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

[Bastet]

4 minutes ago, Dani said:

If a primary location hasn’t been set, we will automatically set one for you based on IP address, device IDs, and account activity. 

The more I learn about this, the more aggravated I am.  I haven't mentioned any of it to my parents, and I'm not going to until the time comes (they're 80, they have enough to deal with).  When it's rolled out, I'll have to go over there and figure out how to set their house as the primary location so they don't get any of this "we'll do it for you" crap which might lock them out of their own account.  And then I'll deal with how/if I keep being able to access from my house. 

I didn't even start accessing their account until after they'd had it for years -- it was due to not working much by summer of 2020 (courts were closed, so cases stalled) and being in bed during the day sometimes with a sick cat, so wanting to watch TV but really only having DVDs as an option because daytime TV sucks.  So I remembered my parents had given me an old Fire stick and hooked that up to the bedroom TV.  Prior to that, I simply created a profile on their account and watched Netflix when they were gone and I was staying there to cat-sit.  I can just go back to that if this is too much of a mess to deal with.

[SunnyBeBe]

I just realized that I’ll have to renew my HBOmax subscription in order to see season 2 of my favorite comedy, Somebody Somewhere. I really hate it, but that show is worth it to me. I’m trying to figure out the best route. I’ve read I might can get it free through my AT&T account.  

Edited April 29, 2023 by SunnyBeBe

[paulvdb]

On 4/29/2023 at 9:57 PM, Dani said:

Unless they change it before it is rolled out in the US it is not based on the billing address. 

Quote

If a primary location hasn’t been set, we will automatically set one for you based on IP address, device IDs, and account activity. 

That makes sense because only your internet provider would know the physical address to which your IP address is assigned. There are no public records where you can find out an IP address's exact physical address so Netflix doesn't know which of your IP addresses is assigned to your billing address.

[EtheltoTillie]

On 4/29/2023 at 6:43 PM, SunnyBeBe said:

I just realized that I’ll have to renew my HBOmax subscription in order to see season 2 of my favorite comedy, Somebody Somewhere. I really hate it, but that show is worth it to me. I’m trying to figure out the best route. I’ve read I might can get it free through my AT&T account.  

I like that show too. Can’t one just sign up for a month or two to binge and then cancel and renew later for some other show you like?  I think my cousin does that. I keep it as there’s enough I like to watch all the time.
 

Don’t forget that they’re going to start calling it Max at the end of the month. More crazy rebranding. I get it “free” because I’ve always had regular HBO on my cable system. The price for cable HBO is the same as the standalone Max streaming subscription.
 

 I end up watching the streaming version using Roku more than the regular cable version. I have to toggle back and forth between cable and Roku. I’m not clear yet what they will be doing with the cable version of HBO. Will they be renaming it?  I don’t have the energy to research. 

[MissAlmond]

On 4/29/2023 at 5:43 PM, SunnyBeBe said:

I just realized that I’ll have to renew my HBOmax subscription in order to see season 2 of my favorite comedy, Somebody Somewhere. I really hate it, but that show is worth it to me. I’m trying to figure out the best route. I’ve read I might can get it free through my AT&T account.  

Yes it's true. Certain ATT plans do include HBOMax for free as part of your subscription. Check your plan to see if it's eligible. 

[Kel Varnsen]

I was watching the show Kaleidoscope on Netflix last night and it is a show about a bunch of characters that takes place over many different time periods and can be watched in any order (except for the finale). And it made me realize that I really wish that the other services would copy the Prime Video thing where when you pause it shows you who all the characters on the screen are and who the actors are. Because the first two episodes I watched were 7 years apart and I am terrible at remembering character names, so a few times it was hard to figure out who the same people were when their looks had changed. It seems like simple and easy and useful thing to rip-off, so I wish more services had it.

[Guest]

4 hours ago, EtheltoTillie said:

I’m not clear yet what they will be doing with the cable version of HBO. Will they be renaming it?

The cable channel won’t change. They want to separate the streaming service from the cable channel out of concern people aren’t signing up thinking it is just HBO content. So they went with a meaningless name that has zero brand recognition instead. 🙄

[EtheltoTillie]

Here's a new article about the Netflix password sharing rollout.  It just popped up.  It doesn't clarify anything for me.  I still don't know how I'm supposed to designate one main household and then log on in my office or second home or just on my phone when out and about or traveling. 

Anyone else get this?

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/digital/netflix-password-sharing-united-states-1235498948/#recipient_hashed=749d7f9295b9e9e8cb09d389b35eea258526fe0052afa6c709ab399bbf7e0af0&recipient_salt=ed9d57e5f557a9c61352a0d942b29ce28f1567c5844b551d915331118d51a151

[possibilities]

I think the article is saying that your device has to log in from home periodically in order to be considered a household member. This might mean you can only use your mobile devices at the office or a 2nd home? 

[Bastet]

OMG, I could buy my own subscription for $9.99/month (a basic plan, but without ads, so surely giving me everything I'd want), but they want my parents to pay $7.99/month to add me to theirs?  The people at Netflix done lost their minds over this nonsense.  We're not giving them another dime.  I'll just bring my Fire stick over once a month (I'm there weekly anyway) and sign into Netflix there, to keep it from being locked out.

[EtheltoTillie]

1 hour ago, Bastet said:

OMG, I could buy my own subscription for $9.99/month (a basic plan, but without ads, so surely giving me everything I'd want), but they want my parents to pay $7.99/month to add me to theirs?  The people at Netflix done lost their minds over this nonsense.  We're not giving them another dime.  I'll just bring my Fire stick over once a month (I'm there weekly anyway) and sign into Netflix there, to keep it from being locked out.

Now I'm looking into this in earnest.  I have the "Standard" without ads, which allows me to watch on two devices at the same time.  It is $15.49.  It has the higher HD quality. I don't really need the two at a time, but I guess we like the higher resolution.

"Basic" is $9.99, which allows you to watch on one device at a time and with the lower HD quality.  I'm guessing that's what your parents have.    My account profile currently lists a bunch of devices and shows when I last used each.  Not all these devices are permanently installed at my primary home.  I'm going to continue as I have been until told otherwise.   I suggest you do the same.   They don't seem to be looking at where the devices are logged in, at least at this time.  They seem to be wanting to scare someone like you into paying the extra $7.99, so you would have a separate log in and profile, but you don't want that.  I say phooey on them.  $15.49 plus tax is enough for me! 

Edited May 23, 2023 by EtheltoTillie

[EtheltoTillie]

Again, the part that mystifies me is whether you have to bring the devices over to the main location and log them all in, or you just have to mostly be logged in at least once a month at the main location.  I think it is the latter.  I don't think they want me to lug our three extra Roku devices from Long Island back to NYC just to log them in.  I think they realize that is not something the public will agree to.   Anyway, they are not currently asking me to designate a primary wi-fi location. 

[Bastet]

14 minutes ago, EtheltoTillie said:

"Basic" is $9.99, which allows you to watch on one device at a time and with the lower HD quality.  I'm guessing that's what your parents have.

No, they have either Standard or Premium.  I forgot that they upgraded quite a while back.

[EtheltoTillie]

Just now, Bastet said:

No, they have either Standard or Premium.  I forgot that they upgraded quite a while back.

Well, all the more reason to ignore their entreaties. 

[Bastet]

2 minutes ago, EtheltoTillie said:

Well, all the more reason to ignore their entreaties. 

I just watched Netflix last night and this morning, and nothing popped up, so I'll tell my mom when she gets back into town (my dad never watches it) to call me if some "set your primary residence" message pops up for her.

[EtheltoTillie]

To add to the confusion, I'm logged in at my office computer to check the account. I could start watching content if I wanted.  After logging in, I received an email from Netflix that says "Someone just logged in on a new device."

This is the message I received. 

 

If this was you or someone in your household:
Enjoy watching! Have you seen this one? A Man Called Otto.

If it was someone else:
Please remember that we only allow the people in your household to use your account.

If you don’t know who it was:
We recommend that you change your password immediately to keep your account secure.

We're here to help
Visit the Help Center for more info or contact us.

[SoMuchTV]

4 minutes ago, EtheltoTillie said:

To add to the confusion, I'm logged in at my office computer to check the account. I could start watching content if I wanted.  After logging in, I received an email from Netflix that says "Someone just logged in on a new device."

This is the message I received. 

 

If this was you or someone in your household:
Enjoy watching! Have you seen this one? A Man Called Otto.

If it was someone else:
Please remember that we only allow the people in your household to use your account.

If you don’t know who it was:
We recommend that you change your password immediately to keep your account secure.

We're here to help
Visit the Help Center for more info or contact us.

Oh I get that a lot.  Every time something upgrades, like my Firestick or the browser I use on my desktop, apparently it looks to Netflix like it's a new device.  Sometimes even seems to happen if I get logged out for some reason, then log back in.  I just ignore them, unless it looks out of the ordinary.

And it's not just Netflix.  The other day I had to clear cache on my main browser in a useless attempt to fix something or another, and even Google started sending me alerts when I started logging back into my stuff.

[Guest]

Netflix has updated that they are sending the following email to users who are sharing the account. It’s not very informative but getting it will give you an idea if you are on their radar.

There are users signing in and having to confirm they are logged in to the primary address. 
 

[meowmommy]

So today was the big "Max" rollout (so stupid, IMO; HBO is a much more recognized and respected brand than 'Max' could ever be). 

Things I don't like at first glance:  the name change and the color change from purple to blue makes me sad, the ability to customize my avatar with my own photos instead of choosing from their preselected images is gone, the sidebar where I could easily access the network hubs now requires scrolling down the page and then clicking endlessly to the right, and the watchlist is back to not being sortable (shades of Netflix).  Hoping that some of these things are quickly resolved.

What I do like is that they've apparently already folded Discovery+ into the service, and if all the shows I currently stream are there, I can let my Discovery+ subscription go.

[Guest]

17 minutes ago, meowmommy said:

Things I don't like at first glance:  the name change and the color change from purple to blue makes me sad, the ability to customize my avatar with my own photos instead of choosing from their preselected images is gone, the sidebar where I could easily access the network hubs now requires scrolling down the page and then clicking endlessly to the right, and the watchlist is back to not being sortable (shades of Netflix).  Hoping that some of these things are quickly resolved.

They’re small things but I hate the color change and avatar options. The avatars that a people all look strange. I agree with you the change to the side menu is really inconvenient.

I really dislike that the hubs aren’t limited to that specific content. Hubs should be used to easily narrow down content to specific brands and they have Full House in the Harry Potter hub. The app also seems slower than normal. I am noticing a lot of lag when scrolling or switching screens. 

[Jaded]

NBC & Peacock Will For the First Time Ever Air Everything Live During The 2024 Olympics

[EtheltoTillie]

I have to say I’m happy up to have all that goofy discovery content added to HBO Max content at no extra charge. 

Per @Dani ‘s post, maybe Netflix is using some algorithm to detect people on their radar for a warning for shared accounts. I have not received that request. Maybe I will eventually. 

Edited May 24, 2023 by EtheltoTillie

[MissAlmond]

1 hour ago, meowmommy said:

HBO is a much more recognized and respected brand than 'Max’ could ever be). 

Edited May 24, 2023 by MissAlmond

[Cobalt Stargazer]

3 hours ago, MissAlmond said:

Norma Desmond: "Hello, who are you?"

[MissAlmond]

 

28 minutes ago, Cobalt Stargazer said:

Norma Desmond: "Hello, who are you?"

Max Von Mayerling: I was your first HBO provider.

Edited May 24, 2023 by MissAlmond

[meowmommy]

1 hour ago, MissAlmond said:

I'm either really old or a real cinemaphile since I instantly recognized what you meant, but still, I mean, "Max" could be the German Shepherd I had as a kid, Mad Max, Skinemax Cinemax, a Supermax lockup, Sigourney Weaver's character in Heartbreakers whose name is never actually uttered, or a thousand other Maxes.

HBO, however, is one of a kind.  Iconic.  Really foolish to jettison it like so much flotsam.

[cynicat]

Netflix threatens this all the time, right?  Then there is a big protest and it never happens.  I'll wait to see  how it plays out.

[Anela]

18 hours ago, meowmommy said:

I'm either really old or a real cinemaphile since I instantly recognized what you meant, but still, I mean, "Max" could be the German Shepherd I had as a kid, Mad Max, Skinemax Cinemax, a Supermax lockup, Sigourney Weaver's character in Heartbreakers whose name is never actually uttered, or a thousand other Maxes.

HBO, however, is one of a kind.  Iconic.  Really foolish to jettison it like so much flotsam.

When I moved back to the States, as a teenager, HBO was the channel to watch, aside from MTV for music. It is stupid to change the name. 

[Guest]

11 hours ago, cynicat said:

Netflix threatens this all the time, right?  Then there is a big protest and it never happens. 

This time it is actually happening. Who knows if the backlash will be big enough to cause them to cave but they’ve been slowly rolling it out for months. As of yesterday the new password sharing rules are live worldwide. 

 

23 hours ago, meowmommy said:

HBO, however, is one of a kind.  Iconic.  Really foolish to jettison it like so much flotsam.

So foolish. They have the brand recognition of HBO and WB but choose Max of all things. Once they made the change I had family members contacting me for the login info and not one person called it Max or even HBO Max.

The name change has created some hilarious memes about other streamers dropping half their name and Peacock getting pissed they can’t follow suit. 

[possibilities]

I watched some things on "Max" today and they all still had the "HBO" branding splash screen at the beginning of each episode. 

I guess the new brand isn't hoping to benefit from the momentum from the old brand. 

[EtheltoTillie]

On 5/23/2023 at 5:12 PM, Bastet said:

I just watched Netflix last night and this morning, and nothing popped up, so I'll tell my mom when she gets back into town (my dad never watches it) to call me if some "set your primary residence" message pops up for her.

Sorry to beat this dead horse again, but I'm obsessing.  I hate the uncertainty of the way they have begun this rollout.  So I was just reading that Hollywood reporter article again, as it popped up on a feed.  I'm searching for nuances. 

I think the key factor that might trigger a request to pick a primary location is the existence of separate profiles.  Since we don't use separate profiles, our multiple devices and locations are not being recognized as separate households.  Do you bother with separate profiles, Bastet?   I will keep this list posted if I receive such a request. 

[tessaray]

47 minutes ago, EtheltoTillie said:

think the key factor that might trigger a request to pick a primary location is the existence of separate profiles.  Since we don't use separate profiles, our multiple devices and locations are not being recognized as separate households.

Most streamers log your Internet address (IP) when you sign in so it's relatively trivial to run reports that would show multiple locations. I doubt profiles have anything to do with it. 

[possibilities]

What if you use a VPN?

[AstridM]

On 5/21/2023 at 11:20 AM, Dani said:

The cable channel won’t change. They want to separate the streaming service from the cable channel out of concern people aren’t signing up thinking it is just HBO content. So they went with a meaningless name that has zero brand recognition instead. 🙄

Also - why Max when there’s already a Cinemax????

[Guest]

3 hours ago, EtheltoTillie said:

Sorry to beat this dead horse again, but I'm obsessing.  I hate the uncertainty of the way they have begun this rollout.  So I was just reading that Hollywood reporter article again, as it popped up on a feed.  I'm searching for nuances. 

I think the key factor that might trigger a request to pick a primary location is the existence of separate profiles. 

It’s unlikely that there will be any certainty. They are going to want to keep it vague and there are probably going to be different levels of what they are looking for. 

[EtheltoTillie]

Just now, Dani said:

It’s unlikely that there will be any certainty. They are going to want to keep it vague and there are probably going to be different levels of what they are looking for. 

Well, I'll just wait and see, then.  I think you're right--they want to keep us guessing. 

[Bastet]

4 hours ago, EtheltoTillie said:

Do you bother with separate profiles, Bastet?

Oh, yeah, even all those years I never watched it at home, just at their house when I was cat-sitting -- there are a few exceptions, but generally we watch very different things. 

[EtheltoTillie]

The separate profiles seem pointless, unless you really are password sharing in the manner they do not want--like a bunch of college roommates who now live far apart but save money by pooling.  So people save their watch lists and "next up" items. 

Or some teenager who doesn't want his parents to see what he is watching.

 

[shapeshifter]

Today when I logged into Netflix on my Roku TV it gave the message about shared accounts/profiles and so-on and so-forth, and I said "yes" to whatever it was they asked. Then they said they'd be sending a confirmation email to my oldest daughter's address — which is the only reason I know it's her account and not her sister's, heh.
Hopefully it won't cause her any trouble.🫢
She's arriving in a week for a visit anyway. 🙂
It motivated me to watch the last 2 episodes of Extraordinary Attorney Woo, although I'd have been okay not watching them too.
I have 2 other Netflix series saved in my TV spreadsheet calendar that are airing in June, but, likewise, I don't really care if I can't see them.
Hear that, Netflix!?!? 

[Bastet]

28 minutes ago, EtheltoTillie said:

So people save their watch lists and "next up" items. 

I have no idea how you'd have separate lists without having separate profiles (unless you maintained a list externally, like in a document, rather than using the Add to Watchlist feature).

[EtheltoTillie]

2 minutes ago, Bastet said:

I have no idea how you'd have separate lists without having separate profiles (unless you maintained a list externally, like in a document, rather than using the Add to Watchlist feature).

Yes, I agree.  They have to have the separate profiles for that.  So the college roommate example people would all have their separate profiles and lists. 

Those people may be the first to be caught up in the net.

[Zella]

I have created separate profiles for my family on my Netflix (basically one for my brother and one for my grandparents). None of them have ever used it, which is just as well, but I didn't want the algorithm thinking that I wanted to watch the silly animal attack movies my brother would inevitable have selected. 

[SoMuchTV]

35 minutes ago, EtheltoTillie said:

The separate profiles seem pointless, unless you really are password sharing in the manner they do not want--like a bunch of college roommates who now live far apart but save money by pooling.  So people save their watch lists and "next up" items. 

Or some teenager who doesn't want his parents to see what he is watching.

I'm not sure I follow the logic here.  You have separate profiles so what comes up is what you want to see, not what your spouse or kid wants to see, and it keeps track of what episode you're on, so if you're watching the same thing but not necessarily together, it knows what you've already seen.

Oh and pro-tip for teens out there - dude, the account holder can definitely see what each profile has been watching.

All that said, we still have profiles for our two adult daughters who have each had their own Netflix plans for years.  I suppose I could delete them but I just never bothered.

[EtheltoTillie]

1 minute ago, SoMuchTV said:

Oh and pro-tip for teens out there - dude, the account holder can definitely see what each profile has been watching.

All that said, we still have profiles for our two adult daughters who have each had their own Netflix plans for years.  I suppose I could delete them but I just never bothered.

Oh in that case, forget my  idea in that regard. 

But I can see the different adult users having different profiles to keep their own watch lists separate and receive recommendations based on what they watched. 

[Bastet]

9 minutes ago, SoMuchTV said:

You have separate profiles so what comes up is what you want to see, not what your spouse or kid wants to see, and it keeps track of what episode you're on, so if you're watching the same thing but not necessarily together, it knows what you've already seen.

Yeah, even if I shared a household with someone (meaning we were sharing the account "legitimately"), we'd have separate profiles.  I don't want to wade through one big list that has all the programming either of us have saved, and I want the recommendations to be based only on what I watch (some of them are weird enough as it is!).

[possibilities]

I think different profiles are also useful to parents of young children. They can separate adult from kid content that way.

[Guest]

46 minutes ago, SoMuchTV said:

I'm not sure I follow the logic here.  You have separate profiles so what comes up is what you want to see, not what your spouse or kid wants to see, and it keeps track of what episode you're on, so if you're watching the same thing but not necessarily together, it knows what you've already seen.

Yeah. I would really dislike having to share a profile with anyone. 

39 minutes ago, Bastet said:

Yeah, even if I shared a household with someone (meaning we were sharing the account "legitimately"), we'd have separate profiles.  I don't want to wade through one big list that has all the programming either of us have saved, and I want the recommendations to be based only on what I watch (some of them are weird enough as it is!).

Yep. Multiple people in the house having to share one profile would make in unwatchable for me. I don’t want to have to wade through what others have watched or keep track of what episode I am on. I know some couples that each have their own profiles and a joint one so it doesn’t mess up recommendations on or watchlists. 

Before HBO Max launched they said they would have a feature to allow joint watching on multiple profiles so it didn’t impact watchlist or recommendations. I’m still annoyed they never delivered on that promise. 

43 minutes ago, possibilities said:

I think different profiles are also useful to parents of young children. They can separate adult from kid content that way.

Definitely. I have no doubt that is why Disney+ allows more profiles than any other service. Adults, teens, preteens and toddlers have very different viewing habits. 

[tessaray]

I'm on mobile, so don't have a quote option. The pertinent quote is under the spoiler.

https://time.com/6282750/netflix-password-sharing-household-rules/ 

 

Spoiler

The company says it will use information such as IP addresses, device IDs, and account activity to determine whether a device is part of a household, and insists that it will not collect GPS data from users.

 

Netflix has said that customers will still be able to access their accounts while traveling, on their personal devices or a television in a hotel or vacation home. It remains unclear how long a device will be allowed to remain logged in from another location.

 

[Irlandesa]

2 hours ago, Dani said:

I don’t want to have to wade through what others have watched or keep track of what episode I am on. I know some couples that each have their own profiles and a joint one so it doesn’t mess up recommendations on or watchlists. 

That's it too.  It's not just for people with different tastes but sometimes for people in the same household with the same taste but who don't feel compelled to watch TV together. I can burn through a series and then recommend it to my roommate or vice versa but we'd each have separate profiles paying attention to where we each left off.

[EtheltoTillie]

FU, Netflix. It happened. I just logged in on one of my NYC TV Roku boxes. The system prompted me to answer whether this was my home network, but I didn’t want to answer yet. It allowed me to wait and answer later.  So what do I do?  The Time Magazine article said something about vacation homes, but it’s unclear. I will hold off for now. Ugh.