Tag Archives: television

Cosmos

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There are few things more important than understanding the nature of the universe and our place in it. It’s been less than 100 years since Edwin Hubble discovered other galaxies beyond our own Milky Way. It’s just over 150 years since all the planets of our own solar system were discovered–around the same time we discovered that, like all other life on earth, we evolved through natural selection from earlier life forms. It’s only been about 450 years that we have known that the earth revolves around the sun and not the other way around. All of this is simply to say that our understanding of the size and scope of the universe and of our true place in it is relatively new. Thousands of generations of humans have come and gone in complete ignorance of these facts. It is we, those of us who are here now, who know.

Or at least we should. I’d like to think that every human being on the earth has been told the truth, has been taught these facts of our existence. Everyone should know that we evolved by natural selection from other more primitive life forms over a period of 3.8 billion years, that we live on a planet that is 4.5 billion years old, that our sun is one of 400 billion others in our galaxy, that there are at least 100 billion other galaxies in the universe–and that it seems all but certain that life, even intelligent life, exists on other planets. Sadly, there are probably many people who do not know these facts–or who reject them.

young Carl SaganOne of the ways people of my generation learned about these things was the television series Cosmos: A Personal Voyage, which aired on public television in 1980. If you’ve never seen it–or haven’t seen it in 30 years–you really should watch it. It’s on Netflix instant streaming and, oddly, also on youtube.

Astronomer Carl Sagan hosted and narrated the series. He was an avuncular college professor type whose enthusiasm and passion for the subject was infectious, and whose warmth made some of the more overwhelming truths more palatable–a sort of scientific Mr. Rogers. I know many people of my generation who miss him.

But, hey, good news! Apparently a sequel series is in the works. Cosmos: A Space-Time Odyssey is scheduled to air this coming spring on Fox and the National Geographic Channel. It will be hosted by astrophysicist and television personality Neil deGrasse Tyson.

This should be good.

Romney’s welfare ads

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The Romney campaign’s television ads about welfare are surely one of the most offensive things I’ve ever seen in a political campaign. And I don’t mean that hyperbolically. Not only are they stone cold wrong, they’re eye-wateringly offensive.

I don’t suppose I have any readers who’d like to defend them? Surely not. They’re naked attempts at race-baiting in addition to being shameful lies. What’s worse, when Romney is confronted about it he just doesn’t seem to care. The ads continue. I read that there’s five of them running now. FIVE. That’s more than the number of ads he has running on any other issue.

Disgusting.

It appears that Romney is doing so poorly among ethnic minorities he feels he needs a very high margin among white voters. This, it would seem, is his attempt at making that happen.

The iTV obstacle: “little interest in alternative models”

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According to Fortune, Apple has a tough row to hoe in its effort to rescue us from TV awfulness. Why? Some wall-street guy spilled the beans on what senior VP Eddie Cue had to say on the matter:

[Apple] will enter markets where it feels it can create great customer experiences and address key problems. The key problems in the television market are the poor quality of the user interface and the forced bundling of pay TV content, in our view. While Apple could almost certainly create a better user interface, Mr. Cue’s commentary suggested that this would be an incomplete solution from Apple’s perspective unless it could deliver content in a way that is different from the current multichannel pay TV model.

Unfortunately for Apple and for consumers, acquiring rights for traditional broadcast and cable network content outside of the current bundled model is virtually impossible because the content is owned by a relatively small group of companies that have little interest in alternative models for their most valuable content.

So basically content companies are holding back the revolution. I wouldn’t bet on them holding it back forever. But it really could be a while. Sad.

Cutting the cable

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I’ve been thinking about my chosen TV entertainment scheme and how it matches up to what I might be getting by just subscribing to cable. Here’s a table that I made up to help me.

AppleTV+Netflix Instant Watch Cable
Watch my six favorite TV shows Yes Yes
Commercial-free Yes No
Watch any time Yes Yes with DVR option
Streaming radio stations “Hundreds” “Over 40″
Easy remote/onscreen interface Yes No
New-release movie rentals Yes Yes most packages
Back catalog movies Yes No
Catch up on previous seasons of TV shows Yes No
Idle channel surfing Not really Yes
A la carte purchasing of current TV shows Yes No
Podcasts Yes No
Project iPhone/iPad to TV Yes No
Youtube Yes No
Pro sports option Yes, but no NFL Yes
Shortcomings never tempt you to piracy No No
Free updates with new features Yes No
Eliminates need for disc rentals Pretty much Not really

Note that I really place high value on things like commercial-free viewing, a la carte purchasing and integration with iOS devices. And I don’t place a lot of value on things like channel surfing or pro sports. Your mileage may vary quite a bit.

The cherry on top is that, depending on movie rentals, specific cable packages and other factors, I estimate that going my route saves me 50% or more over cable.

TV audio

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My TV has speakers but they’re pretty awful, as you’d expect. Remedying that situation is proving a difficult proposition.

First, I simply refuse to spend hundreds of dollars on “entertainment center” speakers. I do not want their 5.1 surround sound, and their music-listening quality is often doubtful, given the size of the drivers. I tried a cheap set of such speakers, the JVCs I bought a while back, and they’re pretty thin sounding.

The other option is to try and use speakers designed for desktop computers. They can be had in 2.1 configurations (left, right and a sub) and are dirt cheap. Problem is most of them still don’t sound good enough and some of them are too muddy for watching television and movies. I think it’s the case that they weren’t designed for the output levels that a television provides.

Here’s what I’m thinking now: powered studio monitor speakers.

They have their own power, so even a headphone-out-level audio could still work. They’re undoubtedly good drivers and have fine frequency response. They don’t make you string audio cable all over your home. They don’t cost hundreds of dollars. And they aren’t inexplicably tied to another component such as a blu ray player. Seems perfect, right?

I’ll let you know when I get around to testing this theory. Lots of other things to spend money on right now, but I’m going to try this. Life is too short for crappy audio.

Apple will make a TV

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Yes, an actual television set.

Stop and think about what it’s like to sit down and watch television. You grab a remote that looks like the dashboard of the space shuttle. Then you figure out how to put the TV to the correct input. Then you push the same button 100 times to go through an enormous list of channels and programs, trying to find the four things that might interest you. The interface is terrible, inconsistent and ugly. And if by chance you do find something to watch, you get channel badges and crawlers fucking up the whole experience. Plus commercials. Lots of commercials. And people pay $50-$100 a month for this shit.

You should be able to tell your TV what you want. “I want to watch television” should put it to the correct input. “What movies are starting in the next 15 minutes?” is definitely within Siri’s capabilities. “Is there any Sci-Fi on?” should work, too.

Apple is really, really good at identifying what is broken about our current technology and fixing it. They did it with mp3 players. They did it with smartphones. They did it with tablet computers. They’ll do it with televisions, too, if they can get the content people on board. And remember: they did get the content people onboard for the iTunes store. So it’s not unprecedented.

That’s what I hope will happen, anyway.

More on Apple TV

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I’ve written about Apple TV before, but I think it’s a subject that bears revisiting. There’s a lot of people who could get a huge bang for their buck with this unit, just like I’m doing.

Do you have an HD television?

Do you have a home WiFi network?

Do you have a Netflix subscription?

Do you have one or more iOS devices such as an iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad?

Do you have a computer with iTunes on it?

If you’re answering yes to these questions, go immediately to your local Apple retail store and get Apple TV. Here’s a few scenarios describing how I use mine.

Netflix Instant Watch. If you’re still fishing red DVD envelopes out of your mailbox every few days, wake up! With your DVD-in-the-mail subscription you also get unlimited streaming. There’s thousands of movies and television shows for you to choose from. And while the selection isn’t everything you could possibly want, it’s plenty large enough to be worthwhile. In fact, I find it so worthwhile that I opted for a streaming-only subscription to Netflix. No more DVDs for me. What do I do when I want a just-released blockbuster that isn’t available to stream on Netflix? Read on.

Have you seen the latest viral Youtube video? Of course you have. But wouldn’t it be nice to watch it on TV so you could enjoy it with your friends and family? Definitely. Apple TV does Youtube. (Incidentally, the Honey Badger is my animal spirit guide.)

Supposing I’m going to hang in the kitchen, cooking or doing dishes, and I want some music? I can reach into my pocket, pull out my iPhone, fire up my favorite music and AirPlay it right to my TV and out it comes through my surround sound speakers. If a clunker comes up on random? I can use the phone to skip it. Or pause it or whatever. And if my phone rings? The music fades out for me to hear it, then comes back up once I’m done talking. Remote music through the entertainment center speakers is a thing that also works with my iPad and with my computer. I think the phone is just handier.

Netflix streaming and YouTube are fine and dandy, but what do you do on a Friday night when you really want to see that hot movie just released for home video? In a bygone era, you’d have to drive to Blockbuster (hope you get there early and remember to return it on time). More recently, you could (if you had the foresight to do so) put it on your Netflix DVD queue and hope it arrives on time. I suppose some people just go to a Redbox machine or something. Me, I rent from iTunes. Yeah, it’s like $3-$4. But it works beautifully, I don’t have to leave my couch, there’s nothing to return and no late fees.

Remember when home WiFi was a new thing? And laptops didn’t all come with WiFi radios inside them? I remember having to convince people that the addition of WiFi into their homes would make their laptop so much more useful. I feel the same way now about Apple TV. It makes things like your Netflix subscription and your iOS devices much cooler than before. And for only a Benjamin!

Some will want to point out that Apple’s not the only game in town. Roku and Google TV and others are in this market as well. I don’t think any of them have gotten it just right, though. Apple’s is the solution I recommend.

Frak

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During my convalescence I’ve been watching Battlestar Galactica. Everyone said it was good, and it is. Here are some other random thoughts from here in the middle of season “4.5.”

Even a non-TV watcher such as myself heard one thing about BSG: Starbuck is so hot! Well, yes and no. She’s cute, she’s feisty. She’s got a very expressive face and is a fine actor. But there’s something about her that strikes me as little-sisterish. You’re mileage may vary.

William Adama. Brilliant casting choice, obviously. I just wish he wouldn’t spend so much time whispering dramatically to the other characters. I believe it makes them respond in kind and indeed sets the tone of the whole show. It’s all a series of people whispering dramatically to each other, and it gets a little old sometimes.

Six. God how I wish she would put some clothes on. She looks cold. And probably she should eat something.

President Roslin. What can I say, I’m disarmed. Mary McDonell has such a face. It’s warm, sensitive and open. She’s like my mother, God and a lover all rolled into one awesome actor. Plus, she’s 58 years old. I’m not going to ask if she’s had work done. I’d rather not know.

A note about Cylons. I’ve been willing to overlook it, but I think it needs to be said: The idea that Cylon robots could masquerade as human beings and be virtually undetectable is absurd. They are either machines or they aren’t. A simple X-ray would work. Otherwise you wouldn’t see them jamming bare wires into their skin to “interface” with computers, etc.

Cinematography: I do like the dramatic little hand-held zooms that they do. It’s mostly done into people’s faces for dramatic effect, but it’s sometimes done in space scenes as well.

Lately, I’ve been wondering about the series’ end game. I suspect it’s all a religious allegory. The Cylons are angels, Gaius Baltar is Jesus, etc. We’ll see if I’m right. (Hey, I know you’ve seen a lot more of the show than I have–maybe all of it–but please don’t spoil it for me.)

Finally, the word “frak.” It might have worked better if they had just gone with the more familiar word.

I’ve been watching TV

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One of the reasons I haven’t been blogging lately is that I’ve been watching television. Sort of.

Previously my television was of the old, square boxy type. It was used for something to plug the Wii and the DVD player into. I had no cable, satellite or even an antenna.

In may ways, it was bliss. No turning on the TV in the evening and losing a whole night watching the equivalent of mental chewing gum while being bombarded with the dumbest, crassest parts popular culture (ads). I read books. I wrote. I corresponded with people on the internet.

On the other hand, I did miss a lot. You’d probably be surprised at how many day-to-day conversations begin with “did you see that one commercial?” or “he/she looks like (insert character name from popular show).” Also, I have always acknowledged that a significant portion of what’s on is actually worth watching. So I missed that stuff, too.

Recently, however things have changed. I bought a modern television (32″ 720p widescreen jobber). I got an antenna for it. I even got an Apple TV unit.

Now my sources of content are:

1. My DVD player

2. Digital broadcast channels

3. Netflix (streamed through the Apple TV)

4. iTunes rentals (also through the Apple TV)

My watching habits have been strange. Because I haven’t seen any television in so many years, everything old is new to me. Thus, I can hit Netflix, find a show that’s been on for years and just…start at the beginning. All commercial-free, on episode after another. In this way, I have explored a few shows you might know about.

Doctor Who. Of course I vaguely remember the jew-fro’d and bescarved oddball from television in my childhood. But I never really watched the show. The modern series is terrific. I’ve watched several seasons of it, including two different doctors and several companions. Most of it is brilliant, low-budget, fun-filled sci-fi.

Torchwood. It’s a natural progression, as Torchwood is a spinoff of the Doctor Who universe. Neat show. More serious than DW, but still with the same budgety feel with lots of heart. Plus, I don’t know if you know this, but there are gay people on TV in the UK! Also, not everyone looks like a supermodel. It’s really kind of refreshing.

Futurama. This one isn’t a life-changer, but it’s still pretty cute. The Simpson’s it ain’t, but it’s good for a laugh.

Heroes. Stop me if you’ve heard this, but season one of Heroes was fan. tastic. Season two wasn’t as terrific, but I gave it a chance. Season three is pretty ok, but the show is starting to really get into daytime soap opera territory. Plus, it seems like every six episodes the good guys are now bad, the bad guys are now good, and someone has a new plot to blow something up. Also, these guys swap super-human powers like STDs. I’m still watching, but on a provisional basis.

The Walking Dead. To be fair, I’ve often watched this at a friend’s place on cable. But I did subscribe to the full season of the show on iTunes. So on occasion when a Sunday night viewing was impossible, I had it ready and waiting for me on Monday. Nice. The show? Zombie apocalypse. Based on the terrific comic books of the same name. Can’t wait for season two!

All in all, that’s quite a number of hours of good television. I can’t complain. And now that Netflix has a streaming-only subscription plan, it costs me $8 a month.

Of course, if I’m in the mood for a movie that isn’t on Netflix, I find that iTunes is a decent substitute for a Blockbuster or a Redbox or even a DVD-in-the-mail system. I find I don’t use it very often, but it’s there and it works beautifully.

For someone who has lived without watching via cable/satellite for so long, this new setup is working great for me. Your mileage may vary.

Final note. Watching TV in other people’s homes who have cable is really eye-opening. First, the remote control looks like it should be mounted on the dashboard of the fucking space shuttle. Who can figure it out? Second, the on-screen interface is fugly, inconsistent and aggravating. None of it seems to work easily. Not the regular cable navigation, not the DVR, not the on-demand offerings. How do people put up with this?