To Subscribe Or Not To Subscribe, That Is The Question: Paid Streaming Services

[tessaray]

I don't watch much nature programming but D+ does that too.

 

[Cinnabon]

28 minutes ago, Bastet said:

That makes sense; I have no interest in any of that.

Me either. When I got it I literally couldn’t find anything other than the Beatles movie and Hamilton to watch. Nothing.

[peachmangosteen]

I just get Disney+ when there's a MCU show I wanna watch lol.

[Kel Varnsen]

22 hours ago, SunnyBeBe said:

 think that the creators, producers, writers……whatever they are called these days, underestimate the viewer and either aren’t focused on details or are too lazy to make quality work.  

I feel like TV and streamers especially are throwing a ton of money at creators without much thought in making something good and maybe just working off name recognition. Like I love Greg Daniels but I have not been able to get Space Force or Upload. I have watched about half a season of each and both really have anything that grabs me. Meanwhile I have the first 6 seasons of King of the Hill and have been watching it since the pandemic started. And that show was pretty great right from the start.

45 minutes ago, peachmangosteen said:

I just get Disney+ when there's an MCU show I wanna watch lol.

I get that, if I had the US version of D+, that didn't have all the extra Star stuff I probably wouldn't bother maintaining it. Especially if I didn't have kids.

[JustHereForFood]

We will finally get Disney+ in Europe in June, so I will probably get that. I have most of the movies I want on DVD's already, but I was thinking about MCU rewatch and watching some Pixar movies I would not be willing to pay for. Then I guess Amazon when LotR starts. I am used to watching TV series in other ways (can we admit that here?), but with the controversy it already has, I want my watching to be counted into statistics.

[shapeshifter]

12 minutes ago, JustHereForFood said:

I am used to watching TV series in other ways (can we admit that here?

Somewhere there is a rule against posting anything about pirated copies —mostly because it could get this whole site shut down.

I’m not sure if VPN discussion would be okay. 
If a mod is reading this, hopefully they will chime in with some clarification.

[DearEvette]

You can't post links or instructions on how to do anything illegal (such as torrents or sites known to allow pirated material).  You also can't post links to illegal streaming websites.

VPNs in and of themselves are perfectly legal.  They are simply a tool that allows you to be private on the internet or are required to get behind firewalls.  My job, for instance, requires a dedicated VPN in order for me to work offsite. VPNs sometimes get a bad rap because people tend to use them to do illegal things. But illegal is illegal with or without a VPN.

Bypassing geo restrictions is not illegal in most places.  If I were to travel to Europe and wanted to watch Netflix from my own US Netflix account, I couldn't do it because my location would show I was in Europe. But a VPN would allow me to access my own US Netlfix account.

If I were in the US and wanted to watch a Netflix UK show and had my sister (who lives in the UK) login to access Netflix UK.  I could use the VPN to watch that.  It is not illegal, but it is a breach of her terms and services with Netflix (the password sharing is included in that breach.)

There are some countries where VPNs are illegal, I think China is one of them. 

[Bort]

31 minutes ago, DearEvette said:

If I were to travel to Europe and wanted to watch Netflix from my own US Netflix account, I couldn't do it because my location would show I was in Europe. But a VPN would allow me to access my own US Netlfix account.

No, that’s not how that works. For one, you can’t use a VPN for Netflix, it won’t let you. It’s one of the things Netflix has done to keep people from using them to get around geo location. Two, if you’re an American in Europe, you CAN access your Netflix but you can only access what they offer in Europe. For instance, I was pleasantly surprised to see that I was able to watch The Big Bang Theory over there on Netflix. 

[DearEvette]

18 minutes ago, kariyaki said:

No, that’s not how that works. For one, you can’t use a VPN for Netflix, it won’t let you. It’s one of the things Netflix has done to keep people from using them to get around geo location. Two, if you’re an American in Europe, you CAN access your Netflix but you can only access what they offer in Europe. For instance, I was pleasantly surprised to see that I was able to watch The Big Bang Theory over there on Netflix.

Ok good to know, that must have been a recent change then because that former was my experience years ago.

[shapeshifter]

9 hours ago, kariyaki said:

No, that’s not how that works. For one, you can’t use a VPN for Netflix, it won’t let you. It’s one of the things Netflix has done to keep people from using them to get around geo location. Two, if you’re an American in Europe, you CAN access your Netflix but you can only access what they offer in Europe. For instance, I was pleasantly surprised to see that I was able to watch The Big Bang Theory over there on Netflix. 

So:
If I, living in the US, login to my sister's Netflix account without using a VPN, I will be able to access content that is only available to Canadian Netflix subscribers?

And vice versa?

[Bort]

12 minutes ago, shapeshifter said:

So:
If I, living in the US, login to my sister's Netflix account without using a VPN, I will be able to access content that is only available to Canadian Netflix subscribers?

And vice versa?

No, Netflix goes by your geo location. If you use a Canadian user’s login in the US, you get the US content. I was using my US login while I was in the UK and I got UK content.

[Guest]

16 hours ago, kariyaki said:

No, that’s not how that works. For one, you can’t use a VPN for Netflix, it won’t let you. It’s one of the things Netflix has done to keep people from using them to get around geo location. Two, if you’re an American in Europe, you CAN access your Netflix but you can only access what they offer in Europe. For instance, I was pleasantly surprised to see that I was able to watch The Big Bang Theory over there on Netflix. 

In my experience, Netflix doesn’t block VPNs (or they just aren’t very good at blocking VPNs). I use mine for almost all my streaming. I have it set to connect to the fastest location and occasionally I won’t realize I am connected to a non-US server until Netflix or Disney+ looks strange or a US only streamer won’t work a all. Peacock is the only one I’ve encountered that blocks all VPNs. 

ETA: I just tested it and Peacock now works with my VPN. 

[Zella]

It's been a while since I was using a VPN and tried Netflix, but Amazon Prime won't even let me access things I've purchased if I am signed in but using a VPN.

[Guest]

2 minutes ago, Zella said:

It's been a while since I was using a VPN and tried Netflix, but Amazon Prime won't even let me access things I've purchased if I am signed in but using a VPN.

Interesting. I just tried and was able to watch my purchases while connected to a VPN. I don’t have a prime membership at the moment so I couldn’t test that. 

[Zella]

1 minute ago, Dani said:

Interesting. I just tried and was able to watch my purchases while connected to a VPN. I don’t have a prime membership at the moment so I couldn’t test that. 

I feel a little targeted by Amazon now. 😂

My laptop with my VPN is out of commission at the moment. I'll have to test it as soon as I can, but it's happened to me more than once 

[Kel Varnsen]

On 5/6/2022 at 6:22 PM, kariyaki said:

No, Netflix goes by your geo location. If you use a Canadian user’s login in the US, you get the US content. I was using my US login while I was in the UK and I got UK content.

Since Netflix is based on where you are located and according to people here VPNs still work I am surprised more people don't use VPNs to sign up for the cheapest Netflix possible. A search told me that Netflix in Argentina works out to a little over $3 US a month. So instead of Netflix complaining about password sharing, why aren't they complaining about people using VPNs to sign up for Netflix in Argentina, then turning off their VPN and getting US (or Canadian or whatever) Netflix for super cheap prices. Are they able to stop that?

[peachmangosteen]

You probably can't use a US credit card to pay for an Argentina Netflix account. 

[shapeshifter]

On 5/6/2022 at 6:22 PM, kariyaki said:

No, Netflix goes by your geo location. If you use a Canadian user’s login in the US, you get the US content. I was using my US login while I was in the UK and I got UK content.

Ah-ha!
This now reminds me of when my Canadian (since 1973) sister recommended a show on Netflix and even gave me her login to try when mine and my daughter's didn't work, and I still could not access the show here on the US side of Lake Ontario.
It really wasn't my kind of show (Netflix let me watch a free episode, but even with Idris Alba, it was all drama without a smidge of comic relief--I mean, even Breaking Bad had a pizza landing on a roof) so I had forgotten about it.

But I did not try VPN.
The only VPN I have installed is for my former (academic institution) employer in the US, so I'd have to try it when I was in Canada, but, for a bunch of reasons, that's probably not going to happen unless I can get beamed across the boarder in Star Trekian fashion.

And I'm pretty sure my sister doesn't have a VPN, but I'll try to remember to ask next time we Messenger talk/video.
If she does have a US VPN, we could experiment and see if she can watch a US available show that is not Canadian available.
But I assume Netflix is way ahead of us on that front. 
 

Edited May 8, 2022 by shapeshifter

[Bort]

I guess I should’ve been more specific about VPNs. You can use them but Netflix is on to the ones used to spoof geo locations for other countries. It won’t let you use those. Give it a try, but I’m pretty sure it won’t work.

[Irlandesa]

3 hours ago, Kel Varnsen said:

So instead of Netflix complaining about password sharing, why aren't they complaining about people using VPNs to sign up for Netflix in Argentina, then turning off their VPN and getting US (or Canadian or whatever) Netflix for super cheap prices. Are they able to stop that?

In addition to the credit card issue, using a VPN is on a whole new technical sophistication level compared to password sharing. 

Password sharing is about 20% of users (I think) while 99.99% of the users probably have never even heard of a VPN much less use them.

[Guest]

15 hours ago, Kel Varnsen said:

Since Netflix is based on where you are located and according to people here VPNs still work I am surprised more people don't use VPNs to sign up for the cheapest Netflix possible. A search told me that Netflix in Argentina works out to a little over $3 US a month. So instead of Netflix complaining about password sharing, why aren't they complaining about people using VPNs to sign up for Netflix in Argentina, then turning off their VPN and getting US (or Canadian or whatever) Netflix for super cheap prices. Are they able to stop that?

It can be done and I have seen VPN sites and Reddit where people talk about it. Netflix is actively trying to prevent it from happening. As @Irlandesa said it’s probably a small problem as most people with an interest in figuring it out could easily bypass paying all together. It’s not hard to find out how. Usually those methods require more work to setup and maintain and most people just aren’t going to bother. 

14 hours ago, kariyaki said:

I guess I should’ve been more specific about VPNs. You can use them but Netflix is on to the ones used to spoof geo locations for other countries. It won’t let you use those. Give it a try, but I’m pretty sure it won’t work.

Mine does have that ability and it does work. 

[Bort]

15 minutes ago, Dani said:

Mine does have that ability and it does work. 

The VPN I was using, Netflix was all, nope sorry no cookie for you! And now I don’t have Netflix anymore so…

[Guest]

43 minutes ago, kariyaki said:

The VPN I was using, Netflix was all, nope sorry no cookie for you! And now I don’t have Netflix anymore so…

The one I use has a help page for possible fixes if you get blocked out of Netflix so it apparently does happen with this one but I haven’t experienced it. Hulu can occasionally be glitchy but that is true when I’m not using the VPN so I’m never sure what the reason is.

Google is the only website that regularly gives me trouble when I am using the VPN and I repeatedly have to prove that I’m not a bot. Most of the time I forget about it because I have it for privacy reasons not to bypass geolocking. 

[Anela]

I'm keeping Disney+. I still haven't watched everything that I want to watch, and I just like them even more, at the moment. 

I haven't bothered to try a new VPN for netflix, because I already have too much that I still need to watch. I might try again one day, but not now. 

What with money being tighter than ever, I have thought about getting rid of all streaming services for now, and finding alternative ways to watch, but this is one of the few things we have entertainment-wise. If we did get rid of them all, we still couldn't go on vacation, we'd still be living pay cheque to pay cheque. 

[SunnyBeBe]

Does anyone have any tips on downloading the CMT app on tv?  I can’t find it in the App Store or anywhere on my live stream options.  I read it’s now with Paramount plus, which I have, but it’s not there either!  I searched on a Firestick then switched over to Roku and not there either. Just a CMthubb, which is something different.  When I type CMT tv app in search, it gives me Paramount plus, but no sign of CMT.
 

I can get it on my ipad by going to their website and logging in with my cable provider, however, I can’t get to that point on the tv.  Any tips would be appreciated.  I want to watch the Naomi Judd memorial service tonight.  It’s live on CMT. I’d rather watch on tv than ipad.  
 

This is really a mystery.  

Edited May 15, 2022 by SunnyBeBe

[Gramto6]

Thanks for mentioning the memorial. I get CMT with my Dish subscription. It is on at 4PM my time here in MT. I will watch it.

[SoMuchTV]

22 minutes ago, SunnyBeBe said:

Does anyone have any tips on downloading the CMT app on tv?  I can’t find it in the App Store or anywhere on my live stream options.  I read it’s now with Paramount plus, which I have, but it’s not there either!  I searched on a Firestick then switched over to Roku and not there either. Just a CMthubb, which is something different.  When I type CMT tv app in search, it gives me Paramount plus, but no sign of CMT.
 

I can get it on my ipad by going to their website and logging in with my cable provider, however, I can’t get to that point on the tv.  Any tips would be appreciated.  I want to watch the Naomi Judd memorial service tonight.  It’s live on CMT. I’d rather watch on tv than ipad.  
 

This is really a mystery.  

I can't answer your question, but do you have a phone or tablet that can cast to your Firestick or Roku?

[SunnyBeBe]

2 hours ago, SoMuchTV said:

I can't answer your question, but do you have a phone or tablet that can cast to your Firestick or Roku?

It’s supposed to, but doesn’t work well.  I’ll work with at 6. Plus, it’ll rerun later. I’ll probably be able to find it somewhere.  Tks. 

I'm watching on my ipad. Omg! It's extremely emotional. I've never seen this kind of overwhelming outpouring of admiration. I've never seen this kind of thing before. The pain is palpable.  I'm impressed they come up with this so soon. 

Edited May 15, 2022 by SunnyBeBe

[shapeshifter]

Just in case this is helpful to anyone (I have a mish-mash of fluctuating antenna and subscription access, and Roku.)

Anyway, I missed season finales of the 2 FOX 9-1-1 series at the same moment I'm briefly between Hulu subscriptions.
I discovered that on Roku TV if I download the FOXNOW app, it gives me 60 minutes free. Then, I can delete the app and do the same thing again.  

[proserpina65]

Well, last night I remembered the major reason I will probably never ditch satellite tv entirely for streaming: my internet service sucks.  Had to reset my modem 5 times during a 45 minute show.  ARGGHHHHHH.

[peachmangosteen]

Does anyone have the ad supported version of Paramount+? If so, in general, how many and how long are the ads?

[shapeshifter]

If my oldest daughter doesn't find her Hulu password by Friday, I will do this, even though it's only for 3 months:
National Streaming Day! $1/Month for 3 Months Save 85% off the regular monthly price of Hulu (ad-supported). Regularly $6.99/month. Deal ends 5/27.

[willco]

On 5/20/2022 at 9:53 AM, peachmangosteen said:

Does anyone have the ad supported version of Paramount+? If so, in general, how many and how long are the ads?

I do. I don't think the ads are bad, but I am used to watching things on Network tv so I know I compare it to that. 

 

I've only have Paramount for maybe 3 months, but on everything I've watched I think maybe the longest commercial break was 2 minutes. If you watch an a newer show that ran for an hour on tv, it'll probably end up between 54 and 55 minutes with ads. At least, that how it's been for me.The weird thing is ( and I've found this on Hulu also ) if you watch a movie on the app- and Paramount has a lot of really old movies and an ok (imo) selection of newer ones- there are almost no ads. They usually play a short one just before the show starts and then almost nothing. I watched the new Scream movie right after they added it to the app and that's how it was. That part is pretty nice really.

[peachmangosteen]

1 hour ago, willco said:

I've only have Paramount for maybe 3 months, but on everything I've watched I think maybe the longest commercial break was 2 minutes. If you watch an a newer show that ran for an hour on tv, it'll probably end up between 54 and 55 minutes with ads. At least, that how it's been for me.The weird thing is ( and I've found this on Hulu also ) if you watch a movie on the app- and Paramount has a lot of really old movies and an ok (imo) selection of newer ones- there are almost no ads. They usually play a short one just before the show starts and then almost nothing. I watched the new Scream movie right after they added it to the app and that's how it was. That part is pretty nice really.

Thank you! It sounds similar to Hulu, which has the most ads of them all, I think. I don't mind it because I got the Black Friday deal so I only pay $1.05 a month for it but I would never pay $5.99 for it because it's too many ads at that price imo. Paramount+ with ads is $4.99, isn't it? Tough call lol. I got the deal when Paramount+ first launched when it was like $49 or something for a year with no ads. It was a crazy good deal. And then that expired in March but they had a new deal where you could get 3 months of no ads for like $2/per month so I got that but now that's about to expire. I still watch several shows on there though so I have to keep it but like ugh I don't wanna pay $10 a month lol.

[peachmangosteen]

@willco Do you watch any of the exclusive Paramount+ shows? If so, are there fewer and/or shorter ads on those shows? On Hulu, the exclusive shows have less ad breaks than the network shows so I was just wondering if Paramount+ is similar.

[SunnyBeBe]

I’m about as furious as I’ve been in a long time.  I have no idea what is the freaking problem, but here goes.  I downloaded the AMC app weeks ago. I access it using my cable provider Spectrum at a location other than my cable address.  I’ve done it for a couple of years and other channels too.  Was no problem.  Have been watching Better Call Saul every week this season.  THEN, today, I tried to watch it and it requires me to activate with a code, which isn’t unusual.  But, it fails when I try to do it. I’ve tried multiple times. And, have Uninstalled and reinstalled the App to no avail.  I ALSO tried it on Roku, in addition the the Firestick and it fails there too!    

[shapeshifter]

4 minutes ago, SunnyBeBe said:

I’m about as furious as I’ve been in a long time.  I have no idea what is the freaking problem, but here goes.  I downloaded the AMC app weeks ago. I access it using my cable provider Spectrum at a location other than my cable address.  I’ve done it for a couple of years and other channels too.  Was no problem.  Have been watching Better Call Saul every week this season.  THEN, today, I tried to watch it and it requires me to activate with a code, which isn’t unusual.  But, it fails when I try to do it. I’ve tried multiple times. And, have Uninstalled and reinstalled the App to no avail.  I ALSO tried it on Roku, in addition the the Firestick and it fails there too!    

Sounds like you did everything right. 
I don't have AMC anymore (my daughter and son-in-law canceled it a month ago, and I decided I'd waited this long for BCS, that I could wait another year to see it on NetFlix.)

Things that come to mind:

• People have complained about AMC outages, so it might be back up tomorrow.
• Could someone in your household have changed the password?
• Could someone in your household have swapped out AMC for another station in your lineup?*
• And then there's this: 
  support.amc.com/en/support/solutions/folders/11000016704

[SunnyBeBe]

27 minutes ago, shapeshifter said:

Sounds like you did everything right. 
I don't have AMC anymore (my daughter and son-in-law canceled it a month ago, and I decided I'd waited this long for BCS, that I could wait another year to see it on NetFlix.)

Things that come to mind:

• People have complained about AMC outages, so it might be back up tomorrow.
• Could someone in your household have changed the password?
• Could someone in your household have swapped out AMC for another station in your lineup?*
• And then there's this: 
  support.amc.com/en/support/solutions/folders/11000016704

Thanks for the tips.  After I posted, I switched to my computer to activate using the activation code. I had been trying to activate  on my iPad.  I got in On Demand on my laptop AND was able to activate it on my tv!  It must have been an Apple issue.  I have no idea why it did that, because it did the same thing in CBS app.  So crazy, but I am not amused.  Watching the episode now.  

[SVNBob]

4 hours ago, SunnyBeBe said:

After I posted, I switched to my computer to activate using the activation code. I had been trying to activate  on my iPad.  I got in On Demand on my laptop AND was able to activate it on my tv!  It must have been an Apple issue.

Something to look out for in future: case-sensitivity.  Mobile devices tend to default to upper-case at the start of keyboard entries, including codes and passwords.  If your activation code started with a lower-case letter, you might have entered it as upper-case on your iPad without noticing.

[SunnyBeBe]

9 hours ago, SVNBob said:

Something to look out for in future: case-sensitivity.  Mobile devices tend to default to upper-case at the start of keyboard entries, including codes and passwords.  If your activation code started with a lower-case letter, you might have entered it as upper-case on your iPad without noticing.

Well noted.  I suppose it’s possible.  I made several concerted efforts to ensure the activation code was entered perfectly.  Hopefully, it was a glitch.  I guess the take away from this is that it’s one more reason I detest non-cable tv viewing.  I have that at my primary house and it’s normally issue free.  But, it’s costly and I can’t see doing that for a second home.  

[shapeshifter]

Some entrepreneurs should really figure out the technology and legalities and financial details of packaging at least the major streaming services and charging users based on actual use. I would spend more on that. 

[krankydoodle]

I'm having an issue with the AMC+ app now for the first time since I installed it a few months ago. I keep getting an "Unauthorized request" error whenever I try to login even though I'm able to access the site using the same login on my laptop and on another Roku. What's especially frustrating is that I used to have the same problem with the Shudder app (owned by AMC) and eventually cancelled my subscription because they couldn't figure out the problem, but I've already signed up for a year with AMC+ so that sucks.

[SunnyBeBe]

48 minutes ago, krankydoodle said:

I'm having an issue with the AMC+ app now for the first time since I installed it a few months ago. I keep getting an "Unauthorized request" error whenever I try to login even though I'm able to access the site using the same login on my laptop and on another Roku. What's especially frustrating is that I used to have the same problem with the Shudder app (owned by AMC) and eventually cancelled my subscription because they couldn't figure out the problem, but I've already signed up for a year with AMC+ so that sucks.

It sounds like the same problem I had last night.  I got a similar response.  Mine was AMC and not AMC plus, though.  You might try to enter the authorization code on a different device, like a computer.  That change worked for me.  

Edited May 22, 2022 by SunnyBeBe

[SoMuchTV]

This is interesting. A few weeks ago, with Netflix’s latest price hike, I downgraded to their cheapest plan, which says it just allows one screen at a time.  But I’m watching a Netflix movie on my smart tv, and I just pulled up a different Netflix show on my phone, and it seems to be letting it play. Anyone else experimented with this? I didn’t let the second screen play too long. Would it eventually cut one of them off?

[Guest]

1 hour ago, SoMuchTV said:

This is interesting. A few weeks ago, with Netflix’s latest price hike, I downgraded to their cheapest plan, which says it just allows one screen at a time.  But I’m watching a Netflix movie on my smart tv, and I just pulled up a different Netflix show on my phone, and it seems to be letting it play. Anyone else experimented with this? I didn’t let the second screen play too long. Would it eventually cut one of them off?

In my experience it takes about a minute before it will cut one of them off. 

[ABay]

@peachmangosteen, did you ever find a way to fix the HBO Max connection issues? I just started a subscription and I get an error message to close the app when I pause or rewind or sometimes it just gives the message for no reason at all. I'm also seeing a foreign language instead of English on the video description. I'm using the HBO Max app on a Roku smart TV. This is not encouraging me to renew at the end of the month.

[shapeshifter]

24 minutes ago, ABay said:

@peachmangosteen, did you ever find a way to fix the HBO Max connection issues? I just started a subscription and I get an error message to close the app when I pause or rewind or sometimes it just gives the message for no reason at all. I'm also seeing a foreign language instead of English on the video description. I'm using the HBO Max app on a Roku smart TV. This is not encouraging me to renew at the end of the month.

Oh dear.😮
I'm tentatively planning on adding HBO Max on a Roku TV in another month.
This does not bode well.
😬

Edited June 2, 2022 by shapeshifter

[peachmangosteen]

42 minutes ago, ABay said:

@peachmangosteen, did you ever find a way to fix the HBO Max connection issues? I just started a subscription and I get an error message to close the app when I pause or rewind or sometimes it just gives the message for no reason at all. I'm also seeing a foreign language instead of English on the video description. I'm using the HBO Max app on a Roku smart TV. This is not encouraging me to renew at the end of the month.

Well, my sister called the cable company to try to get our bill down and they ended up sending us a new modem and since then I haven’t had any issues so I guess it really was a network connection issue for me. Sorry I’m of no help lol!

[ABay]

It's been OK this morning so maybe it was temporary. Fingers crossed.

[SunnyBeBe]

I have my HBOmax on my Firestick.  No issues lately.  

Edited June 4, 2022 by SunnyBeBe