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

[SimoneS]

4 hours ago, Dani said:

There’s only two episodes out so far but the reviews have been excellent. I’ve only watched the first episode but I loved it.

Disney is still working out the kinks so you might want to wait a few weeks. It’s working well for me but if you have a problem customer support is a bit of disaster at the moment.  They ended up with more subscriptions on day one then were projected for the first year.

Thanks. I decided to subscribe to Disney Plus. I just ordered Fire TV.  I am excited to see The Mandalorian.

[GHScorpiosRule]

Disney SHOULD HAVE KNOWN people would sign up for its streaming service! It's like over an hour wait to maybe talk to someone on the phone, and about over 30 minutes for a live chat.

I figured out how NOT get charged by an email I got from them--went into itunes to cancel the free trial/subscription, so I won't be charged, since I also enrolled via Verizon--and according to my Verizon account, it's active and I have the service for free until next year.

Whew. I thought I had to talk to someone to get them to "fix it" so I wouldn't be charged.

[Guest]

53 minutes ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

Disney SHOULD HAVE KNOWN people would sign up for its streaming service! It's like over an hour wait to maybe talk to someone on the phone, and about over 30 minutes for a live chat.

I figured out how NOT get charged by an email I got from them--went into itunes to cancel the free trial/subscription, so I won't be charged, since I also enrolled via Verizon--and according to my Verizon account, it's active and I have the service for free until next year.

Whew. I thought I had to talk to someone to get them to "fix it" so I wouldn't be charged.

I’m not surprised by the issues. Anyone who goes to any of the Disney parks frequently knows that Disney has a horrible track record with technology. I’m actually surprised the app itself doesn’t have more issues.

I’ve seen posts on reddit of people waiting hours on live chat, finally getting to ask they question and then being timed out before the rep responded. I guess I’m lucky that I kept getting timed out in 30 minutes or less so I gave up very quickly. 

Edited November 19, 2019 by Guest

[biakbiak]

Hackers steal account information from Disney+ users and are being sold on the dark web.

[Was-MArsenault]

Just got Disney+ today!

[meowmommy]

I was all excited because I bought a new iPad, which is supposed to come with a free year of Apple TV+, and I have both a Roku TV and a Roku streaming stick.  Only to find out that it has to be the latest and greatest Roku in order for the Apple TV app to load onto it, and mine are not.  Grrr.

[Irlandesa]

Hulu has a $1.99/month special for 12 months for the ad supported version. It ends in a few hours, allegedly.  I'd been toying about whether or not I wanted to add Hulu to my package of streaming services (I have Netflix, Amazon and Acorn) but the deal was too good to pass up even if I do have to sit through some ads. 

[chenoa333]

On 12/2/2019 at 7:47 PM, Irlandesa said:

Hulu has a $1.99/month special for 12 months for the ad supported version. 

I tried the Ad supported version which is a monthly fee however, it is the cheapest.

I realized I have no patience to watch ads on the internet streaming (?) services. Regular cable I can switch channels during commercials but I just can't tolerate the ads on Hulu/Netflix/HBO/etc. I have enough things in life that annoy me. I don't need to pay someone for it.😄

[biakbiak]

2 hours ago, chenoa333 said:

I tried the Ad supported version which is a monthly fee however, it is the cheapest.

I realized I have no patience to watch ads on the internet streaming (?) services. Regular cable I can switch channels during commercials but I just can't tolerate the ads on Hulu/Netflix/HBO/etc. I have enough things in life that annoy me. I don't need to pay someone for it.😄

My biggest problem with the ads is that they just repeat the same 1 or 2 over and over again and this annoys me more than if they were different for reasons I don’t quite understand.

[Guest]

19 minutes ago, LucindaWalsh said:

I can't explain my annoyance either but it's there. More annoyance is when I am asked "which ad experience do you prefer?" and have to click one. 

I hate those. I frequently walk out of the room during the commercials to avoid the repeats only to walk back in and discover I have to click one and watch more commercials. There really should be a timed default on those things. 

[Bastet]

1 hour ago, biakbiak said:

My biggest problem with the ads is that they just repeat the same 1 or 2 over and over again and this annoys me more than if they were different for reasons I don’t quite understand.

Same here.  I don't have any streaming services at home, but while staying at my parents' house recently, I watched a whole bunch of Cold Case episodes in bed each night on the Roku Channel.  The commercial breaks are shorter, but the four ads at each break were pretty much the same each time, and it didn't take long to send me around the bend.  Not being able to go around the dial like I do with television would have only been mildly annoying had there been some variety in the commercials.

[meowmommy]

3 hours ago, chenoa333 said:

Regular cable I can switch channels during commercials but I just can't tolerate the ads on Hulu/Netflix/HBO/etc.

I'm not aware of any ads on HBO, other than promos for their own shows, and those are only between programs, never in the middle.  

I'm at the point where I don't watch anything live, except Sunday afternoon football.  Everything else, including Sunday and Monday night football, goes on the DVR, solely to avoid the ads. 

Looking at possible cord-cutting next March when my cable contract ends and I expect my rates to skyrocket.  Anybody have experience with a streaming service's DVR and how well it works? 

I'm thinking of signing up for different services' trials a few weeks before I have to decide, to see not only how well I like each one, but how much data they use.  I was all set to buy a new 4K UHD TV on Black Friday until I thought about how fast I'd go over the data cap on my internet plan.  😞

[Irlandesa]

2 hours ago, LucindaWalsh said:

I can't explain my annoyance either but it's there. More annoyance is when I am asked "which ad experience do you prefer?" and have to click one. 

OK.  That's gonna drive me crazy.  But still just $2 a month.  If I decide to keep it, I'll go to ad free.

[theredhead77]

13 hours ago, meowmommy said:

I was all set to buy a new 4K UHD TV on Black Friday until I thought about how fast I'd go over the data cap on my internet plan.

What is your data cap on your home internet plan?

[meowmommy]

23 minutes ago, theredhead77 said:

What is your data cap on your home internet plan?

1 TB. 

[Chaos Theory]

One of the interesting things about all the new streaming services is that all the people I talk to think they have to get all of them.   I finished watching Why Women Kill on All Access then cancelled All Access i will sign up again when Picard starts and then cancel.   I never have more then two or three services going at a time.   And I cancel real quick.   If they offer me a free “please stay” month I take it then cancel the next day.   I haven’t bothered with Disney yet.   My cousin has kids and he likes it.   But honestly until there is something I just have to watch.....

Edited December 5, 2019 by Chaos Theory

[Guest]

4 hours ago, Chaos Theory said:

One of the interesting things about all the new streaming services is that all the people I talk to think they have to get all of them.   I finished watching Why Women Kill on All Access then cancelled All Access i will sign up again when Picard starts and then cancel.   I never have more then two or three services going at a time.   And I cancel real quick.   If they offer me a free “please stay” month I take it then cancel the next day.   I haven’t bothered with Disney yet.   My cousin has kids and he likes it.   But honestly until there is something I just have to watch.....

I’ve noticed many people seem to view streaming services like a gym membership where you sign up and it’s a ordeal to cancel. They don’t want to have to manage their services.
I’m like you in that I’m constantly rotating through services. When I sign up I either immediately cancel so I don’t have to remember to cancel or I set a reminder just before the renewal date. I think that’s harder to do when you have kids. Occasionally I’ll let my nieces and nephews use my accounts and I tend to keep those services longer than I would otherwise. Disney+ is the only one I have  no plans to cancel largely because they use it a lot. 
 

18 hours ago, meowmommy said:

Looking at possible cord-cutting next March when my cable contract ends and I expect my rates to skyrocket.  Anybody have experience with a streaming service's DVR and how well it works? 

I think I’ve used all of them at this point. It really depends what channels you’re wanting to watch and how much you want to spend. YouTube Live probably has the best DVR but the are a few networks that force you to watch a On Demand version of your new recordings. 

[theredhead77]

7 hours ago, meowmommy said:

1 TB. 

That's more than enough data to cut cable and not come close to your data cap

https://www.allconnect.com/blog/1-tb-internet-data

Quote

How long does it take to use 1 TB of data?

AT&T’s internet data calculator shows you just how much it would take to use 1 TB of data. According to the calculator, you could do the following activities* and still use less than 1 TB of data in a month:

Send and receive 40,000 emails

Stream 8,500 hours of music

Surf the internet for 2,000 hours

Game for 16,500 hours

Stream high-def videos for 350 hours

Post to social media for 5,600 hours

*Estimated on a standard user.

You would have to stream around 171 hours of 4K video for a month to reach 1 TB of data. That’s equivalent to you streaming 6 hours of 4K video every day for a month.

[meowmommy]

21 minutes ago, theredhead77 said:

That's more than enough data to cut cable and not come close to your data cap

I appreciate that; it's just that I've read that a single movie on Netflix, using 4K UHD, can use 7 GB per hour, or 14 GB for a two-hour movie.  So one movie a day could eat up close to half the cap, and that's before all the other streaming and computer usage, and of course it would be much higher with full-time cord cutting.  We currently already average between 150 and 200 GB per month, with the highest surges on Sunday when I stream NFL football for about six hours.

When I had AT&T, they hit me with a 150 GB cap, which is why I didn't get Netflix at the time, even without 4K.  1 TB sounded a lot better, but then I got nervous.

[theredhead77]

31 minutes ago, meowmommy said:

I appreciate that; it's just that I've read that a single movie on Netflix, using 4K UHD, can use 7 GB per hour, or 14 GB for a two-hour movie.

Did you read the link I posted? At the bottom:

Quote

You would have to stream around 171 hours of 4K video for a month to reach 1 TB of data. That’s equivalent to you streaming 6 hours of 4K video every day for a month.

[meowmommy]

1 minute ago, theredhead77 said:

Did you read the link I posted? At the bottom:

Between me and my daughter, we watch more than 6 hours a day of TV.  Thanks.  Confirms for me that 4K UHD is not a way we can afford to go.

[theredhead77]

1 minute ago, meowmommy said:

Between me and my daughter, we watch more than 6 hours a day of TV.  Thanks.  Confirms for me that 4K UHD is not a way we can afford to go.

You watch more than 6 hours of 4K quality TV every day? 4K is not HD. Take a few minutes, read the article, play with the calculator. 1TB of data is more data than most people will use even with high daily usage.

[biakbiak]

7 minutes ago, meowmommy said:

Between me and my daughter, we watch more than 6 hours a day of TV.  Thanks.  Confirms for me that 4K UHD is not a way we can afford to go.

But not everything is available in 4K. Here is a list as of last month.

[theredhead77]

I bought my friend a Fire Stick and got an email for a free 3 month trial of Sling. I sent it to him since it's for his Fire Stick.
I've been looking at Sling for myself. I would end up with the Blue & Orange package for $40 a month which I think is cheaper than my cable. That's the challenge I've been running into, by the time I subscribe to a "cord cutting" alternative it's just another bill but the internet + this new service costs about what the cable & internet package did.

That's a long rant way of asking if anyone has Sling, what their thoughts are and do you use NFL Network and The Red Zone (the two things he really cares about)

[Mittengirl]

On 12/5/2019 at 4:39 PM, Dani said:

When I sign up I either immediately cancel so I don’t have to remember to cancel

To clarify - Netflix offers a free month, so you sign up today, cancel tomorrow, but can still watch for the remainder of the month?

If so, I need to go dig out the Netflix offer from my email’s trash can.

When I sign up for a streaming service, I always pay using a gift card, that way I never have to cancel. When I have used up whatever timeframe I have paid for, the service tells me I have to add a payment method or the account will be canceled.  It also serves to keep fewer companies from having my CC/bank info.  I do the same thing with iTunes and Tracfone.  

Edited December 7, 2019 by Mittengirl

[Guest]

1 hour ago, Mittengirl said:

To clarify - Netflix offers a free month, so you sign up today, cancel tomorrow, but can still watch for the remainder of the month?

If so, I need to go dig out the Netflix offer from my email’s trash can.

Yes. Netflix (and most of the streaming services) treat the free trial like a paid month. You don’t even have to wait a day. I usually cancel my free trials within minutes and still get the full trial period.

[Cobb Salad]

9 hours ago, Mittengirl said:

When I sign up for a streaming service, I always pay using a gift card, that way I never have to cancel. When I have used up whatever timeframe I have paid for, the service tells me I have to add a payment method or the account will be canceled.  It also serves to keep fewer companies from having my CC/bank info.  I do the same thing with iTunes and Tracfone.  

I’ve generated virtual credit card numbers from my credit card that offers it.  That virtual number has a card expiration date that is before the next billing period.  

[SmithW6079]

On 12/7/2019 at 2:44 AM, Mittengirl said:

When I sign up for a streaming service, I always pay using a gift card, that way I never have to cancel. When I have used up whatever timeframe I have paid for, the service tells me I have to add a payment method or the account will be canceled.  It also serves to keep fewer companies from having my CC/bank info.  I do the same thing with iTunes and Tracfone.  

On 12/7/2019 at 11:51 AM, Cobb Salad said:

I’ve generated virtual credit card numbers from my credit card that offers it.  That virtual number has a card expiration date that is before the next billing period.  

Those are good ideas. Wish I'd thought about doing that before I just ordered Hulu.

So I broke down and ordered Hulu to take advantage of the $1.99/month for the first 12 months, primarily because I wanted to watch "The Orville" when it comes back. However, I spent a bunch of time yesterday watching "Letterkenny" (I'd only seen the intro videos on YouTube), and I've discovered a whole bunch of other shows I used to watch (like "Penguins of Madagascar" and the original "Animaniacs" and "Lost in Space"). Still don't know if I'll keep it when it goes up at the end of the year, but for now, it's kind of exciting to have so much more TV. The only thing I find frustrating is that casting it from my phone to my TV doesn't give me rewind or 10-second-back capabilities.

[GHScorpiosRule]

 

This is me after trying to watch all these Classic Bollywood movies that are now available on Netflix and Amazon Prime, and discovering that they've chopped up, deleted, skipped over good chunks of scenes! Why? It's not like these are on VHS tapes, where the excuse was not enough space! So I end up going to get my DVD copy and watch it on that. Only ONE movie, out of say, 10 I've watched so far, didn't have anything edited out.

And I would certainly love to know the reasoning behind it/who decides to cut the stuff out. And it's aggravating, because a good number of these movies just are not available on DVD.

[biakbiak]

I thought the Spencer movie on Netflix with Mark Wahlberg was atrocious but it made me discover that Spencer for Hire is streaming on Amazon Prime!

[Jaded]

6 minutes ago, biakbiak said:

I thought the Spencer movie on Netflix with Mark Wahlberg was atrocious but it made me discover that Spencer for Hire is streaming on Amazon Prime!

Thank you for mentioning this. I've been checking every so often for a few years to see if any streaming sites streamed the show. The last I checked on Amazon they weren't. I see it's through IMDB TV which is free and has it's own app if people don't have Prime. I wish one of these streaming outlets would acquire the 70's show Vega$ which also starred Robert Urich. 

[kassygreene]

Not entirely sure if this belongs here, but it was the closest fit (please move as necessary).

I've been expecting the cable companies to start streaming some premium channels (Xfinity watchathon is due within the month based on years gone by, and they have been doing a lot of weekend-long free stuff for the past month), but today Comcast surprised me:  March 20 through April 19, they are offering Showtime, EPIX, History Vault, Grokker Yoga Fitness, and DogTV.

[jah1986]

Today I finally signed up for Hulu with Live TV. I previously had Hulu+ with no commercials. So, when I watch my shows the next day or whenever I want to, do I no longer have the option of watching commercial free?

[Kel Varnsen]

So since we are stuck at home we signed up for CBS all access for the free month. It is ok, at least the Canadian version, but not great. You would think with the amount of stuff CBS has put out since they were founded and the amount of other stuff their parent company owns it would be way better.

But it did get me thinking, with all these networks starting streaming services they would be a great place to dump unaired pilots. Because CBS and NBC must have vaults full of pilot episodes that never ended up as shows. Some of them have to be good. And even the bad ones probably have people who became famous on them. It would be cool to be able to check those out.

[DearEvette]

I also got the free 30 days of CBS all access.  I am pretty sure 30 days will be all I need.  Most CBS offerings aren't to my taste.  I did watch all of Star Trek: Picard, both seasons of Tell Me a Story and Jordan Peele's Twilight Zone.  Best discovery, imo, was The Unicorn -- which felt very un-CBS like.  More like an NBC comedy.  But yeah I have bsically exhausted what I want to see there.

[GHScorpiosRule]

I'm WAITING for PeacockTV to become available so I can watch Psych Two: The Movie! It was supposed to become available to x1 customers of Xfnity YESTERDAY. But nothing. Still nothing today. And NO ONE I can talk to about WHEN I will get it.

I need My GUSN'SHAWN! DAMMIT!

Edited April 16, 2020 by GHScorpiosRule

[Kel Varnsen]

1 hour ago, DearEvette said:

I also got the free 30 days of CBS all access.  I am pretty sure 30 days will be all I need.  Most CBS offerings aren't to my taste.  I did watch all of Star Trek: Picard, both seasons of Tell Me a Story and Jordan Peele's Twilight Zone.  Best discovery, imo, was The Unicorn -- which felt very un-CBS like.  More like an NBC comedy.  But yeah I have bsically exhausted what I want to see there.

What I don't get about CBS All Access is it seems like such a half assed attempt at a streaming services. I imagine if they put up every available show since CBS started in 1928, every available CW show, every available show from the Viacom owned cable networks like MTV, BET, Showtime, Comedy Central and Nickelodeon. And every available Paramount Pictures movie. Hell every available classic Walter Cronkite news broadcast. If they did that it would be a streaming service to rival Netflix.

[janie jones]

2 hours ago, Kel Varnsen said:

But it did get me thinking, with all these networks starting streaming services they would be a great place to dump unaired pilots. Because CBS and NBC must have vaults full of pilot episodes that never ended up as shows. Some of them have to be good. And even the bad ones probably have people who became famous on them. It would be cool to be able to check those out.

I can imagine all the campaigns to get some of these unsuccessful pilots made into shows.

[GHScorpiosRule]

Finally got through to an actual human being. The articles about who will be able to get peacock just contradict the reality.

Articles I’ve read stated that x1 would get it as of April 15, Flex subscribers, over the next couple weeks, and everyone else, when it’s released nationally on July 15. Another article had it flipped: Flexers: immediately on April 15; x1 would have to wait about a couple to “a few” weeks.

The agent I spoke to said: nope. It’s not released yet. Only Flexers can watch; Everyone else will get it on July 15!

GAH! This is what’s so frustrating. FIRST, they removed STARZ from my bundle, and now this.

But, they’re having a meeting tomorrow and the same agent will call back to let me know.

[Guest]

8 hours ago, Kel Varnsen said:

What I don't get about CBS All Access is it seems like such a half assed attempt at a streaming services. I imagine if they put up every available show since CBS started in 1928, every available CW show, every available show from the Viacom owned cable networks like MTV, BET, Showtime, Comedy Central and Nickelodeon. And every available Paramount Pictures movie. Hell every available classic Walter Cronkite news broadcast. If they did that it would be a streaming service to rival Netflix.

They are supposed to be launching a new streaming service sometime this year. 

[Guest]

11 hours ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

GAH! This is what’s so frustrating. FIRST, they removed STARZ from my bundle, and now this.

I realized a few days ago when I went to watch something on Starz that Comcrap removed it from MY bundle, too. So, I called them to find out why since I was under the impression that I was paying for it. And I shit you not, hand to god, the rep told me it was removed because of a contract fight and that Comcrap was pissed at 50 Cent for dissing them on social media. 

So, after finding out that bit of petty nonsense, I was informed that they replaced it in my bundle with HITZ (huh?) and Epix. I could pay for Starz but it was no longer available for the bundle. And the rep told me that Peacock would be available for free but I'm not sure when.

I'm good, thanks. 

[GHScorpiosRule]

54 minutes ago, Giant Misfit said:

I realized a few days ago when I went to watch something on Starz that Comcrap removed it from MY bundle, too. So, I called them to find out why since I was under the impression that I was paying for it. And I shit you not, hand to god, the rep told me it was removed because of a contract fight and that Comcrap was pissed at 50 Cent for dissing them on social media. 

So, after finding out that bit of petty nonsense, I was informed that they replaced it in my bundle with HITZ (huh?) and Epix. I could pay for Starz but it was no longer available for the bundle. And the rep told me that Peacock would be available for free but I'm not sure when.

I'm good, thanks. 

I KNOW! And they were rat bastards about it, too! They played and allowed me to have the repeats of Outlander up until the day of its premiere, and then yanked it. Like I give any figgedity FUCKS about HITZ or Epix. If where I lived had other options, like Verizion FiOS or Dish, etc., I'd snap it up. But I'm stuck with Comcrap (I'm totally stealing this!) for the foreseeable future. So while Outlander is airing, I've got STARZ free for the first month and only paying $5 for the remaining month via Amazon Prime Video and then I'm cancelling that subscription.

Edited April 17, 2020 by GHScorpiosRule
Clarify the inexpensive price for STARZ

[Magnumfangirl]

On 4/16/2020 at 11:42 AM, Kel Varnsen said:

What I don't get about CBS All Access is it seems like such a half assed attempt at a streaming services. I imagine if they put up every available show since CBS started in 1928, every available CW show, every available show from the Viacom owned cable networks like MTV, BET, Showtime, Comedy Central and Nickelodeon. And every available Paramount Pictures movie. Hell every available classic Walter Cronkite news broadcast. If they did that it would be a streaming service to rival Netflix.

I've subscribed to CBS All Access on and off for a year to watch some classic shows and catch up on some current ones.  I agree that's it lacking in content.  They sent me a survey last week and my suggestion to them was to add more of their classic shows.  I'm sure it will fall on deaf ears because they are all in on crappy original stuff that wouldn't make it on the network.

[Mittengirl]

Is there a website that allows you to input the name of a show/movie and it will tell you where/if it is streaming?

l have tried Hulu, Netflix and Amazon Prime and haven’t been impressed enough to keep any of them.  Prime Video wasn’t the reason I subscribed to Prime but was a factor in why I cancelled.  It seemed like everything I wanted to watch had an additional cost.  Netflix and Hulu also didn’t really have much I wanted to watch, unless they had more stuff that I couldn't find.  I was disappointed in how little classic/old (pre-90’s) tv they had.

[Cobb Salad]

14 minutes ago, Mittengirl said:

Is there a website that allows you to input the name of a show/movie and it will tell you where/if it is streaming?

IMDB shows upcoming airings. 

[dargosmydaddy]

19 minutes ago, Mittengirl said:

Is there a website that allows you to input the name of a show/movie and it will tell you where/if it is streaming?

justwatch.com

[Irlandesa]

2 hours ago, Mittengirl said:

Is there a website that allows you to input the name of a show/movie and it will tell you where/if it is streaming?

Justwatch is the most comprehensive.  Google hits the big ones.  Amazon is actually pretty decent at showing where it's streaming on the more obscure streaming sites as they have a lot of "add on partnerships."  So even if it's not covered in Prime Video, it'll say "streaming with the X Service add on." 

Quote

I was disappointed in how little classic/old (pre-90’s) tv they had.

A lot of streaming services used to have more older content but the money is in distribution of original content, or so it is said.  Plus, all the production companies now want to offer their own content on their own service.  Netflix has slowly and and intentionally shed older series as their original content increased.

[kassygreene]

Reelgood.com is pretty good.

[Magnumfangirl]

14 hours ago, Irlandesa said:

A lot of streaming services used to have more older content but the money is in distribution of original content, or so it is said. 

That's what they claim, but I've always found that hard to believe.  TV show production is massively expensive.

[biakbiak]

Amazon Prime announced that they are partnering with SXSW to show some movies and tv shows that were supposed to premiere the festival the list of movies and shows can be found here. They will be available for free to anyone in the US starting April 27 through May 6th.