The Colbert Report
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SnapStream TV monitoring now lets OS X users keep tabs on amusing video-blunders
The Daily Show and Colbert Report famously rely upon SnapStream's high-power Windows DVR software to monitor the insanity at the fringes of America's cable spectrum. The media-monitoring software is also used by news services, educators and shadowy government agencies to keep tabs on the subjects discussed on TV. The latest edition (version five) opens the platform up to OS X users, enabling them to run it in Firefox without messy virtualization. The OS X web player comes with a plugin to watch MPEG-2 streams that'll happily sit on top of Snow Leopard or Lion and will even let you set up customized alerts for whenever inappropriate euphemisms emerge from Oprah's mouth.
'Colbert Quest,' and The Colbert Report games that could be
I don't know about you folks, but I'd love to see a Tek Jansen video game. Thankfully, so would Prithvi Virasinghe, creative director at Comedy Central's internal game studio, the newly minted 345 Games. Virasinghe told me during an interview earlier this week that Tek Jansen, and the show "Colbert Report" from which it originates, are prime among his choices for a future game. But only if Mr. Colbert is into it, of course. "I've honestly tried to do this many, many times," he said of concepts for a Colbert-themed game. "One of the ideas we had for Colbert was we wanted to do 'Colbert Quest,' which was kinda like an homage to the Police Quest or Space Quest games." Apparently his team at 345 even went as far as to put together a "design treatment" for "Colbert Quest," which he detailed by saying, "You're sort of in this world that's humor-based, that's kind of situational and quest-based, and it would have Colbert as some sort of overlord of this domain." Unfortunately, "Colbert Quest" only made it so far before it was shot down by Comedy Central higher-ups. But while that specific concept may be out, Virasinghe isn't giving up so easily on a Colbert game. "He does have this other character, Tek Jansen, which would really make sense. There's so much stuff we could do with Tek -- if I got my hands on Tek, I'd have a ball." Of course, all of this is dependent on how well 345 Games does with its current project, a game adaptation of monster-themed sitcom "Ugly Americans" set to launch later this summer. "Hopefully this game does well, it creates some breathing room for us to think a little bigger, and maybe even attract the Colberts into wanting to do something," Virasinghe explained. So, what about it Stephen? You're on notice!
Jane McGonigal talks about the goodness of games on The Colbert Report
Want to get a sneak peek of some of the subject matter that'll likely be the focal point of Jane McGonigal's PAX East keynote speech? Well, the most thorough way to do so would likely be to read McGonigal's newest book, Reality Is Broken: Why Games Make Us Better and How They Can Change the World -- however, the fastest way would be to check out her interview on last night's episode of The Colbert Report. She's got some pretty stellar ideas about how video games and the people who play them make the world a better place -- though Colbert can't help but take some jabs about both. Get all the "driving over hookers" and "Cheetos dust" jokes you can handle after the jump.
Hulu CEO welcomes back The Daily Show & more from Viacom, lays out a battle plan for the future
The news spinning around Hulu hasn't been positive lately, with increasing competition and rumors of a change in business model, but CEO Jason Kilar's latest blog post tells a different side of the story. First, after popular choices like The Daily Show and The Colbert Report were unceremoniously yanked back in April it has a new deal with Viacom that's bringing those shows back to Hulu and Hulu Plus starting today, with episodes of current shows like Jersey Shore and Tosh.0 showing up 21 days after they air. Strictly for the pay subscribers, library episodes of The Chappelle Show and others will show up on Hulu Plus. As for the future of the business, he sees Hulu as able to serve trends giving customers more convenient video access with less ads and more social media presence -- a goal we can get behind, but that may leave content providers wondering how they'll get paid in this shiny new world. To that end he's touting the growth of Hulu's ad revenue as seen in the chart after the break and the rising number of Hulu Plus subscribers with a promise to hit 1 million this year. While that's well behind Netflix's most recent count, he's taking a new shot at the throne by claiming Hulu can afford to pay more for content and that studios should start signing deals on per-user, per-month basis instead of the flat rates Netflix has negotiated so far. Give the full thing a read to get a better idea of where Jason's head is at (when he's not planning a GTL run, check the pr after the break for more details on that), we'll be busy watching Jon Stewart's interview with Michael Steele. Update: Peter Kafka over All Things Digital has word that the deal cost Hulu somewhere between $40m and $50m -- and that sum could increase depending upon the shows' performance.
Stephen Colbert follows Nintendo's example, trademarks old catchphrases
Television comedic mastermind/pundit extraordinaire Stephen Colbert isn't one to sit on the sidelines while a hot new business trend passes him by. Inspired by Nintendo's recent (and timely!) decision to trademark the phrase,"It's on like Donkey Kong," Colbert explored the profitable possibilities afforded by other catchphrases with product ties, such as "Don't Front like Duck Hunt," which we ... may actually start using in our day-to-day lives. Check out the clip from The Colbert Report after the jump, and feel free to drop your own cross-promotional quips in the comments -- not like you guys weren't going to do that, anyways.
Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear app now available
MTV Networks has released the official Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear app for this Saturday's Jon Stewart rally and Stephen Colbert march. The app features a map of the rally site, Facebook, Twitter, and Foursquare integration, a portal to upload photos to the official rally photostream, news updates, and an exclusive message from the master satirists themselves. The app also features a complete FAQ about the rally including directions on how to get there, accessibility for the disabled, the average weather forecast, and what you are and are not allowed to bring to rallies in the National Mall. The Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear takes place on Saturday, October 30 at the National Mall in Washington D.C. from noon to 3pm. The app is available now as a free download. [via Obamapacman]
Google's Eric Schmidt faces off with Stephen Colbert
Last night the man behind the Keep Fear Alive campaign sat down with one of tech's luminaries -- Google's Eric Schmidt -- for a frank discussion about just exactly what it is that his company does. While the focus was on Google's precarious relationship with our personal data, it would be hard to sum up the entirety of the conversation in a quick post (that's why Skynet invented video). It is interesting to see Schmidt dodging what are incisive and extremely sharp questions (though veiled in sarcasm they may be) from Mr. Colbert. Put aside the next five minutes or so and do yourself a favor: watch the thing.
The Daily Show and Colbert Report changing video capture tech for the switch to HDTV
That switch to HD for The Daily Show and Colbert Report has more results than just a sharper image of their star hosts, but also the problem of capturing HD versions of the news clips presented for skewering daily. To achieve the goal of archiving more than 30 HDTV channels daily, the show is upgrading from the bank of TiVos it previously relied on to SnapStream Server, the business option from the guys behind BeyondTV. No word on exactly how it's pulling in the channels, Dave Zatz suggests ClearQAM, Happauge's HD PVR or component capture cards as possibilities, but it looks like a couple of years of development have reduced starter costs from $6,000 to $2,000, just in case your YouTube clip show needs a little more oomph.
Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert begin HDTV broadcasts January 4
Cross another one off the "waiting for them to go HD" list, as Comedy Central is upgrading The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and The Colbert Report to 1080i. What caused the wait until 2010? Apparently that's how long it took to upgrade the control room for these shows that are continuously in production, but at least we'll get to see how many CNBC thumbnails Stewart can squeeze into a 16x9 frame before the Mayan calendar runs out.
Video: Stephen Colbert unveils the Microsoft XXbox
Taking aim at Microsoft's recently unveiled Project Natal, Stephen Colbert unveiled a new-new console on The Colbert Report the other night. The XXbox (or Ex-Xbox, one of our readers cleverly pointed out) bests Natal's lack of controller by at least one point, lacking a console and games. For about 500 bucks, it sounds like a steal. But you know, we'll buy any new gadget. Video is after the break. [Via Joystiq]
Richard Garriott's appearance on The Colbert Report
As announced earlier in the week, Richard Garriott made his Comedy Central debut last night with Stephen Colbert on The Colbert Report. This appearance by Garriott was in conjunction with his Operation Immortality project that will take place next month. Stephen Colbert will be joining many other popular celebrities by adding his digitized DNA to the Immortality Drive which will accompany Garriott on his space flight, and remain on the International Space Station in the event of Earth's destruction.Admittedly, the Garriott appearance is very brief. In fact, he didn't actually "appear" on the show at all, but called in from his space flight training grounds in Russia. This was a bit on the disappointing side, yet we understand Garriott's time restraints with that whole space flight thing and all. Plus, it turns out this interview was done literally ten minutes before Garriott was to be quarantined for the flight. Sadly enough, there was no mention of Tabula Rasa during the interview at all. Regardless, it's a funny little interview.
Richard Garriott to appear on The Colbert Report
If the recent news of Stephen Colbert joining Operation Immortality has you scratching your head, you may be pleased to learn that Tabula Rasa's Richard Garriott will appear on Colbert's show, The Colbert Report, to discuss his flight to the International Space Station, Operation Immortality and Colbert's participation with the project.This particular episode will air on Comedy Central tomorrow, September 17th, immediately following the Jon Stewart Show at 11:30pm EDT/10:30pm CDT. With Colbert's dry humor and satirical wit, we're sure there will be more than a few jokes made at Garriott's expense.
The life and death of Stefen Colbear
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/pc_games/The_life_and_death_of_Stefen_Colbear'; He's a man of myth, legend, and internet memes -- a Paladin crusader for Truthiness, justice, and the Alliance way. His name is Stefen Colbear, and he's putting the Horde on notice. That's how it would have been anyway, but sadly, this hero never came to be. Upper Deck hired artist Todd Lockwood to produce the above image for a special WoW TCG card inspired by The Colbert Report's Stephen Colbert -- a known video-gaming and role-playing enthusiast. Lockwood's finished product depicts a microphone-sword wielding Human Paladin named Stefen Colbear, who exudes the very essence of Truthiness.Unfortunately, Colbert's agent nipped the idea in the bud. According to Lockwood, he didn't even show the artwork to his client. Blizzard and Upper Deck presumably had hoped Colbert would feature the card on his show, giving them mega-publicity. An unknown individual leaked the image onto the net a few weeks ago, and WoW and Colbert fans excitedly spread it around in both card and wallpaper forms. Even though Colbear never saw the light of day, his legend nevertheless strikes fear in the hearts of those who would threaten the Colbear Nation. So watch out Kael'Thas, watch out Archimonde! But most of all: watch out, bears.
Dan Rather talks to Stephen Colbert about tonight's HDNet premiere
Dan Rather Reports premieres tonight on HDNet, and the man himself appeared on The Colbert Report to talk about the show. Check out the clip on Colbert On Demand for information on how Colbert himself has switched entirely to HDTVs -- the old ones have been composted -- and asks Dan hard hitting questions like "Do we really want to see the world in crisp detail?". The show (Rather's not Colbert's) begins tonight at 8 p.m. EST, we'll see if high-def brings the commitment to accuracy, fairness and guts the lead reporter says it will.[Via digg]
Found Footage: Woz on Colbert
Here's the video of last night's Colbert Report interview of Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak. It certainly is fun, and it seems Steven Colbert wasn't quite ready for the Woz's unique personality.Thanks, Bill I.
Colbert Report, Daily Show in iTunes
As of earlier this morning (8:00 AM EST), there is a page for both The Colbert Report [iTunes link] and the Daily Show [iTunes Link] in the iTunes Music Store, though they still do not contain any available episodes. The sale of these shows is being handled a bit differently. You can buy a "multi-pass" for both The Colbert Report and The Daily Show for $9.99US. This gets you the current episode, and sets up iTunes to automatically download future episodes as they become available (up to 16 episodes). Think of it as a paid podcast.
