged | Comments (9)

Lost night!

October 4, 2006 – 2:24 pm

Season 3 premiers tonight. Can it live up to the hype and expectations? Probably not, but then again there was a lot of expectation after season one, and the season two premier was pretty huge in terms of advancing the story to the next stage, so who knows.

In case it fell off your feed reader since last season, don’t forget to start monitoring underwaterhatch.com (our Lost blog) again, as I’m sure the posts will start to pick up again there as the season gets underway. I won’t be posting about Lost on this blog, since we have that site already dedicated to that.

By JB | Posted in Blog Posts | Also tagged | Comments (7)

Speaking of conspiracies

September 29, 2006 – 11:43 am

There are many conspiracy theories out there to be considered, but I think not enough attention is being given as to whether a 13th episode of Fawlty Towers existed, and (more importantly) if so, WHY it is being hidden from us.

By JB | Posted in Blog Posts | Also tagged | Comments (0)