The Playstation 5 and Xbox Series X are almost here. While there isn’t a clear choice of which to buy if you’re an Apple user, there are some pros and cons to each platform, if you own an iPhone, iPad, or Mac.
Remote play is a recent feature which allows users to mirror their Xbox onto their iPhone or iPad and play games over the network. Playing like this can lead to a lot of lag and loss of quality, but its doable. You can even pair an Xbox controller to your device and play that way.
Xbox also has a few additional perks due to being owned by Microsoft. The Xbox Game Pass can be used on Windows 10 and has been announced for future iOS capabilities. Sony has not made any such promise for the future of Playstation Now, but they have announced an initiative to bring Playstation exclusives to PC for the first time.
The Motion Picture Association (MPA) says that circumvention tools such as The Tor Network, DNS, and VPNs are a threat to legal streaming services. Could the organization be suggesting the banning of these services which happen to have legitimate uses?
The MPA has submitted an overview of coy-right-related challenges from around the globe to the US Trade Representative (USTR).
MPA’s main goal is to tackle piracy. The organization also handles copyright infringement and lobbies for its members. Traditionally the association has represented big filmmakers such as Disney and Warner Bros. However, now it is also representing streaming services such as Netflix.
The submission by the association was part of the annual report on foreign trade barriers. It will be used by the US government during discussions with foreign governments in an effort to solve the “challenges” faced by filmmakers in the US.
The most notable complaint in the submission involves circumvention services such as the Tor Network, DNS masks, and VPNs. These services can be used for geolocation piracy.
“Circumvention services, such as VPNs, DNS masks or Tor networks, are widely available in the UAE and are used to access and stream content from Internet-based TV and Video-On-Demand services that legitimately operate in different territories, but have not been licensed for the UAE,” the MPA wrote in the submission.
It added that these services are “a direct threat to legitimate platforms offering the same content in the UAE.”
Using circumvention services does not exactly fit the definition of “piracy” since users pay for the legitimate streaming service and use circumvention tools to access content not currently available in their country.
It is also worth noting that these services have legitimate uses. Banning them would be an excessive solution.
Torrent Freak reports, the submission also mentions more traditional piracy challenges such as The Pirate Bay. According to the association, the site remains a “problem” because countries such as Sweden and Germany are not cooperative or do not have laws that would help effectively tackle the problem of commercial piracy.
The MPA also referred to the raids by the US government on the top-tier Scene piracy release groups. During the raid, several top-tier sites were taken down. Filmmakers are closely monitoring the situation to make sure the sites do not come back and that they stay censored.
“The Scene was substantially disrupted in August 2020 via a global action. However, the opportunity for new groups to take their place remains, and the MPA continues to monitor the landscape to confirm that the group does not resurface,” MPA wrote in the submission.
The organization also noted that there are other publicly available P2P release groups, especially in the Western Hemisphere.
“Rather than closely-held topsites, some of these groups operate public websites and work at the P2P level.”
Welcome to your first look preview of just some of the Netflix Original movies coming to Netflix globally in 2021. This is the list of currently announced 2021 movies scheduled to release throughout the year.
Netflix’s movie strategy has really hit its stride in the past couple of years as evidenced by its increasing award nominations. It’s also been stated that Netflix intends for a big movie release every two weeks in addition to at least 6 animated features planned for next year.
As with all our big 2021 previews, we must stress this isn’t everything planned for Netflix next year. In fact, we suspect this list doesn’t even do the full movie list justice. It’s also worth noting that with coronavirus still causing havoc with productions and due to the nature of release dates, some of these may not happen or be pushed into 2022. There’s also a huge amount of Netflix movies that don’t have 2021 release dates attached.
We’re also excluding non-English titles from this list in the interest of keeping this article readable. If you’re interested in movies coming that aren’t spoken in English, let us know in the comments.
This huge animated project was originally announced back in 2017 and sees a fictionalized George Washington fighting off revolutionaries to fight King James.
This could still slip in before 2020 ends but by most accounts, it’s more likely releasing in 2021.
Back in May 2020, we first reported on the expanded cast list for the movie including the likes of Simon Pegg, Channing Tatum and Judy Greer all voicing characters.
This family coming-of-age drama will take you back to 1969 focusing on the moon landing from two perspectives, the astronauts and a kid watching from afar.
Zachary Levi and Jack Black headline the cast with Glen Powell, Josh Wiggins, and Samuel Davis also feature.
In the mood for zombies? Zack Snyder who is currently in high demand completed filming for Army of the Dead in 2020 but with several changes to the cast to be done in post-production, it was pushed back.
The movie release is set to only be the beginning of Army of the Dead on Netflix with a prequel and anime series also planned.
This biopic will be a must-watch for fans of Marilyn Monroe as it seeks to retell her life (albeit with artistic liberties) and is based on the 2000 novel.
Among the cast lined up for Blonde is Ana de Armas, Adrien Brody and Bobby Cannavale.
This is a thriller from the screenplay written by Ferdinando Cito Filomarino with Alicia Vikander, John David Washington and Boyd Holbrook set to star.
The premise of the movie is about a young couple who become ensnared in a deadly conspiracy during their vacation in Trikala, Greece.
Debuting at the 2020 Toronto International Film Festival and being quickly picked up by Netflix is a new sport movie directed by and starring Halle Berry.
The movie follows a disgraced MMA fighter who tries turning her life around by hoping to defeat one of the rising stars in the sport. The movie reportedly cost Netflix close to $20 million.
It’s been a minute for Chicken Run but a sequel is finally on the way. Netflix and Aardman Animation have now worked on a number of projects including Robin Robin and Shaun the Sheep but that will expand to the first full feature exclusive to Netflix globally in 2021.
The sequel will see the return of Babs, Ginger, Rocky, and Fletcher living on their new island after escaping Tweedy’s farm.
Another pickup now from the Toronto Film Festival with Idris Elba and Caleb McLaughlin featuring this Western.
It covers urban cowboys living in Philadelphia and a 15-year-old boy sent to his estranged father who explores the community.
Hamilton lit up audiences on Disney+ and Netflix hopes Diana will be doing the same. Unlike Tick, Tick Boom later in this article, Diana will be the actual broadway play performed live.
The broadway special is set to appear on Netflix before May 25th, 2021 which is currently when the broadway play is set to get underway again.
This is one of the biggest movies Netflix has ever assembled. Its cast alone is absolutely huge with Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Lawrence, Timothée Chalamet, Cate Blanchett, Meryl Streep, and Johah Hill all attached.
The movie follows two astronomers who come up against a brick wall when trying to warn us all of a giant meteorite hurtling towards Earth.
The book series by R. L. Stine are absolute classics and Disney was originally scheduled to release these movies before Netflix snapped them up for next year.
All three of the movies have already been completed and all three are currently lined up for release in summer 2021.
Another one of the book adaptations coming to Netflix in 2021 is Last Letter from Your Lover which is adapted from the romance novel by Jojo Moyes.
Set in the 1960s, we follow a journalist in London who encounters a series of love letters and quickly becomes obsessed with finding out who the recipient and original sender is.
Cartoon Saloon from Ireland will be bringing their animated feature My Father’s Dragon to Netflix in 2021.
The movie was announced a big lineup of new animated projects back in 2018 with many coming to fruition next year. The movie is being written by Meg LeFauve who was previously at Pixar and wrote Inside Out and The Good Dinosaur.
Jeremy Irons headlines the cast for this historical drama that adapts the 2017 novel Fatherland by Robert Harris.
The movie follows the leading weeks up to the second World War and Neville Chamberlain’s efforts to construct a peace deal.
Two Nickelodeon animated movies will be coming to Netflix in 2021 based on existing franchises.
Guillermo del Toro is working on a number of big projects for Netflix as part of his output deal but perhaps the most exciting is this modern, darker retelling of Pinnochio.
Filmed entirely in stop-motion, we’ll see the classic children’s fairytale come to life with a huge cast. Voices set to feature include Ewan McGregor, Tilda Swinton, Christopher Waltz, and Ron Perlman.
If big budgets and raw star power is your thing, then Red Notice is probably on your radar. Starring Dwayne Johnson, Ryan Reynolds, and Gal Gadot, this movie is about a group of agents tracking down a globally wanted art thief.
Marisa Tomei and Jason Mamoa feature in this action drama about a husband looking to get justice for the death of his wife while protecting his daughter.
Philip Eisner, Gregg Hurwitz, and Will Staples are the writers for the title with the movie likely arriving in early 2021 given its been in post-production since March 2020.
Netflix and BBC Films team up for The Dig starring Ralph Fiennes. The movie tells the story of an archeologist excavating Sutton Hoo in the early 20th century.
Netflix has been building up its teen romantic dramas for a while with The Kissing Booth now in line for a third (and maybe final movie?) outing.
Here’s what you can expect from the third entry:
“It’s the summer before Elle (Joey King) heads to college, and she has a secret: She got into both Harvard, where her dreamy boyfriend Noah (Jacob Elordi) goes, and Berkeley, where her BFF Lee (Joel Courtney) is going. Which path will Elle choose?”
Another thrilling drama coming to Netflix next year with an absolutely stacked cast.
Based on the novel by Thomas Savage, Jane Campion adapts and directs. The Power of the Dog is about two brothers whose relationship comes to a head after one gets married.
Among the aforementioned cast includes Kirsten Dunst, Benedict Cumberbatch, Jesse Plemons (who reunites with Kirsten having starred in FX’s Fargo together), Kodi Smit-McPhee, and Thomasin McKenzie.
Ramin Bahrani, an acclaimed writer and director from India will be coming to Netflix in January 2020 with his new movie for Netflix spoken entirely in English.
The movie follows a driver who attempts to rise to the top but risks it all to do so.
Coming to Netflix as part of the 21 Laps / Shawn Levy output deal is There’s Someone Insider Your House.
Based on the novel by Stephanie Perkins and adapted by Henry Gayden, the movie follows a class who have just graduated and begins being picked off one by one by a masked assailant intent on revealing their dirty secrets.
Broadway musicals being translated into the big screen have been a mixed bag thus far. Hamilton on Disney+ had a huge impact whereas Netflix’s attempts thus far, notably The Boys in the Band have yet to make much noise.
Netflix is therefore picking up Lin-Manuel Miranda who was instrumental in Hamilton to direct this movie featuring Andrew Garfield set in New York. You see more about Netflix’s Tick, Tick… Boom! in our preview.
Tales of Arcadia was the expansive universe that came to Netflix as part of the Dreamworks TV deal with executive producer Guillermo del Toro on board. As a surprise after Wizards, it was announced the trilogy would be getting an additional movie called Rise of the Titans.
It’ll reunite much of the big cast seen in previous entries for a final battle against the Arcane Order. Voices include Nick Frost, Nick Offerman, Diego Luna, Steven Yeun, Kelsey Grammer, and Charlie Saxton.
Jordan Peele and Keegan-Michael Key are both behind the pen and set to voice in this brand new animated movie coming in 2021.
The director behind Nightmare Before Christmas and Caroline is lending his talents to this title. It’s dubbed as horror and is about two demon brothers escaping the underworld and must escape a teenager who is trying to vanquish them. Smart guesses say this is one of the Halloween 2021 releases.
Set to begin filming and possibly be ready by the end of 2021 is a new movie from famed writer and director Noah Baumbach. We also know that Adam Driver and Greta Gerwig are currently attached to play the two lead roles.
Sandra Bullock, Vincent D’Onofrio, W. Earl Brown, and Jon Bernthal feature in this untitled drama about a woman released from prison but is unable to move on from her past.
In the interest of this article not taking over my life, here are even more movies expected to release next year.
* My Wife and I Bought A Ranch… – 21 Laps horror movie adapted from the Reddit short story.
* A Castle For Christmas – Holiday movie starring Brooke Shields and Cary Elwes. Directed by Mary Lambert.
* A Boy Called Christmas – Holiday family adaptation about the life of Nikolas and his journey to becoming Santa. The cast includes Michiel Huisman, Kristen Wiig, and Maggie Smith.
* A Week Away – Originally listed for 2020, this is a faith-based musical featuring Bailee Madison
* The Nailbomber – Feature-length British documentary about far-right extremists who planted nail bombs across London.
Have we missed any? Let us know in the comments down below.
For many cord-cutters, it begins with broadband. Much of the best TV is online these days, so you can bypass cable or satellite services if your Internet service is good enough. Unfortunately, about half of Americans have access to only one high-end broadband provider, so there’s little competition to keep them honest. Also, many have to make do with sluggish DSL services over old-school phone lines. To determine your options, visit Broadband Now, a website where you can enter a ZIP code and get a list of Internet providers in your area.
How much speed will you need? A single high-definition video stream requires about five megabits per second, while a 4K stream wants about 25 megabits per second. A low-end DSL account is barely adequate for standard HDTV. Besides, you have other members of the household wanting to do other things at the same time — playing Fortnite, perhaps. Aim for a service that can stream at least 25 megabits per second.
How much will you pay for this bandwidth? Verizon Communications currently offers a 100-megabit-per-second bare-bones connection for about $40 a month. Comcast is offering 250 megabits for $60 a month or 400 megabits at $80 a month. But remember that these are all promotional rates, priced low to rope you in but only good for a year or two. After that, expect to pay more.
The same goes for deals meant to dissuade cord-cutters by offering nice prices for both Internet and cable TV. One Comcast starter bundle costs $80 per month for two years and includes 150 megabits, 125 TV channels, and telephone service. A 100-megabit connection with 10 TV channels costs $50 per month.
PLUGGING IN
Next, you’ve got to feed Internet video to your TV. Most recent TVs connect directly to the Internet via an Ethernet cable or WiFi, and have built-in software apps for tuning in to popular streaming video services like Netflix.
Or you can use a streaming media device that plugs into the set. You might already own one; the capability is built into popular video game consoles like the Microsoft Xbox and Sony PlayStation.
Otherwise, you can buy a dedicated streaming device. One of the most popular, the 4K Chromecast from Google, costs just $69. It’s a simple, bare-bones device that easily connects to the household WiFi network and the TV’s HDMI port, and can be controlled through a smartphone app.
The Roku Streaming Stick Plus, at $83, is a step up in quality. It includes support for 4K video, and a remote control that lets you tune in channels by speaking rather than mashing buttons. Amazon.com’s $99 Fire TV Cube is also 4K compatible and includes Amazon’s popular Alexa system, which is much more versatile than other speech-controlled systems. For instance, you can tell Fire TV to tune in to “House of Cards,” and then place an order for Chinese food.
The priciest of the bunch, the $194 Apple TV, might be the best option for a household full of iPhone and Mac users. Apple TV includes 4K compatibility, Apple’s Siri voice command system, and easy viewing of all the family videos and photos you’ve already stored with Apple’s iCloud service.
You can spend a little or a lot to connect your TV to the Internet, but at least you’ll only have to spend it once. This changes when choosing what you’ll watch.
CABLE WITHOUT CABLE
Maybe you can’t stand your cable company, but want to keep watching your favorite cable shows. Consider a virtual cable service, which uses the Internet rather than traditional cable technology to deliver the channels to your home.
Companies like Comcast spent billions to run cables into our homes. But virtual carriers just piggyback on your broadband service. That makes it relatively cheap to launch these services, so there are a bunch to choose from.
Sling TV is the low-cost leader, with a package of about 30 channels for $25 a month. The others deliver around 50 channels for $40 to $45 a month. They include channels you might actually want to see, like ESPN, cable news stations, and the NFL Network. They also offer at least some live programming from the big networks — ABC, NBC, CBS, and Fox — but access is spotty, and depends on which service you pick and the region where you live.
Virtual cable can save you a meaningful amount of money, especially if you can make do with Sling TV’s basic plan. But for some of us, enough is never enough. Even the virtual cable companies offer the option to add premium cable channels like HBO or Showtime, for an extra fee. And that’s just the beginning.
These days, dozens of TV providers exist solely on the Internet. Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime Video are the most famous. These services started out showing old movies and TV reruns, but today they spend billions on producing original films and series, many of them good enough to win Oscars and Emmys.
Many people can’t imagine doing without them. But signing up for all three will lay waste to your wallet. Netflix costs from $7.99 to $13.99 a month, while Hulu costs $7.99 to $11.99. Amazon Prime Video is part of that company’s Prime buying service, which offers many benefits besides video, and costs $12.99 a month or $119 a year. Sign up for all three, and your monthly video bill goes up by around $40.
And now old-school broadcaster CBS is aiming for the Netflix audience with All Access, a stream that carries movies, CBS network TV shows, as well as unique programs available nowhere else, like “Star Trek: Discovery.” All Access costs $6 a month, or $10 for a commercial-free version.
How do you know which service has the shows you want to see? Just punch up a search engine like JustWatch or Reelgood which tracks the offerings of the major streamers. Say you’re a “Twilight Zone” buff. A quick search reveals that Netflix and Prime Video offer most episodes of the show, but only Hulu and CBS All Access have the hour-long episodes from Season Four.
The top streamers cater to mainstream tastes, but a host of niche networks cater to more specialized tastes. For those who love old Hollywood movies, there’s Filmstruck. Fans of British TV can watch BritBox. Devotees of Asian entertainment can log onto Crunchyroll, and for family-friendly religious fare, there’s PureFlix.
Even looking at services that are not well known, but, they offer great live channels and movies at a great monthly fee each month. One of those such services is Streamlive.to. They offer a separate service for streaming movies and episodes ONLY for $9.95 a month. Many movies and episodes are of great quality and up to date. To learn more see link at: Movies.10!
Expect to pay $10 to $15 per month for any of the aforementioned streaming services above. Choose carefully, and the bill won’t go too high. But combine a few of them with a virtual cable package, and you may find you’re spending as much on TV as ever.
YES, FREE TV IS A THING
But who says we must pay for our pleasures? When you watch an over-the-air TV broadcast, all you’re paying for is the electricity.
It’s the video version of going vegan, and for millions of Americans it’s just as exotic. A recent survey from the National Association of Broadcasters found that 29 percent of Americans didn’t even know that free TV is a thing.
Well, it is, and all you need to join the fun is a good antenna, either mounted on the roof, or attached to your living room wall. According to the home improvement website HomeAdvisor.com, you can expect to pay about $300 to install an outdoor antenna, but you only have to pay once. Indoor antennas are much cheaper at $50 or less, but may not pick up as many channels.
Speaking of channels, which ones are available where you live? Just ask the Federal Communications Commission. It’s got a webpage that tells you which stations are in range. All you need to enter is your ZIP code. According to the page, Boston residents should be able to get about 20 broadcast channels. That’s a tiny fraction of the video universe, but for some of us, it’s all we need. That, and a library card.
Article Credited to: Hiawatha Bray can be reached at hiawatha.bray@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @GlobeTechLab.
