Can I watch this on my TV instead of my laptop? Drags file to the open Airflow window and it starts playing on the television instantly. Yes. It appears that I can.

Airflow is amazingly simple and I absolutely love that. The beta application is on Mac and Windows. It works in cooperation with Chromecast or Apple TV.

Most “over the air” streaming innovation is focused on our mobile devices so I find it refreshing to see something for our computers. My phone battery and I thank the developer. He can be found on Reddit discussing the app in r/appltv or r/Chromecast.

Biases & Plex

Coming from a production background, I prefer wires. Producing a stage show of any kind involves many wires. Trusting a wireless mic or casting a laptop screen in front of an audience is an unnecessary risk to us old dogs.

The mic audio isn’t working? Change the cable or the mic. Wireless issues involve invisible frequency and power issues. How do you fix the invisible? Wires and hardware connections are so much better to work with. This is why I typically attach my laptop to our TV via an HDMI cable. Old habits die hard.

Another solution for streaming from your computer is Plex. It’s always seemed like overkill to me. Though, I honestly prefer streaming things rather than having a drive full of media. Plex’s intense interface and setup makes me feel like I have to have a library of films and shows to justify it.

The Annoying Chromecast

The truly astonishing thing about Airflow is that it works flawlessly with the Chromecast. We’ve had terrible luck with the device in our home and it’s a common story around the web when it comes to casting from computers. Google’s tab casting built into the Chrome browser is wholly unreliable. When it comes to applications on Android phones the casting experiences are hit or miss. Google’s own Songza and now, Play Music both randomly stop playing our tunes.

Airflow is actually streaming files from my computer and not casting something streaming off the internet. Part of me wonders if that’s why it works so much better than the other things we’ve tried on the Chromecast. Don’t get me wrong, I think the Chromecast is worth it’s price. Furthermore, many younger people seem to be more into Youtube channels than Netflix and the Youtube mobile app is probably the most reliable app next to the beta Airflow.

I said I liked wires.

Internet TV Is Not Here Yet

15 years ago, the idea of internet and television being married together was full of customization dreams. “What if you could choose the camera angle on your sports ball game? We’ll have access to statistics, actor bios and information galore!” Instead, cable drags it feet because ad dollars make their world go around and nobody clicks online banner ads.

Thus, we’re in this strange, in between period where people are cutting the cable and using Hulu, Netflix and Youtube to consume content because those companies somewhat understand how to make money online. However, those services can’t fill all our needs and people are still searching out content on torrents and using less than legal methods to get the programming they want. Why? People always choose the easiest method to do something. Dear content distributors, just follow this popular advice: “Shut up and take my money.”

Enough Ranting

If Netflix or streaming other services in general is your main goal I would steer clear of the Chromecast and look at the Roku family of devices. 6 or 7 years ago, I had one of the first gen boxes and loved it, but eventually it became too slow. Yes, these days televisions are building many of those features into the hardware. The issue becomes the manufacturers are the gatekeepers. Yes, you can have Netflix but not Amazon. Exclusive deals never favor consumers.

Personally, I think I might get an Intel NUC or Raspberry Pi to stream things on the TV in the near future. That is, until content distributors can get their act together. If you’ve got $35–40 sitting around, grab a Chromecast and check out Airflow because it’s really easy to send files to the television without some other service or device acting as a proxy.

#Chromecast #Roku #Netflix #StarTrek #Airflow #Streaming #Plex #television #cable #TV

As we wrap up another season of the bad movie podcast, my thoughts move to what is next for the show. I've got a few ideas and a list of movies that friends, fans and our awesome reviewers have suggested. Please take a look at my musings and let me know what you think. I'd really appreciate your opinion. Comment in FB, tweet at me or the Film Frown account. There are 3 things I would like to accomplish with future shows.

Welcome to Film Smile?

First up is an idea we had during one of the shows this past season. In the episode it came to my attention that we may be experiencing some bad movie fatigue. That is, Armin pointed out that he is not sure what "good" is anymore thanks to all the bad movies we've had him watch. Paul agreed and we started talking about watching a good movie to do a hard reset on ourselves.

I like the idea of flipping the script and watching a great movie. Is it something we need to do once a season? Perhaps, midway through to give ourselves a bit of a reprieve?

It's Clobbering Time

Prior to last season, I put a call out for people to vote for what movies we were going to watch. My list of films included suggestions from fans and a heavy helping of superhero films. I wanted to revisit the old hero movies because currently it seems like "superhero" is an entire genre. On my list was the Roger Corman version of the Fantastic Four. One of my friends suggested that we watch all 3 Fantastic Four films since the latest one was in the theaters very recently. It's obvious that the co-architect of Tent, Daniel is a very smart guy and I would be remiss if I didn't follow that suggestion.

We could do each film individually as we normally do, or perhaps watch all 3 and discuss them in one episode. While the second idea is tempting, it would certainly mean more time upfront for our reviewers. The upside for listeners, is only one episode of awful Fantastic Four.

Generation Gap

One of the more interesting things that has spawned from doing the show is the variety of opinions and reviews from our guests. As a host, I have injected a number of films into the podcast that are from my youth. There are times when the film does not hold up to my youthful memories and other occasions where Paul and guests help me see that I am most likely blinded by nostalgia.

"Does anyone else think it's strange that there's a pommel horse in the middle of the village?"

I believe that Paul has also noticed this phenomenon recently because Armin has volunteered to be on the show a number of times this past season. While Paul and myself are from different generations, Armin is even younger and has a fresh take on the older gems we watch. This has inspired me to seek out some reviewers older than myself.

I've always wanted the show to be diverse. Is it the corporate propaganda of "diversity in hiring" I've been exposed to in my career? Honestly, I never wanted the podcast to be "yet another group of dudes." For the guests, I have always looked to my friends that I knew loved movies or anyone crazy enough to do a podcast. Hopefully, in the next season I can get some guests that are from different age groups and continue to pick movies from various time periods.

Examining the reaction of different generations is fascinating. What makes a movie a classic? How do classics survive the passage of time? While we all have individual tastes, I think the answers to those 2 questions can be found by talking to a diverse group of reviewers. And hey! All those reality shows are built on the premise of conflict. So the more diverse the group of reviewers that we have on Film Frown, the more likely we'll have some higher ratings!

#movies #FilmFrown #podcast