Podcast #1101: HBO Max is Now Just Max - LG C2 OLED - Canceled TV Shows

This week HBO Max is now just Max. Ara gives his impressions of his LG C2 OLED and we look at the shows that were canceled at the end of this season. We also read your emails and go through the week's news.

News:

• Technics introduces two new noise-canceling wireless in-ear earbuds
• Almost 5 million people are using Netflix's ad tier
• Telly Says 100,000 People Signed Up for Free TV Sets
• Savant Adds Amazon Music Integration

Other:

• U2 Tour Sphere in Las Vegas | Apple Music
• Netflix's password-sharing crackdown is here — and it costs $7.99 per month - The Verge

HBO Max is now Max

• If you're a current subscriber, your account should switch over automatically.
• If you're not a subscriber and you want to take a look at all the changes, can you can get a 7 day trial
• 4K ATMOS Dolby Vision - Checked out Shazam. Looked quite impressive but a few fast pans stuttered. Otherwise it looked and sounded quite good
• I ended up canceling my Discovery+ subscription since the same content is available with your Max subscription
• You can download titles for offline viewing. This was not possible with Discovery+ although it looks like this has been added to the Discovery app. I haven't checked for this feature in a while so it may have been possible for a while now
  

Max subscription plans

Ad-Lite

Ad-Free

Ultimate

Monthly price

$10

$16

$20

Number of screens you can watch at the same time

2

2

4

Number of offline downloads

0

30

100

HD available

Yes

Yes

Yes

4K Ultra HD available

No

No

Yes

LG C2 OLED

• 42" $900 up to 83" for $3950
• α9 Gen 5 AI Processor 4K adapts to the content you're watching, automatically adjusting the TV's settings for improved picture and sound quality
• Dolby Vision, HDR10, HLG
• webOS
• Google Assistant / Alexa

We have come a long way in TV design and technology. The TV that the C2 replaced was a very old Samsung 720p LCD. The screen size was 37" and the TV barely fit into an armoir in our bedroom. The new LG C2 OLED is 42 inches and fits in the same area with no issues. The larger screen made a huge difference. The picture is stunning, clear, and sharp.

I used the image presets as this TV is primarily used for night time viewing. I settled on ISF night mode. It seems a bit cool for my liking so I will probably tweak it to warm up the image. The color is quite good. LG claims the Evo panel's color saturation to be around 100% of the DCI-P3 color space. Other reviewers have noticed that the color desaturates with off angle viewing. In my very informal tests, this was barely noticeable to my eye. If I hadn't read anything about it I probably wouldn't have even noticed. But keep this in mind if you have seating that is off angle. Regardless, it's a ten fold improvement over the LCD it replaced.

I have yet to really play with LG's filmmaker mode but even without it the TV has an incredible picture. The only thing I can compare it against was my old Panasonic plasma but much better.

I didn't do anything with the sound beyond the standard as it is typically watched at night so the sound is not usually at a loud level. If you buy a larger version of this TV we would recommend just connecting to a soundbar or better yet, a full fledged audio system.

webOS has almost all the apps you'll need including IPTV providers with the exception of DirecTV Stream. If you are only streaming movies and some live TV, there is no need for an external box. But if there are some special news and information apps that your streaming box has it's easy enough to switch between the two.

The LG Magic Remote wasn't very magical in my opinion. I mean as a regular remote it worked well. But the pointer version was just not precise enough for my liking. The remote has a microphone that allows you to search for content with your voice. There are dedicated buttons to take you directly to Netflix, Disney Plus, Prime Video, and Rakuten. There are even dedicated buttons for the Google Assistant and Alexa.

LG sells higher end models but if you are moving from a LCD based TV you will be really impressed with this TV. Save some money and go with the C2 model!

TV Shows that were Canceled after this Season

The list of returning shows is quite large so we thought it would be better to just give you a list of the shows that were canceled this season. Our source for this information is TV Guide

ABC

• The Goldbergs: Ending with Season 10

CBS

• NCIS: Los Angeles: Ending with Season 14

NBC

• The Blacklist: Ending with Season 10
• Kenan: Canceled after two seasons
  

Fox

• Duncanville: Canceled after three seasons
• Monarch: Canceled after one season
• The Resident: Canceled after six seasons

The CW

• DC's Stargirl: Ending with Season 3
• Tom Swift: Canceled after one season

Disney+

• Big Shot: Canceled after two seasons
• Mighty Ducks: Game Changers: Canceled after two seasons
• The Mysterious Benedict Society: Renewed for Season 2
• National Treasure: Edge of History: Canceled after one season
• Willow: Canceled after one season

Paramount+

• Blood & Treasure: Canceled after two seasons
• Why Women Kill: Canceled despite previous Season 3 renewal

Peacock

• Queer as Folk: Canceled after one season
• Rutherford Falls: Canceled after two seasons