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


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4 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

Hulu is now running $1.99/mo. for the 1st year (with ads). My daughter’s $.99/mo. deal expires in a week, so I went for this year’s deal.

I can't find a live offer.  The report I'm reading says it goes live on Wednesday.

Quote

The deal goes live on Wednesday (Nov. 23) at 12 a.m. PT / 3 a.m. ET and will only be active for six days, expiring at the end of Cyber Monday (Nov. 28) at 11:59 p.m. PT (2:59 a.m. ET).

Hulu:
With a ton of original series and movies, plus the latest TV shows, Hulu has a lot to watch. Normally, this ad-supported tier costs $7.99 per month, so you'll be saving $6 per month (for up to 12 months) with this offer. This deal goes live on Wednesday, Nov. 23.

“Peacock Offering Premium Subscription for 99¢ a Month” (https://www.primetimer.com/news/peacock-offering-premium-subscription-for-99-a-month).

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The offer excludes current Peacock Premium and Premium Plus subscribers, and the plan reverts to $4.99 a month after 12 months.

Hrmm 🧐 Maybe I can upgrade to no commercials?

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17 hours ago, SoMuchTV said:

If anyone's a Starbucks Rewards member and gets their constant emails urging you to buy this that or the other and get extra stars - I got an offer from them a couple days ago for 2 free months of AppleTV+ and Apple Music.  New or returning customers, have to redeem by 11/30.  Good for me - my last TV "free trial" ran out the day before! 

Oh, I might have blocked their emails. Damn. I would have liked that offer. Thanks for the heads up. I'll search my email.

3 hours ago, SunnyBeBe said:

I don’t qualify for the Hulu special.  I get why they off specials, but it’s just like Spectrum.  They give deals to new customers, while loyal 30 year customers pay higher rates. 🙄

Did you try logging out of Hulu and then signing up with a different email address?

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4 hours ago, SunnyBeBe said:

I don’t qualify for the Hulu special.  I get why they off specials, but it’s just like Spectrum.  They give deals to new customers, while loyal 30 year customers pay higher rates. 🙄

Sign up using a new email and new payment method. I’ve done it multiple years now, lol.

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On 11/22/2022 at 5:24 AM, shapeshifter said:

“Peacock Offering Premium Subscription for 99¢ a Month” (https://www.primetimer.com/news/peacock-offering-premium-subscription-for-99-a-month).

Hrmm 🧐 Maybe I can upgrade to no commercials?

It's an extra $5 a month. I don't watch enough there to justify paying that much extra for adfree. The figure skating and gymnastics stuff are two of the few reasons I signed up don't have commercials. The sucky part is if you don't watch the events live you only have a few hours afterwards to watch the replays. Part of that seems to be from a band which is comprised of two brothers sued over music played (a seemingly kind of popular cover of House of the Rising Sun) during an Olympic Ice Dancing program. The band's father is a lawyer btw...

16 minutes ago, peachmangosteen said:

Does anyone know how to turn off automatic 'audio description' on Peacock? Weirdly, a couple weeks ago it just started playing audio descriptions automatically for me. I can just turn it off every time but I'm lazy and it's annoying lol.

In this reddit thread people are saying it's a bug on some devices that Peacock knows about which they are intending to fix. I did see one person say to check the captions menu to make sure it's not set to  the only other option seems to be turning on closed captioning which is supposed to shut the AD off.  

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2 minutes ago, Jaded said:

In this reddit thread people are saying it's a bug on some devices that Peacock knows about which they are intending to fix. 

That’s a pretty old thread. I think I recall reading it last year for that problem.
@peachmangosteen, did you try uninstalling the Peacock app and reinstalling it?

Coincidentally, last night on Seth Meyer he had a comedy bit with those captions that went on a little too long when I was falling asleep, and I started checking my settings, LOL. 

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3 hours ago, possibilities said:

My Hulu captions are out of synch with the dialogue-- not by a little, but by A LOT. I've gone through the help files and none of their fixes have worked. It's so frustrating.

I swear I am not a robot, but, once again, my first response is: Did you try uninstalling and reinstalling the [Hulu] app?
Admittedly, I have been known to do this repeatedly to no avail, which is by definition an insane thing to do. IIRC, it resolved on its own a day or 2 later, presumably when whoever was asleep at the wheel of the [programming] bug smasher was awakened when some honcho was annoyed.

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12 hours ago, possibilities said:

I don't even use the app. I just go to the Hulu website and watch in my browser, on my laptop.

Did you try another browser? 

On my PC using Chrome, since I installed a Windows update a couple of days ago, I have noticed sometimes my mouse doesn't seem to be recognized when I click links in my browser.
If it is the update, hopefully they'll release a patch soon.
 

A less annoying streaming oddity that resolved itself:
I have a really big (at least 55") Roku TV (son-in-law bought it before he met my daughter) and when I was watching The Calling on the Peacock app, the image was split in 2 halves (right and left) that were just slightly misaligned.  
It's intermittent.
Weird. 
The app? My internet? The weather? 

image.png.d2240b653abf038107b67299548c71d9.png image.png.32b1fd12b242737fb52e8384aa52af29.png

Edited by shapeshifter

Went to look at the Hulu $1.99 deal and discovered that you can bundle it with Disney+ ad free for an additional $2.99.  Interesting in light of the fact that they're about to bump up their regular prices.

And even more interestingly, after the 12 months finish, apparently the $2.99 price for Disney+ doesn't go back up.

Edited by meowmommy
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1 hour ago, meowmommy said:

Cox Cable has already told us that they're pulling our free Peacock on January 15.

Not that I ever watched it, anyway.

Yeah, I don't have cable, so I mostly use Peacock in place of "On Demand" watching or in place of recording a show I can't watch live. 

ETA: I actually have access to my daughter & son-in-law's cable by virtue of being signed into the same Roku account and then signing into the Spectrum TV app with their credentials, which, if the Cable Police show up, I can justify because they do come over to my home to hang out, and my daughter and little grandson are arguably part of my immediate family. 
But either their low-end cable package from Spectrum doesn't have much On Demand, or I would need to be on their Spectrum internet to access it? I think it's just that they don't get much On Demand, or else I wouldn't ever get it, right?

My son-in-law got laid off, so tomorrow when we have our pizza Thanksgiving, I'm going to suggest I pick up some of these 1-year streaming Black Friday deals that they are likely currently paying top dollar for.

Edited by shapeshifter
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5 hours ago, meowmommy said:

Went to look at the Hulu $1.99 deal and discovered that you can bundle it with Disney+ ad free for an additional $2.99.  Interesting in light of the fact that they're about to bump up their regular prices.

For what it's worth, I was listening to a guy on the radio who is a big Disney fan talking about Iger's return and what it could mean.  He claimed that Iger was not a fan of raising the price of Disney+, or at least not to what it was going to be raised to.  So I wouldn't be surprised if that got pushed back if it hasn't happened yet.

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So we signed up for the Hulu/Disney bundle, and I had no problems logging in to either one on my computer or my Roku.  We used a different user name and email than my old account. 

But when DD tries to log into Hulu on her computer, she keeps seeing a message that the login is incorrect, and then Hulu sends an authorization code to my email that she has to enter.  I had her switch to a non-private window, which seemed to stop the problem, but now it's happening again.  Once logged in, if she doesn't stay on the page continuously, it logs her out and then sends me another code when she tries to log in.  I don't really want to have to receive and forward emails every time she wants to watch a movie in her room.

She has tried deleting and re-downloading the Hulu app and it says she's not authorized to use the app, even before trying to log in.  It works fine on her iPad, and she has none of this issue on her computer with Disney+, just Hulu.  My account page says there are nine devices that have been authorized, four of which are browser pages.  Any ideas what's happening?

3 hours ago, meowmommy said:

So we signed up for the Hulu/Disney bundle, and I had no problems logging in to either one on my computer or my Roku.  We used a different user name and email than my old account. 

But when DD tries to log into Hulu on her computer, she keeps seeing a message that the login is incorrect, and then Hulu sends an authorization code to my email that she has to enter.  I had her switch to a non-private window, which seemed to stop the problem, but now it's happening again.  Once logged in, if she doesn't stay on the page continuously, it logs her out and then sends me another code when she tries to log in.  I don't really want to have to receive and forward emails every time she wants to watch a movie in her room.

She has tried deleting and re-downloading the Hulu app and it says she's not authorized to use the app, even before trying to log in.  It works fine on her iPad, and she has none of this issue on her computer with Disney+, just Hulu.  My account page says there are nine devices that have been authorized, four of which are browser pages.  Any ideas what's happening?

Could it be that more than 2 users are logged into your account at the same time?
https://www.androidauthority.com/hulu-account-sharing-1013948/

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24 minutes ago, shapeshifter said:

Could it be that more than 2 users are logged into your account at the same time?

Could be!  Can you be logged into more than two devices, or is the restriction just on watching content on more than two devices?  There are only two of us, and we are in the same house, and I've already set up two TVs with the Roku app.  So maybe that's it, although she was able to get into Hulu on her tablet at the same time she was being denied on her computer.  We had Hulu until a year ago when the promo rate expired, and never had this problem before.

And I still am not sure why she can't even download the Hulu app on her computer, much less log in. 

1 hour ago, possibilities said:

Or maybe her cookies are being deleted automatically whenever she closes her browser, or on a 24 hour automatic schedule and she needs to stop that?

I had her download and install a completely new browser, so it hasn't had time to get on a schedule.

This really shouldn't be a problem, seeing as we have four TVs, two iPads and two phones, but she got all worked up about having to watch ads on Hulu.  Apparently she is able to bypass ads on her computer, so she insists on watching Hulu there.

Kids.  Can't live with them, can't kill them.  Even when they're 32 years old.

Thanks. 

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Wednesday I got on the phone in order to switch cable account to Spectrum Choice, which is like ala carte channels.  It’s advertised as streaming, but you can get it as cable too.  Oh boy…..where to begin….If you decide to try this, plan a two day event.  I was literally on the phone for 2 hours…..on hold…waiting…..providing them the channels I wanted…..waiting…..Then disconnected boxes and took in to store to exchange for new boxes,…..returned home, reconnected, set them up.  One didn’t work, called and the set up service call next day….up early, waited for service rep to fix…..finally fixed it…..left, another problem emerged….called Spectrum….adjusted box……Still issues with the channels…..it’s annoying….I’m not sure it’s doable. I’m going to give it a good shot, but think I’ll probably switch.  It’s showing all channels available, and when you land on it, it asked if you want to expand to include that channel…..Even if you set it up to only show you the channels in your package, it still shows it all!  Weird….annoying…..Something in their system is not set up correctly.  Oh, the phone port over hasn’t worked either.   Maybe by Tuesday.  

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43 minutes ago, SunnyBeBe said:

Even if you set it up to only show you the channels in your package, it still shows it all!  Weird….annoying…..Something in their system is not set up correctly.  Oh, the phone port over hasn’t worked either.   Maybe by Tuesday.  

I think that's the package my daughter has. Once it's working correctly, the channels you selected should be brighter in the list than the channels you cannot access.
For instance, my daughter's package includes CNN and Lifetime, but not MyTV; the title for the show on Lifetime is lighter because that's the one I stopped scrolling onto when I took the picture of the screen. If I clicked on it, I'd be watching that movie.

image.thumb.png.f5095896ae1b20085f85d22dee209018.png

16 minutes ago, shapeshifter said:

I think that's the package my daughter has. Once it's working correctly, the channels you selected should be brighter in the list than the channels you cannot access.
For instance, my daughter's package includes CNN and Lifetime, but not MyTV; the title for the show on Lifetime is lighter because that's the one I stopped scrolling onto when I took the picture of the screen. If I clicked on it, I'd be watching that movie.

image.thumb.png.f5095896ae1b20085f85d22dee209018.png

Interesting.  My Guide has an all black background, with all white writing.  Lol.

I spent so much time on it today…the HDMI1 kept moving….so I got that set as default.  But still…..the channels aren’t set right.  The rep set that up.

 The Spectrum rep on the phone  told me it takes a while for the plan to settle in.😳

 And, I got about 4 versions of what it will actually cost. 😝 It’s crazy town.  

But, I will say that the reps were nice on the phone and seemed very competent.  The service rep who came today as well.  The rep in the store…..wasn’t really with it.  I said thank you 4 different times and she never acknowledged it nor thanked me for being a longtime customer or coming in to do self installation.  I took the bag and said, well….I guess if I’m done here, I’ll just leave…..she said nothing….I said one more thank you and left!  She said nothing.  🥴

I could sense the phone reps have undergone intense training.  They thanked me for not being verbally abusive.  Lol.  

Edited by SunnyBeBe
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On 11/24/2022 at 2:03 AM, shapeshifter said:

Did you try another browser? 

Finally found time to try that and it worked. The captions sync-ed up fine.... But it refused to sign me in and forced me to accept a verification code and change my password.

In light of the problem you are having with sharing an account with your daughter, I wonder if they have a rule now that you can only use one browser or device per account? I wasn't watching two things at once, but I didn't sign out of the other browser before trying to sign in to the new one.

I'm on the plan that has no ads, for whatever that matters. 

47 minutes ago, possibilities said:

In light of the problem you are having with sharing an account with your daughter, I wonder if they have a rule now that you can only use one browser or device per account?

They don’t. I was just signed in on multiple devices at the same time. Their login settings are being weird though. 

49 minutes ago, possibilities said:

But it refused to sign me in and forced me to accept a verification code and change my password.

Same thing happened to me even though it was the right password. 

49 minutes ago, Dani said:

Same thing happened to me even though it was the right password. 

Damn. They should change the name from Hulu to Fubar. 

I was also using the right password, but they refused to recognize it.

Edited by possibilities
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And now that you are all coming out to say you have the same issues with Hulu rejecting your passwords, DD has informed me that she no longer has a problem logging in on her computer. 

I think it's really funny, though, that DD had been less than enthusiastic about us getting Disney+.  "I don't think there will be enough for me to watch."  Yesterday, she had to create a second profile for herself because Disney+ only allows 100 titles per watchlist.

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My son-in-law canceled our Disney+.
I only ever watched this season's She-Hulk starring Tatiana Maslany as a feminist, comedic super sHero, so I didn't notice they canceled it.
But if there's a season 2 of She-Hulk, I'll be looking for a Disney+ deal.
 

Meanwhile, my daughter & DH might cancel HBO-Max before the season 2 finale of White Lotus.
I considered signing up for the current HBO Max deal of 3 months at $1.99/mo. to be sure to not miss that finale, but I'm kind of hate watching, so if they cancel it, it will be kind of like if my son-in-law eats all the left over birthday cake that gives us both heartburn. 😉

Edited by shapeshifter
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1 hour ago, shapeshifter said:

Meanwhile, they my daughter & DH might cancel HBO-Max before the season 2 finale of White Lotus.

I will keep HBO because it's part of my cable bundle, but I bailed in the middle of episode 2 of season 2 of The White Lotus.  Bored to tears.

Already calculating how long it will take to finish The Crown and GBBO (I can't binge-watch) so I can cancel Netflix for another eight months or so.

2 hours ago, meowmommy said:

Already calculating how long it will take to finish The Crown and GBBO (I can't binge-watch) so I can cancel Netflix for another eight months or so.

I don't watch either of those, but I'm looking forward to watching the Netflix Knives Out sequel on December 23 [oops! not Dec. 3!], thanks to oldest daughter's subscription, which she's subscribed to since 1997 when they would send her DVDs to watch and send back.

Edited by shapeshifter
WRONG DATE!!!!!!!!!
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