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0 Bonus Track Announcement
0 Episode 69 – 01/23/13 feat. Connor Boran & Emily Dyess
Connor and Emily join Dan and Adam in the studio to live by Buffering’s law and discuss streamables. And such. Dan throws down a big list of recognizable movies coming to Netflix in February, and there’s a compare and contrast between Pandora and Spotify. From there, the group jumps into a round of Movie Bluff. And there were good times had by all.
Taped at The Wheels Brewing Co Studio, Minneapolis, MN on January 23, 2013.
Check out photos and this week’s bonus tracks by clicking here.
Click here to listen: Episode 69 – 01/23/13 feat. Connor Boran & Emily Dyess
0 Episode 68 – 01/16/13 feat. Andrew Nelson & Erik Nelson
It’s always fun to have brothers in the studio, and Dan and Adam lucked out with a set of bros (sans the puka shell necklaces and popped collars), plus a NEW guest for Episode 68. Andrew and Erik joined Dan and Adam in the Wheels Brewing Co. Studio for a fantastic, tangent-heavy night. The way it was supposed to be. Plus, Dan and Adam introduce Erik to Movie Bluff.
Taped at The Wheels Brewing Co Studio, Minneapolis, MN on January 16, 2013.
Check out photos and this week’s bonus tracks by clicking here.
Click here to listen: Episode 68 – 01/16/13 feat. Andrew Nelson & Erik Nelson
0 Episode 67 – 1/2/13 feat. Jeff Priesmeyer & Julia Schmitt
Jeff and Julia join Dan and Adam in the studio for another High School reunion-type episode (Jeff, Julia & Dan graduated in ’04, and Adam in ’05), as well as for Bloody Marys after New Year’s Day. Jeff and Julia talk about what they’re streaming online these days, and Julia talks about her streaming media habits after getting rid of an Internet subscription in her apartment. From there, they play a great round of “Movie Bluff”.
Taped at The Wheels Brewing Co Studio, Minneapolis, MN on January 2, 2013.
Check out photos and this week’s bonus tracks by clicking here.
Click here to listen: Episode 67 – 01/02/13 feat. Jeff Priesmeyer & Julia Schmitt
0 Episode 67 – Bloody Mary Night
Happy Thursday, listeners!
And, if we haven’t said it yet, HAPPY NEW YEAR!
We’re already TWO EPISODES in to this year, and we are gearing up to uphold our Award-Winning status.
Adam and I have each published articles on the site in the past week, as we continue to generate tons of new content for you. Adam wrote a great summary about “In The Basement”, a collection of in-studio performances that are available at Crackle.com, and I have published my review of Redbox Instant, as they are running their customer BETA testing. Definitely check out both of those.
We’re also looking into transitioning the design of our site, so please be patient while we make some organizational adjustments. If there are things you’d like to see on the site, let us know!
Right-o. We taped Episode 67 on January 2nd, and treated it as our “Hangover Recovery/Bloody Mary Night” taping (despite the fact that we took all of Jan. 1 to get back to normal), and our Mic Check this week followed suit. Listen as everyone recalls their first drinking experiences.
Also, as per our update last week, we have something special on this week’s episode page for you. Go listen!
0 Redbox Instant: All the hype with none of the calories … I mean, content
Through multiple press releases and interviews in 2012’s third and fourth quarters (July-December for you non-business folks), a number of high-ranking executives for Verizon and Coinstar (owner of Redbox) state that the Redbox Instant service, currently in customer BETA testing, would focus on quality over quantity.
“Do you really need 100,000 titles? I mean, really,” said Paul Davis, CEO of Coinstar.
As I wade through the RB Instant library, I’m glad Davis stuck to his word, offering such featured titles as “Soccer Nanny (unrated)”, “Demonic Toys 2”, and “Biebermania”. Upon further investigation into the library, which will be available to subscribers for $8 per month, I discovered the well-honed tastes of Davis and others comes out in spades with a plethora of B-, C-, and even D-list thriller and horror titles, with little else to distract viewers.
Alright. I jest. I have no idea of that which Davis calls quality entertainment. However, based on that which has been made readily available during this BETA test, it’s hard to imagine that RB Instant will pose any sort of threat to Netflix, Amazon Prime, or Hulu (especially since Redbox currently has no plans to add TV shows to its concoction).
The service does offer a few recognizable titles (using “few” in its strictest definition), including “Thor”, “Transformers: Dark of the Moon”, “Rango”, and the recent remake of “True Grit”. Sadly, (and I’m being 100 percent sincere about this) beyond those four films, there are only a handful of additional movies that I recognize. Plus, all four listed above are already available on Netflix AND Amazon Prime.
Before I rag on this service TOO much, there are two additional tiers to the RB Instant account: monthly Redbox kiosk credits, and the ability to pay-to-rent and/or purchase videos electronically.
First, the RB Instant subscription, as I’ve stated before, runs you $8 per month and includes four DVD rental credits to be used at any Redbox kiosk. At roughly $1.20 per DVD (plus tax), you’re technically investing more than half of that $8 on DVD rentals, while throwing $3.20 at the subscription service, which actually starts to explain the quality of films available for streaming. The RB Instant site really hammers it home that you will receive four free DVD rentals, which means you will most likely experience an additional charge if you opt for Blu-rays (usually about $1.50 at the kiosk).
From afar, this piece of the puzzle seems appealing, as everyone likes getting something for nothing. However, at its core, it is a contradiction to the service’s name: Redbox INSTANT. Through most of my Redbox kiosk experiences, very little has ever been instant. Limited and/or poor selections at my nearby locations, not to mention long lines, have deterred me multiple times from using the service spontaneously; in my world of movie consumption, pre-selecting and reserving a movie is like picking a restaurant for dinner at 12:30 PM. I really don’t know what I want until I’m hungry. That’s why I already ditched the Netflix DVD delivery service. I have yet to utilize the four credits bestowed upon me, but as you can probably understand, I’m hesitant. I’ll give it the ol’ college try this week and will give an update IF my experience differs from the norm.
The remaining feature is the ability to purchase or pay-to-rent films electronically. This service is not available on Netflix, but has been a part of Amazon Prime since its release and is also a large part of the Apple iTunes store experience.
The renting aspect is fairly straightforward: I would pay $X amount for a film, either in standard- or high-definition, and then I can watch it when I want within a 30-day window. As soon as I start to watch it, I have 48 hours to complete it as many times as I want. Standard stuff. However, there is little to no documentation as to the purchase process. From the looks of it, I’m not even sure the movie is technically downloaded. I believe, if I’m reading the site correctly, that it just goes into my RB Instant library, and can only be viewed with an Internet connection. Not much of a selling point there.
I also reviewed pricing, and found RB Instant tends to charge MORE for both rentals and purchases. I picked a few titles at random (“Ted”, “The Amazing Spider-Man”, and “Juan of the Dead” [yes, it’s a real movie]), and here’s what I found:
Across the board, RB Instant is more expensive than Amazon Prime and iTunes. In some cases, it is cheaper to rent or purchase the HD version from either Amazon Prime or iTunes versus the SD version via RB Instant. No points awarded there.
Before I wrap things up, I know some folks out there will want to know about the user interface, as the ease of use is a big part of the streaming game. Here’s my take: it isn’t bad, but there’s nothing new there. I tested the web site, as well as the iOS app, and I found nothing special about it. It comes across as cluttered, like most streaming sites, and includes the hover-over for cryptic descriptions.
I did find one major fault to the site that rubbed me the wrong way. Every time I performed a search query for a new movie, multiple entries for said movie would pop up, forcing me to sift between the physical, Redbox kiosk copy, and the digital copy, which was usually buried beneath the former. On some occasions, I had to run multiple attempts to locate that which I sought. As the search occurred on the Instant site, I had hoped (and assumed) that the digital copy would trump the physical.
Also, you cannot purchase or pay-to-rent movies on the iOS app. A lot of people will see value in that, so to prevent unintentional pocket purchases, but it stinks if you’re on the road, or out and about and want to watch something new. It’s a nit-picky issue, but it’s something that can be completed elsewhere through alternate services.
Based on the hype surrounding the service, as well as statements provided by leadership leading up to the release, I had high expectations for this service, and RB Instant has fallen short. Buffering does not yet have an in-house rating system, but RB Instant has set the bar for how low it can go. The most positive thing I can say about RB Instant right now is that the first month is free, and it includes the four DVD credits. However, I am setting a reminder on my calendar to cancel my subscription the day before my month is up, because I have no want or need to keep it.
My recommendation to you is to exploit the loophole, get four free rentals, and cancel it too. Otherwise, it is not worth your time. Most, if not all, of its library and features are available elsewhere.
0 Episode 66 – 1/1/13 feat. Kia Hammill & Zach Hammill
Kia & Zach join Dan and Adam in the studio on New Year’s Day to kick off 2013 with an episode of the Buffering Podcast! Kia & Zach talk a bit about their journey from California to Minnesota for the holidays, as well as what they are watching online. Zach also gives us the inside scoop on A&E’s upcoming show, “Bates Motel”, starring Freddie Highmore and Vera Farmiga. From there, the quartet plays an excellent round of “Movie Bluff”.
Taped at The Wheels Brewing Co Studio, Minneapolis, MN on January 1, 2013.
Check out photos and this week’s bonus tracks by clicking here.
Click here to listen: Episode 66
0 Episode 66 – A recollection of Narnia and Easter Spiders
Good morning, listeners!
We’re glad that everyone survived everyone survived that whole Mayan end ‘o the world bit, and have transgressed into 2013 with us!
We’ve been pretty busy in the new year, having already taped TWO EPISODES in the first week, PLUS, we’ve released the tracks to the Buffering Christmas Party Karaoke Caroling! Make sure to follow us on Facebook or Twitter to get updates as to when new and bonus content is released!
Also, we’re looking to start a contest on our Facebook page, but we need to hammer out the details (and rules) before we can get rolling there. Stay tuned!
On to Episode 66! Adam and I had a great time on New Year’s Day with Kia & Zach Hammill (Adam’s sister & brother-in-law) in studio as we worked to recover from the previous night. Having survived the holiday season as a whole, we opted to take the Mic Check to remissness over holidays past, and some of our favorite memories. It’s a quick, but straight from the heart, Mic Check that you should check out.
(As an added bonus, we will be posting episodes on our site EARLY for you to check out before they head to iTunes, Stitcher, etc., so make sure to jump over to the Episode 66 page to take an early listen!)
Enjoy! And Happy New Year!
0 Episode 65 – 12/19/12 A Commemorative Clip Show!
To celebrate the fact that “Buffering …” is now an AWARD WINNING PODCAST (check out category #14), we decided to look back at the past 64 episodes to some of our favorite conversations and games. Here’s a quick overview of all of the episodes we used in this clip show (not the order in which these tracks appear): Episode 2, Episode 13, Episode 16, Episode 22, Episode 39, Episode 41, Episode 43, Episode 46, Episode 49, Episode 52, Episode 54, Episode 61, and Episode 62.
Taped (& compiled) at The Wheels Brewing Co Studio, Minneapolis, MN on December 19, 2012.
As this week’s episode is a compilation of previous episodes, there were no bonus tracks this week.
Click here to listen: Episode 65 – 122012
0 Episode 64 – 12/11/12 feat. Steve “Frank” Frankenfield & Bennett Wadekamper
Bennett and Frank join Dan and Adam in the studio, where Frank and Bennett bond immediately over their common passion for “League of Legends”, and Adam and Dan learn a thing or two about League of Legends. We test out a new format with a commercial break in the middle, and then jump in to a round of Movie Bluff.
Taped at The Wheels Brewing Co Studio, Minneapolis, MN on December 11, 2012.
Check out photos and this week’s bonus tracks by clicking here.
Click here to listen: Episode 64
The Buffering Podcast 