Underground Media: Reloaded

As a TV cord-cutter, I have gone mostly legit.  One of my G+ buddies Keith Wilson , posted an article recently showing the drastic reduction in bittorrent traffic over the course of a decade.  His question was, what happened to all the pirates???  I have never believed that content piracy was about a lifestyle or philosophy.  It's always been about ease of content acquisition.  The classic example is pre-2000 Napster vs post-2010 Spotify.  At it's peak, OG Napster was king of the pirate apps and there were virtually no legal alternatives.  Today, pirating albums is trivially easy, but the vast majority of music consumers buy from iTunes or stream from Spotify.  Why?  Because the legal options are abundant and pervasive.  Spotify works on my phone, car, home and work with zero friction and benefits like social sharing features, playlists and such. It's taken a while, but TV has reached a similar nexus.  Barely five years ago, cord-c...

I remember the early days of Hulu when all it had was the Daily Show, Family Guy, and a bunch of anime.  I was an early cheerleader and vocal supporter because the promise of on-demand streaming TV anywhere  was and is so important to the cord-cutting movement.  Hulu has come a long way since then. It's library is huge, it now boasts some impressive movie titles, and it's now possible to subscribe and watch media on your TV, tablet or phone.  And this is ultimately what is so frustrating about Hulu.  Despite all that the streaming service has achieved, it fails to deliver consistently on its promises. So what do I mean by all this?  Let's say you want to watch an episode of The Outer Limits (90's version).  Hulu has every single episode ready to stream.  In fact, they are the ONLY ones with the streaming rights to this series.  You can't even *buy* an unedited DVD for anything past Season 1. Usenet and bittorrent also come up empty. ...

"It's been a long time. I shouldn't have left you; Without a strong rhyme to step to." -- I Know You Got Soul , Eric B. & Rakim Sorry for the hiatus, folks. Work travel, moving into a new house, yadda yadda. But I'm back and things should be a little more consistent here on the Underground Media . So where did we leave things? Ah yes, I think we were talking about internet media. My last two posts were about internet radio, so I decided this week to look at internet television. I'm a relative new-comer to the great Southeast mecca called Atlanta. And, as I'm a social creature, I have been known to visit the local bar and live-music scene. Atliens are interesting folks, the music scene here is awesome, and I love meeting new people. Here's the way it usually goes: the wife and I are listening to DJ TBone (local flavor!) and enjoying some drinks; we meet some new friends, and have some laughs. And then, just as everyone is good and buzzed, ...

The last seven or eight years have sort of been a renaissance for genre television, especially when I reflect back on my formative years in the late 80's when Star Trek: The Next Generation was *the* only sci-fi on the tube. And even more recently, some of the greatest television EVER has been sci-fi themed, occasionally escaping the confines of its genre niche. I think......and don't quote me on this.....but I think it all started with Buffy. There was a year, perhaps '02 or '03 where EVERYBODY was either quoting or talking about the Slayer. It had crossed over, however briefly, into the mainstream, and Joss Whedon had achieved television god-hood status. Today, genre television has an embarrassment of riches (haven't heard that phrase for years, and I was dying to use it). And in a way, those shows owe their existence and acceptance to Buffy. Whedon created "the formula" for a genre television show that could attract men AND women of all ages. And...

I know, I know. I swore I would never mention Joost again. But they made some rather radical changes, which I thought merited a *new* final blog. Joost launched a year and change ago, promising to revolutionize television over the internet for ALL computer users (read: Windows, Mac and Linux). Unfortunately, their freshman effort produced a Windows-only client that was a disappointment even for it's target audience. The program, which utilized P2P technology similar to Skype, was plagued by stuttering video and audio, frequent crashes, and sometimes you couldn't even connect! All the meanwhile, Mac and Linux users waited patiently for a promised beta-version of the client, so we could have..... something. Multiple broken promises and disappointments later, Joost has returned to the internet TV game with a flash-driven browser client. This time, Mac and Linux users can join the party. But there are still problems... First off, Joost still sucks. I click on 30 Days of ...

Man, who says that you can't teach an old dog new tricks. The recording industry was torpedoed around the turn of the millennium because it CHOSE not to deliver what its consumers were asking for. Consumers asked for a cheap and easy way to download music. When the recording industry turned up its nose, the market delivered a solution: Napster. When a legal solution was finally made popular by Apple years later, the genie was already out of the bottle. The music industry is now in free-fall having missed its opportunity to course-correct. Over the last couple of years, Hollywood has been feeling some of the same market pressures. As mobile devices have become more popular and laptop prices have fallen, consumers have increasingly demanded a cheap and easy way to watch TV online, and on-demand. Until now, broadcatching via usenet or bittorrent has been the only option. An illegal option, I might add. But one that has become increasingly easy using programs like Vuze and...

So stop me if you've heard this one. A werewolf, a vampire, and a ghost all walk into a pub... Sound like a joke? Well, it's not. In fact, it is the basis for a new British TV series called, "Being Human". The pilot aired a few months ago on BBC3. I saw the pilot floating around usenet and on a whim decided to give it a watch. And this was truly a whim, let me tell ya. When I read the synopsis , " Being Human was a 2008 British television drama/horror, shown on BBC Three . Its pilot episode starred Guy Flanagan , Andrea Riseborough , Russell Tovey and also featured Adrian Lester . The programme concerned three twenty-something characters trying to live a normal social life, despite being a vampire, a ghost and a werewolf." I almost decided to pass. It was the phenomenal review comments that made me click the download button. Expecting the worst, I was absolutely floored after the first five minutes of a howling, screaming, utterly painful-lookin...

Remember that line from the Outer Limits? I was not a fan of the 60's series, but Showtime did it up right in the 90's with great writing and underpaid Canadian actresses that were willing to go topless. Yes, I'm just a tad intoxicated. But drunk or sober, I swear there's nothing better than scifi and boobies. For me, it began with Elvira on KHJ Channel-9 Sunday afternoons in Los Angeles in the 80's. Movie Macabre had two hours of campy sci-fi and horror, interspersed with comedy bits starring "The Hostess with the Most-ess." Observe her appearance on the Tonight Show, with a really young Jay Leno filling in for Johnny Carson. What was the point of this blog? I forget. Anyways, The New Outer Limits (on Showtime and later on SCIFI) is being released on DVD, slowly but surely. Netflix has got it, as well as Amazon if you want to purchase. This was the most cutting edge sci-fi on TV for about eight years. No sh*t. It tackled social issues head-on ...

At this point, I'm ready to tell Joost what I really think of them. Linux is in the midst of a renaissance amongst geeks, and a revolution within the mainstream of computer users. But Joost thinks it's okay to ignore us. (For those of you just tuning in, Joost allows you to watch full-screen TV shows on your computer. As long as you run Windows XP or Vista.) So, until I see a linux client, I'm done blogging about them. On to the alternatives: Vuze is the most promising. This is the Azureus bittorrent client with a makeover. Well, it's really a tightly integrated Firefox web browser grafted onto the bittorrent client. Or at least that's what it looks like to me. I'm running version 3.0.2.0 for linux. All the Java and Flash slows the program down, even on my desktop (AMD dual-core 4400+ X2 64 with 2 GB RAM). But it's still usable, just a bit sluggish. The interface is slick and easy to use. The innards are still accessible for geeks. And it se...

For two weeks this time. Company travel, personal travel, f*cking around... All that. I leave you with a youtube. The Transformers, redubbed by a fan. He spices things up with some real-world dialog in a classic episode, The Return of Optimus Prime. So, the new leader of the Autobots (Rodimus Prime. Yeah, I know. Give me a break, I was 12.) brings the old leader (Optimus) back to life so his wisdom and leadership can save them from a plague. That's when the funny starts. You see, no time has passed for Optimus, so he needs to ..... get back up to speed on current events. And he curses a lot. This is clearly rated R, but watch it for a few laughs. It's the Transformers for a more mature audience. Giggity.

As in Dr. Jekyll's alter-ego. The show is actually called " Jekyll " and it's a new series airing on the BBC. I must confess to always being fascinated with the Jekyll and Hyde story . It was an old BBC dramatization of the original book that made me a fan. I think Jack Palance played the titular character. The most frightening part of it (for me) was that you never fully saw Hyde until the end. And when you did, the revelation was that he looked EXACTLY like Jekyll! Well almost; Hyde was smirky-faced, with slicked hair, and hunched over, etc. Certainly not the completely different person he is described as in the book, and far from the monster that he evolved into with creative retellings ala the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen . It's a rebut to anyone who ever says, "well, he didn't *look* like a killer". Although nearly identical to the mild-mannered Jekyll, Hyde was capable of doing things that Jekyll's conscience would never allo...

I'm baaaaaaack!!! After a week of vacation, and another week of traveling with the company, I'm back in the schizophrenic Wisconsin weather. Grrrrr. Anyway, some hot topics being talk about out there. First up, somebody gave my favorite wannabe "TV over the internet" startup an assload of money. Yes, Joost is the newest recipient of $45 Million in tasty green venture capital cash. Did I mention that they suck ? Wish somebody would give ME cash like that to overpromise and underdeliver... A moment of silence for the venerable audio-tape. I remember when a high school buddy lent me his tape of Public Enemy 's It Take A Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back (classic rap, by the way). I copied it with a Philip's high-speed dual-cassette "dubbing" tape-deck and listened to nothing else but Chuck D and Flava Flav for a MONTH! Now you copy some music on your PC and run the risk of the RIAA slapping a lawsuit on you... Read on over at P2Pnet . And fin...

Many out there think that Youtube is the pinnacle of streaming video content. Without a doubt it is the most popular, but Youtube along with it's Google parent are rapidly being left in the dust with regard to content. Youtube suffers from it's own popularity in many ways. They're under pressure for keeping out copyrighted content, their maximum ratings are PG-13, and they really haven't updated their UI in a while as their resources have been focused on taking down those pesky NBC clips. While Google/Youtube takes the heat, other streaming video sites have risen and developed under the radar. My current favorite, Dailymotion , is based in France and they honestly seem like they could give a sh*t about American copyrights. Nor do they seem to care about content ratings (excluding hardcore stuff). Even better is that guys like Youtvpc are using Dailymotion as a content server, and putting up a website to pipeline that content to viewers on-demand. TV shows, boo...

I'm sure that's what my buddy Wxman was hoping when he clicked on this link, but this is a PG-13 blog so things will only go so far. In fact, I wouldn't call the music video below anything close to porn, but my long-time pal 'Chelle over at TwistedCurlz thinks otherwise. My advice, 'Chelle? Don't hate, just congratulate. I believe she describes this video by Shakira and Beyonce as "in the hips and on the lips." Oh yeah. My kind of video. Without further ado: So what do YOU think? Soft porn that should never see the light of cable TV? Or who gives a sh*t since they technically didn't show any nipple?

Well, I finally dusted off the Windows XP partition of my laptop and decided to install Joost and try it out. Apparently CBS has just signed some content deal with them, and I'm sure the other networks aren't far behind. For those who don't know, Joost is a new platform for streaming TV content straight to your computer. And for the social networkers out there, there's also some sort of IM client that lets you chat with fellow viewers. Right now the channels are pretty limited. MTV, National Geographic, Comedy Central, and a bunch of indie stuff. So what did I think of it? Well, first of all, the installer began by cheerfully telling me that my aging Thinkpad T40's video card was not quite up to snuff. AND that 512MB of RAM is really the bare minimum. Hmmm, that would mean there's some 3D jiggery-pokery going on. Nevertheless, it installed and fired up. 30 seconds later, Joost loads full screen with some floating crystals on the side (their logo), and...

Blu-ray will replace all other DVD's within 3 years? Somebody's been drinking. Besides me. People own LOTS of DVD's. Dozens, hundreds.... I'm sure there's even some freakshow out there with THOUSANDS! And I don't want to hear any high def 1080p bullsh*t. A good upconvert stacks up fine next to blu-ray. Hmmmm, $90 or $900. Except for the enthusiasts, DVD's ain't going anywhere for a looooong time... What do you think?

Joost. A new way to watch TV over the internet. I'll give it a whirl, although I'm wary that it's Windows and Mac only right now, although they promise linux support soon. It's in HEAVY beta development right now, so you it's strictly an invite-only deal. But here's the press-release: Joost™ is a new way to watch TV, free of the schedules and restrictions that come with traditional television. Combining the best of TV with the best of the internet, Joost™ gives you more control and freedom than ever before - control over what you watch, and freedom to watch it whenever you like. We're providing a platform for the best television content on the planet - a platform that will bring you the biggest and best shows from the TV studios, as well as the specialist programs created by professionals and enthusiasts. It's all overlaid with a raft of nifty features that help you find the shows you love, watch and chat with friends, and even create your own TV cha...

TV Wars: BitTorrent to the Rescue Written by enigmax on March 01, 2007 Millions of UK viewers who have already paid for access to shows such as Lost, 24 and Battlestar Galactica are now facing blank television screens because of a dispute between Virgin Media and BSkyB. They now face a stark choice: miss the shows they love so much, or download them via BitTorrent. article ***I know what I would do. In fact I do it every day...