Cordkillers 438 - You'd See It On My Face
TCL showed off an Amazon X-ray-like feature that would be software-agnostic. Meanwhile, Roku says they'll just make TVs themselves. Plus, Glass Onion blows up on Netflix and YouTubeTV snags the NFL Sunday Ticket rights. All that and more on Cordkillers!
This week on It's Spoilerin' Time: 12 Angry Men (1957), Twenty-Five Twenty-One (108), Miami Vice (323, "Everybody's in Showbiz")
Next week: The Last of Us (101), Twenty-Five Twenty-One (109), Miami Vice (402, "Amen...Send Money")
Download video http://archive.org/download/cordkillers-ep-438/CordkillersEp438.mp4
Download audio http://archive.org/download/cordkillers-ep-438/CordkillersEp438.mp3
CordKillers: 438 - You'd See It On My Face
Recorded: January 9 2023
Guest: None
Intro Video
Call Me Miss Cleo
Primary Target
TCL Wants to Soup Up the AI in Its Televisions With Samba TV
- At CES, TCL was showing off a TV feature called Smart Screen. It works like Amazon X-Ray except it can do anything on the TV. TCL is making it in partnership with TV measurement firm Samba TV. When it launches-- Smart Screen would would identify what's on your TV's screen and be able to show you info and recommendations related to that. Smart Screen can identify not only which actors are in the scene but also what they're doing, the music that's playing or even landmarks, objects and brands. When will you get this? Who knows.
How to Watch
Roku ends 2022 with new milestone, tops 70M active accounts
- Roku announced it now has more than 70 million active accounts worldwide, up 10 million ion the year. It also reported a 19% rise in streaming hours on the year. The Roku Channel has been in its top 5 channels based on streaming hours and active accounts with streaming hours up 90% on the year.
Roku does the obvious thing and announces its own TV line
We may see Roku TVs with OLED in 2023
- Many TV makers use the Roku operating system and ship TVs that are sometimes co-branded with Roku. However Roku announced it will be shipping TVs this year under its own brand. 11 models will be available in sizes ranging from 24 inches to 75 inches. There will be two lines. Roku Select TVs which will ship with the Roku Voice Remote, and Roku Plus TVs that ship with the Voice Remote Pro. The pro remote allows for hand-free voice commands and has a rechargeable battery. The 24-inch model will sell for $119 and the 75-inch model for $999, arriving this spring. Separately, Roku also announced an OLED TV reference design to help partners build TVs that run the Roku OS.
Android TV and Google TV Now Have Over 150 Million Monthly Active Users
TCL Google TVs Aim for Gamers With Smoother, Brighter Pictures
- Google announced that there are now 150 million monthly active devices running Android TV or Google TV (which is Android TV with a fancier interface). And interestingly, New TCL TVs have switched from Rokus OS to Google TV.
What to Watch
Sony offers a sneak peek at Neill Blomkamp’s ‘Gran Turismo’ film
- AT CES Sony showed some sneak peeks at the Gran Turismo movie being directed by Neil Blomkamp, which is coming to theaters August 11.
‘Glass Onion’ Becomes Netflix’s Third Most Watched Film in 10-Day Period
- Glass Onion became Netflix’s third most watched film, in terms of hours viewed over a title’s first 10 days following launch.
- During the Dec. 26-Jan. 1 viewing window, the “Knives Out” sequel film, which dropped Dec. 23 on Netflix, raked in 127 million hours watched.
Over the holidays the BBC released a trailer for Doctor Who.
To Reprise Wolverine Role, Hugh Jackman Says He Has “Six Months” To Get In Shape For ‘Deadpool 3’
- Hugh Jackman told People magazine he has six months between the end of his run in The Music Man on Broadway until filming begins on Deadpool. He also told The Empire Film Podcast that Wolverine and Deadpool hate each other when they meet. "I’m probably going to punch him in the head a lot.” Deadpool 3 is scheduled to arrive November 8, 2024.
Eyes On:
Brian: Star Trek II: the Wrath of Khan, Hacking the System
Tom: Wednesday
On the Lookout: Awesome Games Done Quick
Front Lines
YouTube lands NFL Sunday Ticket in major shake-up of sports streaming
YouTube TV split-screen viewing is set to arrive in time for NFL Sunday Ticket
- Game on. Google and the NFL announced YouTube will offer the NFL Sunday Ticket subscription for out of market NFL games starting with the 2023 season. Customers can purchase Sunday Ticket through YouTube TV or a la carte through YouTube PrimeTime Channels. The Wall Street Journal's source say YouTube will pay $2 billion per season as part of a seven year agreement. And YouTube TV’s Neal Mohan told the Verge that a multi-viewing option will be available on YouTubeTV in time for football next season.
Chris Rock Live: Netflix Reveals Plans For Streaming Stand-Up First
Netflix Is ‘Pleased With the Growth’ of Its Ad Tier So Far, Head of Advertising Says
- Netflix will host its first live streamed content on the platform. On March 4th at 10 PM eastern you can watch Chris Rock: Selective Outrage. The show will be streamed from Baltimore and then be made available on demand on Netflix afterward.
- Netflix's president of worldwide advertising, Jeremi Gorman, said the company is pleased with the growth it's seeing from its advertising-supported tier, despite press reports that it is underperforming. Gorman said, “You would be able to see if I was a concerned human — I wear it on my face.” Tom, is Gorman trying to convince us that she's in fact human?
Warner Bros. Discovery says it’s done killing shows and movies just for tax write-offs
- The bloodletting at HBO Max is over. Warner Brothers Discovery CFO Gunnar Wiedenfels told Citibank’s annual Communications, Media & Entertainment Conference last week that the cost-cutting phase is over and the company is looking forward to making new things in 2023.
Streamer Plex finally ready to launch a TV and movie rentals marketplace
- Plex said it will finally launch its video on demand store in Q2. Plex announced the store in 2020 and then-- things-- happened. Part of that was the pandemic but part of it was that making a store was harder than they thought because of DRM. But now it's back on track to let you rent movies on Plex in Q2 if not earlier.
‘Wednesday’ Renewed for Season 2 at Netflix
- Netflix's Wednesday has been renewed for a second season. Not a surprise as it is the second biggest English language season of television on Netflix with more than 1.2 billion hours viewed within its first 28 days
Stephen Amell will return to play the Green Arrow one last time during the ninth and final season of The Flash on the CW.
Sling TV launched user profiles and rolled out more sports score support to its apps on Roku, FireTV and Android TV.
Netflix will not make any further seasons of 1899. So that cliffhanger ending is the ending.
Mindy Kaling's animated Velma series will debut on HBO Max January 12.
Netflix release a trailer fo season 4 of You. The first five episodes will arrive February 9th and the last five March 9th.
Dispatches from the Front
My Rokus thinks I speak Spanish. A lot of the ads on my Roku suddenly started to be for a Spanish language streaming service called Vix.
I'm talking about the ad that sits there next to my channels before I pick what I'm going to watch as well as the ones that are cleverly placed in the screensaver. These ads have featured a number of different shows on Vix and all of the words, such as the names of the shows, are in Spanish.
The funny thing is I don't speak Spanish. I took a few years of it in high school and one semester of it in college because a foreign language was required, but I remember very little from those classes. I recently watched Narcos and I'm currently about halfway through Narcos: Mexico. My wife thinks that might be the reason for the ads.
Is there a way to let my Roku know that I'm not interested in Spanish language content? This reminds me of the bit in the show The Mind of the Married Man when his Tivo thinks he's gay because he recorded Ellen and Will and Grace, so he starts to record overtly masculine things to try and convince his Tivo he's not gay. However, I don't think this will help me at all because everything I watch is already in English with the exception of the parts of shows and movies where characters are speaking in a different language and I depend upon the subtitles to understand what is going on.
I was wondering if Tom especially had any interesting insights into this situation, since he and his wife watch so much Korean content.
Thank you,
- Bill
How to Disable Ads on the Roku Home Screen
Links
patreon.com/cordkillers
doghousesystems.com/v/rogue
World's Greatest Con
FreeTomNewsletter