The WAN Show - AMD Profitable in 2 Years? & the PS4 Can Emulate PS2 Games! - Nov 20, 2015

The WAN Show episode from November 20, 2015 covers a wide range of tech topics, with Linus and Luke discussing industry rumors, product reveals, and company strategies while interleaving live unboxings, sponsor segments, and viewer interactions. The conversation opens with an update on the show’s production setup, including audio improvements, a new microphone, and an upgraded shock mount, setting a more professional tone for the stream. They then tease several hot topics of the day, notably the PlayStation 4 reportedly gaining backward compatibility with PlayStation 2 games, and the possibility that AMD could reach profitability within two years, according to JP Morgan. The hosts acknowledge ongoing internal changes at Lonus Media Group, including the addition of new staff and the involvement of Linus’s wife Ivonne in higher-level decision making and HR matters, while also addressing concerns about nepotism and content control. Throughout the show, they mix in live tech segments such as an Nvidia Pascal architecture discussion, details about multi-GPU packaging and HBM2 memory, and a look at the price-to-performance dynamics of AMD’s Radeon lineup. They emphasize the practicalities of hardware reviews, sharing their own experiences with scheduling, driver stacks, testing environments, and the logistics of obtaining sample GPUs, sometimes arriving days late. The episode includes a broader discussion about fair use and DMCA takedowns, citing YouTube’s new legal cost shield for creators and highlighting real-world examples involving creators like Total Biscuit and Jim Sterling, while cautioning about international copyright complexities. They recount a near-miss with a music copyright issue involving a classical piece in their library, and reflect on the complexities of licensing across territories, presenting a candid look at how large content creators navigate copyright disputes and the risk of retroactive claims. The conversation also touches on viewer accessibility, with feedback about time zones and show timing for overseas audiences, particularly Australians, and they respond with clarifications about after-party content and channel super fun planning. Sponsorship segments appear periodically, including Dollar Shave Club and TunnelBear, which help fund production while the hosts joke about the logistics of delivering content and the occasional behind-the-scenes mishaps during unboxings, like camera focus or audio quirks. The hosts explore AMD’s market strategy, discussing how the company could drive professional graphics growth in 2016 and potential moves into new markets like medicine and factory automation, while also noting the importance of timely product samples and market timing for revenue generation. The show features in-depth hardware looks, such as the live unboxing of a high-end Sapphire Nitro graphics card, with commentary on its dual BIOS, backplate, heat pipes, and cooling solution, giving viewers a granular sense of what premium GPUs look like inside and how they perform in real-world testing. They close with reflections on how the show’s structure and personnel, including Ivonne’s role, will evolve in the coming year, and tease future content like additional GPU reviews and more ambitious build projects that leverage Vessel sponsorships to fund higher-quality production. The episode blends humor, technical insight, and industry analysis to offer a snapshot of the consumer tech landscape in late 2015, highlighting both the excitement around new hardware and the practical realities of running a content business online.

Topics · Technology · Entertainment