Cordkillers 475 - A Little Tarnished

Can AI chatbots suggest the perfect shows yet? Can they? Plus, the Ahsoka finale, SNL's got a comeback date, and Cyberpunk's media franchise expands now. All that and more on Cordkillers!

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Next week: Miami Vice (507, "Asian Cut")

Download video http://archive.org/download/cordkillers-ep-475/CordkillersEp475.mp4

Download audio http://archive.org/download/cordkillers-ep-475/CordkillersEp475.mp3

CordKillers: 475 - A Little Tarnished
Recorded: October 9 2023
Guest: None 

Intro Video
Trailer for ONEFOUR

Supply Run
Likewise debuts Pix, an AI chatbot for entertainment recommendations
Likewise

- The cords have fallen my friends, so while we will tell you later in the show about things like Comcast and Spectrum teaming up on a streaming box with FAST services or DirecTV picking a fight with Max's CNN stream, those are the last rumblings of the battles of the past.
- The future for us Cordkillers is selection. How do we find stuff?
- So on our Supply Run, we found this and figured we should all take a look.
- Likewise is one of the many sites that want to help you find what to watch next. (They also do books and podcasts too.) They have launched an LLM-powered chatbot named Pix. It uses OpenAI's GPT 3.5 and GPT 4 trained on its own customer data. You chat on the web, through an app or even over email and text. Supposedly it can learn your preferences and make personalized recommendations. And it will proactively let you know when a new show it thinks you'll like arrives. The service, including Pix, is free to use with ads.

Search Party
OK. The Ahsoka finale happened last week and I have thoughts. 
‘Saturday Night Live’ Sets Return on NBC, Pete Davidson to Host Season 49 Premiere
- Meanwhile we continue to document the return of shows after the writer's strike. Saturday Night Live will return for its 49th season on October 14th. Ice Spice will be the musical guest and Pete Davidson will host.

There’s a live-action Cyberpunk 2077 show or movie on the way
- Developer CD Projekt Red announced it is in the earliest stages of working with Anonymous Content to develop a live-action TV show or movie based on Cyberpunk 2077. It seems like it's working with the TV side of Anonymous but the decision of which it will be has not been announced.

Apple TV Plus will stream free Charlie Brown classics for the holidays again
- Apple TV Plus will once again let nonsubscribers stream the Charlie Brown holiday specials. You'll just need the app.

‘Only Murders in the Building’ Renewed for Season 4 at Hulu
- Only Murders in the Building ended season 3 on a cliffhanger and then immediately announced a 4th season has been approved.

Netflix announced it will bring back Castlevania: Nocturne for a second season. 

Buried Treasure
Bryce: The Other Two
Brian: Our Flag Means Death, The Afterparty
Tom: Loki
On the Lookout: Savior Complex

Scanning the Horizon 
Comcast and Charter have begun rolling out the first Xumo streaming box
- Comcast and Charter have begun rolling out thew Xumo Stream Box. We told you about this back in April. It's a set-top box that can stream the normal apps (Netflix, Disney+, Max etc.) But uses Xumo's FAST service as the front end. It also has your cable company's app, so you see live TV the minute you turn it on, whether it's from a cable channel you get or Xumo. Spectrum customers can get it now for $60 or $5 a month, with Comcast Xfinity internet customers getting the opportunity to bundle it in soon.

Netflix Plans to Raise Prices After Actors Strike Ends
- Prices are going up. Warner Brothers Discovery announced that it will raise the price for the ad-free version of Discovery+ from $6.99 a month to $8.99. Its ad-supported version will remain $4.99 a month. And the Wall Street Journal's sources say Netflix plans to raise the prices of its ad-free services a few months after the actor's strike is resolved, whenever that is. It will likely rise prices in the US and Canada first.

DirecTV Cautions Warner Bros. Discovery Over CNN Max; WBD Says Streamer’s Goal Is To “Reach New Audiences”
AT&T Exploring Options for DirecTV as Pay-TV Subscriptions Continue Decline
- We may have noted how significant it was that CNN Max had a lot of the same programs you get on Cable since in the past cable services have objected to that amount of rebroadcast without a cable subscription. Well DirecTV noted it too. The company sent a note to Warner Brothers Discovery that CNN Max risks violating its carriage agreements. Side Note, AT&T is starting to explore options for what to do with the 70% of DirecTV it owns. Starting in August next year it could sell its stake entirely.

Sony’s high-bitrate movie service is now available on PS5 and PS4
- One way to differentiate your streaming service is to go high quality. That's what Sony is doing with Sony Pictures Core for the PS4 and PS5. It offers up to 2,000 movies for sale or rent with HDR at 80 Mbps, similar to what you get on disc. And much higher than the bitrates on Netflix, Max, or even Vudu. And Sony says some Sony films will come to the service first.

Roku’s next update focuses on sports, live TV, and easier content discovery
- Roku's next round of software updates will soon add more features to make it easier to find the things you want to watch. Music to our ears. You'll be able to favorite sports teams so you find their games easier and get notified when they're live. Roku's FAST service will let you personalize the order of channels in the guide. And its "what to Watch '' segment will have new more specific categories. Color settings, previously only available in the app, will be available on the TV now too.  And Roku will add support for Google Photos. All of that and more will be in Roku OS 12.5 arriving in the US over the next few weeks. 

Chatter

Killers,

I assume you mentioned the FCC's ruling on cableCARDs when it happened in late 2020 (I couldn't find a show where you mentioned it). But as a reminder in late 2020 the FCC ruled that cable companies were no longer required to support CableCARDs, the cards that make TiVo and other user owned set top boxes work. I have a TiVo and wanted to get a second CableCARD for a new HDHomeRun Prime. This has proven to be impossible in my area. My original cable company was WOW (WideOpenWest), but my service was sold to RCN (who rebranded to Astound). I've been told the old WOW system my house is connected to is not compatible with the Astound cable cards, a Motorola system vs Cisco. So my current card works, but I can not get a new one. On top of that they told me they plan to kill off the entire old cable system and replace everything with IP set top boxes. So every customer will need new set top boxes. But they have no problem selling me and charging me for a card I couldn't use =(. I thought this was an interesting story and wanted to share. Do you think more cable companies will start to shut down their old coax systems and move to 100% IP TV?

Your Patron,

-Andrew

PS this is in the Chicago area. and yes i know i'm crazy for still having TiVo, netflix DVDs and cable TV.

HAH! Anders got his patreon issue fixed, and was able to get it to $1.63. Then upped it to $2!

- Brian

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