Time Bandwidths

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Time Bandwidths
Number 101
Broadcast Date December 18, 2015
Episode Length 31:28
Hosts Brian Brushwood, Tom Merritt

Netflix wants to save you bandwidth, cable companies have some double-edged good news, and the hot new shows coming in 2015.

Guests

  • None

Intro Video

Primary Target

Janko Roettgers from Variety
Netflix responsible for 37% traffic NA during peak hours
Netflix aiming to use up to 20% less data (since 2011)
Adjusts quality level depending on content
i.e. Animated will stream say at 1.5 Mbps not 5.8 still at 1080p
Optimized 5.8Mbps to 4.64 Mbps

(prev. ranged 235 kbps to 5.8Mbps)

Each episode of a TV show might have different settings. (considering going scene by scene)
Partnered with researchers at the University of Southern California, the University of Nantes and the UT Austin to develop technology to automate this process.
Slice videos to allow multiple servers to reencode in paralell
Servers re-encode during off peak hours
“Recent months” testing on select customers
“Earlier this month” added first batch w/ new encoding:: thousand by holidays, complete by end of Q1

Front Lines

Plex’s app is now available for free on Xbox and Playstation. No Plex Pass required.

Under Surveillance

Dispatches From The Front

Hey guys, My family has been cord free for over a year now. Whenever friends hear of this I usually get the same response of "I guess you don't watch a lot of TV". My reply is always, "We watch more than we ever did before!"

My latest dilemma revolves around Tivo. When we cut the cord I purchased a Tivo Roamio OTA and threw a $30 antenna in the attic. We live about 8 miles from the Houston broadcasting towers so I get incredible reception. However, when I go to watch a recorded prime time show I find myself going to Hulu rather than watch what the DVR recorded. Fast forward or not commercial free wins every time.

I'm paying $15 a month for the Tivo service. Between Netflix, Hulu and Amazon this is the most expensive service I have. The only shows I can't get on Hulu are the CBS shows I watch. Do I drop the Tivo service and add CBS all access? Or do I stick with Tivo. We have Rokus attached to every TV in the house so I don't need the Roamio for the apps.

Thanks, -Scott from Houston





Hey Tom and Brian,

I know you guys mentioned that Amazon Prime might be adding subscription packages to their service on an a la cart basis and last week they did just that as I'm sure you are aware.

While I haven't seen an update for the Amazon interface on TiVo yet to deal with add-on subscriptions, and have no idea what the Fire TV interface looks like, how Prime updated the interface on Roku was so compelling that we added Showtime to catch up on a couple of great Showtime shows we hadn't watched since shaving cable a few years ago.

In the past week we caught up on the back catalogue of Shameless, and Homeland, with plans to catch up on Ray Donovan and House of Lies.

It may be the perfect add occasionally package especially for the mid-winter break doldrums when most shows are in rerun for a few weeks.

Because of how Amazon breaks out each network's material into their own add-on package and allows you to preview everything they have, I think it may be a more compelling option than the Hulu UI for a similar experience.

- Jeremy





Hi Tom and Brian,

I was fascinated with the discussion last week about the Virtual Reality movies and how they could be consumed by the general public. I think I may already have the answer because someone else already thought it up.

(story about Ready Player One) how cool would it to drop yourself into Raiders of the Lost Ark? Or a Mission Impossible movie? Heck, even The Notebook! Or some other well established classic piece of cinema? This way you don't have to deal with the whole one-take wonder like-a-play thing Brian was talking about. Just play out what you already know. Granted, It would take some true Hollywood Magic to create those 360 degree environments out of the classics.

This is what gets me on-board for the whole VR thing. Start with movies and/or TV shows I love and know. Once I've gotten to play around and get familiar with the experience of VR, then you can give me the new experimental stuff or even adapt that to new movies, say, like the next Star Wars movie.

Thanks!

-Trevor




We are currently getting satellite TV and are thinking of unplugging and going with some other service to meet our needs. Paul suggested that you had done a podcast on the topic and might have some good pointers.

We watch CBS for a couple of shows, enjoy college football and public tv shows on ETV. We could go for one of the window antennas for local stations and then get a service for the smart tv we have. Currently we have internet through the phone company (landline). Might be other options for internet service to find out there. Would like to be able to get Big Ten Network and some ESPN stations.

Will pursue a smart phone shortly, to replace the flip phone currently in use. (yeah, I'm low tech, but my plan only costs $25/month)

What might be a good approach to take to make the switch? If you have the time to offer any advice, it would be greatly appreciated.

- Nick



YouTube

Links



Preceded by:
"Cat Video Stink" 		Time Bandwidths
 Followed by:
"What the Cool Kids Do"
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