The interview - how to watch online

You don't need to leave your house to watch 'The Interview'. Sony Pictures has released the comedy on digital platforms. 

The online release comes a day after the studio reversed its previous decision not to show the movie after hackers stole internal documents and emails from Sony. The US said North Korea was behind the hack. In 'The Interview', Seth Rogen and James Franco play journalists tasked by the CIA with killing North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. 

The movie's running time is 1 hour, 52 minutes. 

Here's where you can watch 'The Interview' online: 

Google Play
Buy or rent the film from Google Inc's platform. The movie can be viewed on the Google Play app for Android and Apple devices, as well as through some streaming devices including Roku and Google's Nexus Player. 

http://play.google.com 

YouTube
The video site, also owned by Google, has 'The Interview' available to rent or buy on its movie page. It can be viewed on a website, YouTube's app and selected streaming devices including Apple TV, PlayStation and Xbox. 

http://www.youtube.com/movies 

Xbox
This option is for those who own Microsoft Corp's Xbox video game console, a Windows smartphone, or a computer or tablet that runs Windows 8 software. 

http://video.xbox.com 

Sony
The studio, owned by Sony Corp, set up a separate website where viewers can rent and stream the film online. 

http://seetheinterview.com

North Korea's Internet affected due to SONY Hack

North Korea's Internet went completely dark Monday after hours of instability, cyber experts said, suggesting the country's network could be under attack following the hacking of Sony Pictures. 

"North Korea is completely off the Internet," Earl Zmijewski, vice president of data analytics at respected cyber security firm Dyn Research, told AFP. 

Pyongyang's connection woes came after US president Barack Obama vowed to retaliate for what the FBI said was North Korea's cyber assault on the Hollywood studio. 

While US officials refused to confirm whether Washington has already taken action against Pyongyang, they did call for compensation for Sony which - following threats against movie-goers - pulled the Christmas Day debut of comedy "The Interview," which lampoons North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un. 

"If they want to help here they could admit their culpability and compensate Sony for the damages that they caused," State Department deputy spokeswoman Marie Harf told reporters. 

Dyn Research said earlier Monday that Internet connectivity between North Korea and the outside world, never good at the best of times, had begun to show signs of instability over the weekend. 

"This is different from short duration outages we have seen in the past," said Zmijewski in an email to AFP. 

But he stressed it was impossible to say what had caused the outage. "They could have elected to simply pull the plug or they could have suffered from some sort of failure or attack," he said. 

"I wouldn't be surprised if they are absorbing some sort of attack presently," Doug Madory, the director of Internet analysis at Dyn Research, had earlier told the North Korea Tech website. 

North Korea's communist authorities have denied being behind the Sony hacking that also led to the release of a slew of embarrassing company emails. 

Instead, Pyongyang has called for a joint investigation, and vowed reprisals if the US brings in new sanctions, including putting the country back on the list of state sponsors of terrorism. 

The diplomatic row comes as China failed on Monday to block the first-ever UN Security Council meeting on North Korea's dismal rights record after a strong majority of members voted in favor of it. 

US envoy Samantha Power said the offer of joint investigation into the hack attack was "absurd" calling on the council to take action against North Korean leaders who have turned the country into a "living nightmare." 

North Korea, one of the most repressive nations on the planet, has limited access to the worldwide web, with just four networks on the global Internet, compared to 150,000 in the United States. 

All of North Korea's routing is done through China Netcom, which is now part of China Unicom, Zmijewski said. 

Washington has urged Beijing - Pyongyang's closest ally - to help rein in the North's cyber hacking activities, with US Secretary of State John Kerry speaking with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi over the weekend to discuss the problem. 

"As North Korea's sole Internet provider, it would be easy for China Unicom to disable North Korea's access," Zmijewski added. 

"We have checked from hosts inside of China Unicom's network and can confirm that North Korea is not visible from within China either." 

Pyongyang's main Internet presence is through its Uriminzokkiri website, which has Twitter and Flickr feeds and is best known for posting propaganda videos excoriating South Korea and the United States. 

Obama had vowed a "proportional" response, saying he saw the Sony hack as an act of "cyber vandalism" not a declaration of war. 

But US officials have been tight-lipped about exactly what action they will take, and Harf refused to confirm reports that North Korea's cyberspace was under attack. 

The US administration is "discussing a range of options" in response to the Sony hacking, she said.

"As we implement our responses, some will be seen, some may not be seen," she said. 

In Beijing, a foreign ministry statement on Monday said the country "opposes cyber attacks and cyber terrorism in all of its forms," without referring directly to North Korea. 

Earlier this year the United States charged five Chinese military officials with allegedly hacking US companies for trade secrets. 

Sony Xperia Z3v inside out

It's rare to see a Sony phone on Verizon Wireless. In fact, though popular in Europe, relatively few Sony Android smartphones make their way to US carriers. So we're thrilled that Verizon is offering the Xperia Z3v, their take on the well-received Xperia Z3 that's available overseas and on T-Mobile in the US. 

Verizon however did an odd thing: they commissioned a phone that has the body of the Xperia Z2 with (mostly) the innards of the Z3. In fact, Sony made only minor tweaks when they released the Z3 6 just months after the Z2, but the body's design was one of the important changes. While the Z2 and Z3v use Sony's older, blocky design language, the Z3 is slimmer with curved metal edges that feel better in hand. Oh well.

Inside it's generally good news, with the Xperia Z3v running on the same updated CPU as the Z3: the Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 quad core with Adreno 330 graphics, 3 gigs of RAM and 32 gigs of storage. The 5.2" full HD Triluminos IPS display has good viewing angles and rich colors, with brightness somewhere between the Z2 and Z3 (yes you can see it fine outdoors). If you like eye-popping colors but want something more realistic than AMOLED, Sony's Triluminos displays on the Z2, Z3 and Xperia Z3 Compact are perfect. There's a microSD card slot, front 2.2MP camera with f/2.2 lens and a very capable 20.7 megapixel rear camera with Sony's Exmor RS sensor. Throw in dual band WiFi 802.11ac, NFC, GPS and Bluetooth, and you've got a capable flagship smartphone.

Sony Xperia Z3v

The Xperia Z3v runs Android 4.4.4 KitKat with Sony's moderate customization of Android that we like overall, though it's changed little in years-- we expect a design update with Android 5.0 Lollipop. The phone should get Lollipop, but Verizon is typically the last to release OS updates, so don't expect it until some time in 2015. It's a responsive and quick phone thanks to the capable hardware inside and Sony's restraint in the UI and apps.

Sony's Walkman, Video and PlayStation apps are on board, and PlayStation 4 owners will no doubt be attracted to the RemotePlay feature that lets you play your PS4 games using the phone and their game controller with phone mount (sold separately). If your family is hogging the TV, you can still play Destiny until your fingers are numb.

Design and Ergonomics

In terms of design and ergonomics, we like the look of the phone, but it feels and looks larger than a 5.2" phone should, especially if you use the popular Samsung Galaxy S5 as a yardstick. The GS5 is of course particularly slim and light, while the Xperia Z3v is a bit thick by today's standards, and the boxy sides tend to dig into the palm and fingers. At 6.02 ounces, it's not a light phone either since it's clad front and back in glass. That makes for a very pretty look, even if the ever-conservative Verizon offers it only in white or black. The nylon sides absorb impact, and silver insets provide visual contrast. It's a pretty piece and we like to look at it more than hold it. The Xperia Z3 looks much more sleek and modern in contrast and is more comfy to handle. Perhaps Verizon went with the older design because it afforded the Qi wireless charging feature? That certainly is a nice bonus. Plumbers and clean freaks rejoice: the phone is water and dust resistant, and can withstand immersion up to 3 feet for 30 minutes. As per usual, that means fiddly doors over all ports except the headphone jack.

The Sony Xperia Z3v, Xperia Z3 and Xperia Z3 Compact.

The Xperia has front facing stereo speakers under the top and bottom slits. They're not wildly loud or full, and can't compare to the HTC One M8's BoomSound speakers or the Nexus 6's front facing stereo speakers. Headphone audio is very good, and the phone supports high-res audio and Sony 3D Surround.

Calling and Data

The Xperia supports Verizon's 4G LTE network, but it doesn't yet support VoLTE (Voice over LTE, aka simultaneous 4G data and calling or Advanced Calling). Verizon has said most current LTE phones will get that upgrade in 2015, and we'd expect the Z3v to be included. Data speeds were par for the course on Verizon in the Dallas area, and didn't vary from other LTE flagships. Sony does a good job with voice quality and both incoming and outgoing voice sounded clear and full with average volume. We noticed that in poor coverage areas the Xperia Z3v got a weaker LTE signal than stronger Verizon phones like the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 and Motorola Droid Turbo. If you're in a fringe coverage area, keep this in mind, but in moderate to strong coverage areas there's nothing to worry about.

Cameras

The Z3v uses the same camera hardware as the Z3, with a significantly larger than average 20.7MP 1:2/3 sensor and a good quality Sony G lens. I've seen some mixed opinions on the Z3 family camera, and I have to say this is a photographer's camera. Yes, you can use Superior Auto mode (the same setting available on several Sony standalone cameras) and use it as a point and shoot with 8MP resolution photos that generally look pretty good as your reward. But it really shines when you use the many manual settings that will look familiar to prior Xperia Z owners and Sony camera owners, but might seem daunting to first time users. The images overall have a more "real" and dimensional camera look rather than that flat camera phone look, but they aren't perfect every time. The iPhone 6 and 6 Plus take great photos nearly every time and they have superb automatic modes (in fact, they have no manual mode). This is not the iPhone 6, but you do get excellent control over the image taking process that can result in some really super shots.

Images have very natural contrast with good handling of high contrast settings that tend to cause white out on many camera phones. Colors are also natural and attractive. Reds do tend to bloom more than I'd like--that's a common digital camera problem, but I'd like to see Sony control it better. The camera doesn't artificially increase contrast and go to town with sharpening like some Samsung and LG smartphone cameras. You can do that yourself in post processing if you like. Focus times are excellent and generally spot-on. Low light results are very good and the phone captures more detail with less noise and reasonable color saturation than many camera phones on the market thanks to the big sensor. It's much better than the admittedly darkness-challenged Samsung Galaxy S5 and holds its own against the iPhone 6.

The phone can shoot 1080p video and 4K video and it has HDR and software image stabilization. When enabling 4K video recording the camera app warns you that this generates a lot of heat and the app may eventually shut down. It's not kidding. 4K is great for a 3 minute video, but don't count on it for a 20 minute video unless it's very chilly outside. This problem isn't unique to Sony phones; others will eventually end recording when the image processor gets too hot. The dedicated camera button is your friend: use it as the shutter button to avoid camera shake.

Battery Life

Sony's been doing impressive things with battery life recently, and their Z3 family phones have excellent runtimes. The 3200 mAh battery (sealed inside) is the same capacity as the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 and the Nexus 6. Since those phones have significantly larger and higher resolution displays, we'd expect better battery life from the Z3v, and it delivers.

Sony offers good power management tools including Stamina mode that turns of wireless radios during long sleep periods, but even without enabling these, the phone easily lasted us two days on a charge with moderate use. If you play a lot of demanding 3D games, use the GPS for long trips or record lots of 4K video footage, you'll get less, but it's hard to get the phone to die before bedtime.

There's no magnetic charging connector here as with the Z3 and Z3 Compact, but we don't think anyone will mind since we have Qi wireless charging instead.

Conclusion

We're thrilled to see a Sony Xperia flagship phone on Verizon Wireless, and the Xperia Z3v is worth a look if you want something that doesn't look like every other Android phone on the market. The 1080p IPS 5.2" display resolution is fine with us, and performance is quite good. Battery life is particularly impressive and the camera is a photo buff's best friend. The phone has a microSD card slot for storage expansion and PS4 owners will likely enjoy the RemotePlay feature. We only wish that Verizon had gone with the updated Z3 casing.