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

[Babalu]

I don’t have cable/satellite anymore. I do have plenty of TV, though - Hulu Plus Live TV, bundled with ESPN (which I don’t use) and Disney+, as well as HBO and Showtime/Cinemax add-ons. PLUS Netflix and Amazon Prime as apps. I just go to Hulu to watch HBO Max, and I didn’t even have to download a new app when it switched from HBO Go. I was afraid the transition wouldn’t go smoothly because I use a Firestick, so my home screen is heavily oriented toward Amazon, but it was seamless. And Hulu with all my bundles and premiums is less than half what I paid my satellite provider.
 

Negatives: it’s a little harder to navigate until you get used to it, and the DVR functionality isn’t as good. There is no physical DVR, just a cloud DVR with limited recording capacity, which doesn’t bother me because everything shows up in “My Stuff” & you can just stream it. I do, however miss seeing what I’m recording in the future and being able to sort my recordings alphabetically or chronologically.

[Guest]

20 minutes ago, Babalu said:

 

I don’t have cable/satellite anymore. I do have plenty of TV, though - Hulu Plus Live TV, bundled with ESPN (which I don’t use) and Disney+, as well as HBO and Showtime/Cinemax add-ons. PLUS Netflix and Amazon Prime as apps. I just go to Hulu to watch HBO Max, and I didn’t even have to download a new app when it switched from HBO Go. I was afraid the transition wouldn’t go smoothly because I use a Firestick, so my home screen is heavily oriented toward Amazon, but it was seamless. And Hulu with all my bundles and premiums is less than half what I paid my satellite provider.

 

Do you have the full HBO Max when you watch through Hulu? I was going to sign up that way but read that you only get HBO content and not things like Friends or Big Bang Theory. 

[Babalu]

@Dani - I’m sorry, I didn’t realize there was an HBO MAX that incorporated non-HBO shows. I don’t have Friends (except for 5 random episodes that were apparently on TBS recently) or The Big Bang Theory (except 1 episode). You could add them to “My Stuff,” and they would be recorded from regular channels when they’re aired in syndication, but I realize thar’s far from the same thing. 

 I’m going to check with Hulu and/or try to use the sideloading method described on the previous page. I don’t have time right now but will get back to you.

[Guest]

49 minutes ago, Babalu said:

@Dani - I’m sorry, I didn’t realize there was an HBO MAX that incorporated non-HBO shows. I don’t have Friends (except for 5 random episodes that were apparently on TBS recently) or The Big Bang Theory (except 1 episode). You could add them to “My Stuff,” and they would be recorded from regular channels when they’re aired in syndication, but I realize thar’s far from the same thing. 

 I’m going to check with Hulu and/or try to use the sideloading method described on the previous page. I don’t have time right now but will get back to you.

Thanks. That matches what I heard when HBO Max launched. I ended up subscribing directly and side loading it on my Fire Stick. It works well but is a pain when there’s an update. 

 

2 hours ago, JTMacc99 said:

HBO Max is not only available but integrated as a channel along with Netflix, Prime, Disney and a few others. Im guessing Peacock is available through the regular android app feature. 
 

It might not be good for everyone.  Here is a review of it and what it does. 
 

ETA: that article says it doesn’t have HBO Max, but it does now.

Thanks for posting this. I think I may end up getting that rather than replacing my Firesticks like I had been planning. I love TiVo’s interface. 

[Babalu]

@Dani - partial solution found, though I guess you’ve already found your own and this might depend on the kind of non-TV device you’re using. I signed in to the HBO MAX app on my iPad using my Hulu sign-in info, and now I have Friends, Studio Ghibli, etc., but only when I open the HBO MAX app and only on my iPad. If I access it via Hulu, I still get only HBO content. Haven’t successfully sideloaded it to my TV yet.

[BradyBunchFan]

Disney to release Mulan online Sept. 4 on Disney Plus, for $30 in US

[MaryMitch]

4 hours ago, BradyBunchFan said:

Disney to release Mulan online Sept. 4 on Disney Plus, for $30 in US

$30? Are they kidding?

[Guest]

8 hours ago, MaryMitch said:

$30? Are they kidding?

I usually hate VOD but I find this idea intriguing. I’d rather pay $30 for a movie and have access for a couple of months than $20 for a 2 day rental. Definitely not as wide an appeal as a movie ticket but a pretty good deal for families and repeat watchers. 

[Irlandesa]

At first I thought it was just a rental which would still be valuable for people with families but utter nonsense for singletons or couples who live in areas where a ticket to the movies doesn't cost $15 an entrance.

But I also think it's a sly sunk cost fallacy at work.  This is essentially buying it and people will get continuous access as long as they keep their Disney+ account.  If someone stops their subscription, they lose access to what they "bought" for $30.  It'd still save money to stop by psychology around money is a funny thing.

I wonder if people buy the movie, then later stop their subscription and re-start at a later date, if they'll be able to access the movie.

[meowmommy]

8 hours ago, Irlandesa said:

I wonder if people buy the movie, then later stop their subscription and re-start at a later date, if they'll be able to access the movie.

So wouldn't it make more sense to buy the DVD?

[Irlandesa]

7 minutes ago, meowmommy said:

So wouldn't it make more sense to buy the DVD?

In theory.  Yes.  But I'm going to be honest, I can't remember the last time I put in a DVD and I imagine there are others like me.

[Guest]

9 hours ago, meowmommy said:

So wouldn't it make more sense to buy the DVD?

Not when you have multiple people who will watch on different tv’s or houses and inevitably the dvd gets scratched or lost once no one  wants to watch it anymore. Then a couple years later someone wants to watch but you can’t find it or it won’t play and end up just watching on Disney+ anyway. I love DVD’s in theory. In reality, they are too fragile and become clutter. 

9 hours ago, Irlandesa said:

In theory.  Yes.  But I'm going to be honest, I can't remember the last time I put in a DVD and I imagine there are others like me.

I can’t either. I don’t even have a DVD player set up anymore and I think all of my DVD’s are in storage. 

[Bastet]

I fall asleep to a disc most nights, some of which I have watched many, many times.  I have yet to have one wear out or get lost.

I watch streaming, too (something that wasn't generally true until this year), but anything I really love and plan to watch again and again, I want on DVD/Blu-Ray.

[Llywela]

6 hours ago, Bastet said:

I fall asleep to a disc most nights, some of which I have watched many, many times.  I have yet to have one wear out or get lost.

I watch streaming, too (something that wasn't generally true until this year), but anything I really love and plan to watch again and again, I want on DVD/Blu-Ray.

Me too. Streaming content feels dangerously ephemeral to me - you are able to watch it only at the whim of the provider, who may decide to withdraw that piece of content from their library at a moment's notice (I've known people have shows disappear from Netflix literally mid-episode, while they were watching). But a physical DVD that you own (and treat well), no one can take that from you. 

So, there is value to both methods of viewing content. 

[MissAlmond]

2 hours ago, Llywela said:

Me too. Streaming content feels dangerously ephemeral to me - you are able to watch it only at the whim of the provider, who may decide to withdraw that piece of content from their library at a moment's notice (I've known people have shows disappear from Netflix literally mid-episode, while they were watching). But a physical DVD that you own (and treat well), no one can take that from you. 

Same here.  If there's a TV show/movie I really, really, love and know I'll watch again whenever, I purchase the DVD.  The cloud ain't the boss of me.  

Edited August 7, 2020 by MissAlmond

[Bort]

2 hours ago, Llywela said:

But a physical DVD that you own (and treat well), no one can take that from you. 

Until the DVD player breaks and they stop making them. It’ll happen eventually, it did for VHS. 

[Llywela]

14 minutes ago, kariyaki said:

Until the DVD player breaks and they stop making them. It’ll happen eventually, it did for VHS. 

And until then I will continue to enjoy my DVD library, which includes a lot of content that has never made it to any streaming service.

Honestly, I think there will always be a market for physical media in some form or another. And this isn't an either/or scenario. It is okay to appreciate both, they don't have to be defined in opposition to one another. There is room for both streaming and physical media - they each have different strengths and weaknesses.

(In fact, I still own a functioning VHS player and multiple videos of stuff that never made the transition to DVD, so...)

Edited August 7, 2020 by Llywela

[Bort]

I still have a VCR too although it sits in a closet somewhere. 

In the end, whether one buys the digital media or a hard copy, there’s always going to be the inherent risk that it will eventually no longer be accessible, no matter which one is picked. 

[Bastet]

4 hours ago, Llywela said:

(In fact, I still own a functioning VHS player and multiple videos of stuff that never made the transition to DVD, so...)

Me too (actually I still have two VCRs, from back when I recorded tape to tape).  I'm very (very!) slowly transferring the VHS I want to keep that isn't commercially available onto DVD-R, so I still have it when the VCRs quit working.

[JTMacc99]

@peachmangosteen and @Dani, my TiVo Stream 4K was delivered by Amazon yesterday.  It took some time to set up, connect all most of the services I subscribe to with passwords and authentication. I still haven't figured out Android TV entirely. For example, the Showtime app is integrated in the main group of services right on the top of the TiVo interface. However Showtime won't authenticate me through Spectrum the way Starz and HBOMax did. It says "use the Showtime Anytime app".  But I still haven't figured out how to find the Showtime Anytime app. It's in there somewhere. Heh.

Having said all that, it's a really nice little streaming device! It fires up the services WAY faster than my old Roku and it makes relevant suggestions across all the services for me.  For example, it suggested Umbrella Academy, which I have not watched but for sure is in my wheelhouse.  So for $50, it looks like this will make my streaming easier.

[peachmangosteen]

Thanks for the info, @JTMacc99. I'm seriously considering getting it. I mean, $50 isn't too bad really!

[JTMacc99]

That price point puts it in the middle of the Roku's right?  

I do think that the Roku makes it easier to find and accumulate all of the miscellaneous streaming services. But I'm pretty much just streaming the big guys, and this device makes it super easy to do what I want to do.

[Guest]

On 8/10/2020 at 6:55 AM, JTMacc99 said:

@peachmangosteen and @Dani, my TiVo Stream 4K was delivered by Amazon yesterday.  It took some time to set up, connect all most of the services I subscribe to with passwords and authentication. I still haven't figured out Android TV entirely. For example, the Showtime app is integrated in the main group of services right on the top of the TiVo interface. However Showtime won't authenticate me through Spectrum the way Starz and HBOMax did. It says "use the Showtime Anytime app".  But I still haven't figured out how to find the Showtime Anytime app. It's in there somewhere. Heh.

Having said all that, it's a really nice little streaming device! It fires up the services WAY faster than my old Roku and it makes relevant suggestions across all the services for me.  For example, it suggested Umbrella Academy, which I have not watched but for sure is in my wheelhouse.  So for $50, it looks like this will make my streaming easier.

Thanks for the recommendation. I decided to get one and it really is a great deal for 4K. It’s definitely not as easy to setup as some of the others but once I figured it out it works really well. It took me quite awhile to find the App Store so I could download more apps but that’s still easier than side loading on my old firestick. 

[peachmangosteen]

@JTMacc99 @Dani Could you guys let me know if the Tivo has CBS All Access, Pluto tv, and Peacock? I assume it has Netflix, youtube, hulu, disney+, and all the networks, so those 3 are the only other ones I use/would want to use.

[Guest]

1 hour ago, peachmangosteen said:

@JTMacc99 @Dani Could you guys let me know if the Tivo has CBS All Access, Pluto tv, and Peacock? I assume it has Netflix, youtube, hulu, disney+, and all the networks, so those 3 are the only other ones I use/would want to use.

It does. 

Edited August 22, 2020 by Guest

[Chaos Theory]

On 8/5/2020 at 10:11 AM, BradyBunchFan said:

Disney to release Mulan online Sept. 4 on Disney Plus, for $30 in US

 

On 8/5/2020 at 11:45 PM, Dani said:

I usually hate VOD but I find this idea intriguing. I’d rather pay $30 for a movie and have access for a couple of months than $20 for a 2 day rental. Definitely not as wide an appeal as a movie ticket but a pretty good deal for families and repeat watchers. 

If you have kids or need to babysit them having access to their favorite show for a couple months is worth the $30 especially since kids will watch the same movie over and over and over again.   Trust me after the fifth viewing you more then got your money’s worth.   

[BetterButter]

After six months and $1.8 billion, Quibi wants a new owner. That will be a hard sell.

[ClassicShowsFan]

7 hours ago, BetterButter said:

After six months and $1.8 billion, Quibi wants a new owner. That will be a hard sell.

That’s not good.

[Anduin]

8 hours ago, BetterButter said:

After six months and $1.8 billion, Quibi wants a new owner. That will be a hard sell.

From all I've heard, and I'm not claiming to be an expert or even very well read on the subject, they spotted a gap in the market that wasn't actually there to start with.

[biakbiak]

5 hours ago, Anduin said:

From all I've heard, and I'm not claiming to be an expert or even very well read on the subject, they spotted a gap in the market that wasn't actually there to start with.

I agree that launching a platform based on short attention spans and phone addiction probably wasn’t as big a market as they imagined. However, when you add that they marketed it almost entirely on watching these short bites on your morning commute or standing in line when you are getting your before work coffee or lunch that you will bring back to your desk, and in the middle of your hectic go, go life and launched it in the middle of a pandemic that completely wiped most of those behaviors from everyone’s daily routine across the globe it really never stood a chance.

[BetterButter]

 

[krankydoodle]

Peacock is finally available through Roku. I've been enjoying dipping into Monk and Murder, She Wrote and am happy they have some classic horror movies to watch in October, but I'm a little annoyed that a few of the movies I had on my watchlist are gone. I know rights can get complicated and expensive, but they launched so recently that I didn't expect them to be removing stuff so soon. Oh, well. At least a good number of Hitchcock's movies are still up.

[Anduin]

5 hours ago, biakbiak said:

I agree that launching a platform based on short attention spans and phone addiction probably wasn’t as big a market as they imagined. However, when you add that they marketed it almost entirely on watching these short bites on your morning commute or standing in line when you are getting your before work coffee or lunch that you will bring back to your desk, and in the middle of your hectic go, go life and launched it in the middle of a pandemic that completely wiped most of those behaviors from everyone’s daily routine across the globe it really never stood a chance.

Yeah, I can see that.

[paulvdb]

Even without the pandemic I doubt there was really a market for Quibi. When I watch my paid premium content I'd like to give it my full attention. Waiting in line or commuting are not exactly the kind of times when I'd be able to do that, so if I am on my phone I'll be doing something that doesn't require my full attention.

I watch my paid streaming services at home on my big screen where I can give it my full attention and get the best video and audio quality. But Quibi was so invested in their business model that they would not even give people the option to watch on their big screens at home.

[Irlandesa]

34 minutes ago, paulvdb said:

Even without the pandemic I doubt there was really a market for Quibi.

I agree.  The kind of content that is meant to be watched to accommodate distractions shouldn't be exclusively on a device that people use to distract themselves while watching that kind of easy-to-follow-while-distracted content.

It's just so much head scratching involved in this.  The amount of money they raised. Just think of the good it could do.  The exclusivity to a phone.  The not owning its content.  The not allowing for screen caps. 

And I don't want this to be forgotten, the greenlighting of the Steven Spielberg project which is only to be watched when
it's dark.

I can't wait for the podcasts/books/movies/TV series to come out about this. 

. 

Edited September 23, 2020 by Irlandesa

[Guest]

32 minutes ago, Irlandesa said:

I agree.  The kind of content that is meant to be watched to accommodate distractions shouldn't be exclusively on a device that people use to distract themselves while watching that kind of easy-to-follow-while-distracted content.

It's just so much head scratching involved in this.  The amount of money they raised. Just think of the good it could do.  The exclusivity to a phone.  The not owning its content.  The not allowing for screen caps. 

And I don't want this to be forgotten, the greenlighting of the Steven Spielberg project which is only to be watched when
it's dark.

I can't wait for the podcasts/books/movies/TV series to come out about this. 

I completely missed that Spielberg show announcement. That’s hilariously bad. Who looks technology today and thinks people will actually pay to watch more restrictive and shorter content. 

I’ve been watching a few documentaries about Disney animation lately so I can’t say it surprises me that Katzenberg did absolutely everything wrong with Quibi. Anyone who watches Little Mermaid and think “Part of Your World” needs to be cut is seriously out of touch with audiences. 

[Zella]

10 hours ago, paulvdb said:

Even without the pandemic I doubt there was really a market for Quibi. When I watch my paid premium content I'd like to give it my full attention. Waiting in line or commuting are not exactly the kind of times when I'd be able to do that, so if I am on my phone I'll be doing something that doesn't require my full attention.

I watch my paid streaming services at home on my big screen where I can give it my full attention and get the best video and audio quality. But Quibi was so invested in their business model that they would not even give people the option to watch on their big screens at home.

This was my issue. I hate watching anything on my phone. Won't even watch YouTube videos on it. I want to be on my laptop, and the fact I couldn't initially watch Quibi content on a laptop meant I was never going to sign up. And they were such jackasses about everything that it made me never want to subscribe even after they started to loosen up. 

[ClassicShowsFan]

Netflix October 2020 Schedule and First Looks

Showtime October 2020 Movies and TV Titles Announced

Here's Everything Coming to Disney+ in October 2020

The Best TV Shows & Movies Coming to Hulu in October 2020

Edited September 24, 2020 by ClassicShowsFan

[meowmommy]

On 9/22/2020 at 10:24 AM, krankydoodle said:

Peacock is finally available through Roku. I've been enjoying dipping into Monk and Murder, She Wrote and am happy they have some classic horror movies to watch in October, but I'm a little annoyed that a few of the movies I had on my watchlist are gone.

We've had it as a freebie through Cox since the launch, and I've been underwhelmed.  As in, haven't watched a single thing. 

I don't understand why the one show I want to watch, The Good Place, which is an NBC show, is not in their catalog.  I've finished three seasons on Netflix and I want season 4.  Lots of sites said it would be on Netflix on September 26, but nothing on Netflix itself gives that indication.  Guess I'll know in two days.

And the fact that HBO Max is STILL not on Roku all these months later is infuriating.  They're all cutting off their noses to spite their faces, as we customers get screwed.

[ClassicShowsFan]

45 minutes ago, meowmommy said:

We've had it as a freebie through Cox since the launch, and I've been underwhelmed.  As in, haven't watched a single thing. 

I don't understand why the one show I want to watch, The Good Place, which is an NBC show, is not in their catalog.  I've finished three seasons on Netflix and I want season 4.  Lots of sites said it would be on Netflix on September 26, but nothing on Netflix itself gives that indication.  Guess I'll know in two days.

And the fact that HBO Max is STILL not on Roku all these months later is infuriating.  They're all cutting off their noses to spite their faces, as we customers get screwed.

Xfinity also has Peacock Premium for free if you have an X1 device.

[Guest]

3 hours ago, meowmommy said:

I don't understand why the one show I want to watch, The Good Place, which is an NBC show, is not in their catalog.  I've finished three seasons on Netflix and I want season 4.  Lots of sites said it would be on Netflix on September 26, but nothing on Netflix itself gives that indication.  Guess I'll know in two days.

Sept. 26th is the official date for season 4. 

 

[meowmommy]

I just discovered I can play all the music from my iPod, iPad, or iPhone through my Roku.  This makes me absurdly happy.

 

[ClassicShowsFan]

‘Saturday Night Live’ Full 45-Season Library to Start Streaming on Peacock

[Popples]

19 hours ago, ClassicShowsFan said:

‘Saturday Night Live’ Full 45-Season Library to Start Streaming on Peacock

I've only watched one thing on Peacock, but I'm ready to revisit those Phil Hartman golden years. 

[ClassicShowsFan]

2 minutes ago, Popples said:

I've only watched one thing on Peacock, but I'm ready to revisit those Phil Hartman golden years. 

My mom and I have only watched some episodes of Two and a Half Men, half of a 21 Jump Street episode and a few minutes of Man On The Moon.

Edited September 26, 2020 by ClassicShowsFan

[Guest]

Grab Google's New Chromecast for Free With a YouTube TV Subscription

Sign up for one month of YouTube TV ($65) and you get a $50 chromecast included. The offer is good through the end of the year. 

[kiddo82]

Here's a gripe that's going to make me seem old AF.  I've discovered that I prefer scrolling in silence.  I don't want a trailer or a clip of everything on Netflix or Amazon I happen to roll over.  Further, I hate the autoplay from one episode to the next.  Sometimes I like to take in what I just saw and I don't like having to race to my remote after the show ends to prevent the next ep from playing.  This also holds if I'm watching Karate Kid Part II.  I just want to rock out to The Glory of Love in peace.  

[Guest]

3 hours ago, kiddo82 said:

Here's a gripe that's going to make me seem old AF.  I've discovered that I prefer scrolling in silence.  I don't want a trailer or a clip of everything on Netflix or Amazon I happen to roll over.  Further, I hate the autoplay from one episode to the next.  Sometimes I like to take in what I just saw and I don't like having to race to my remote after the show ends to prevent the next ep from playing.  This also holds if I'm watching Karate Kid Part II.  I just want to rock out to The Glory of Love in peace.  

On Netflix you can turn off both of those settings. How to turn autoplay on or off

On Amazon you can turn off autoplay. How to Turn Off Amazon Prime Video Auto Play 

If your using a firestick or firetv you can also turn off previews on Amazon Prime. 

[kiddo82]

That's a big help.  Thanks.

[meowmommy]

12 hours ago, kiddo82 said:

Here's a gripe that's going to make me seem old AF.  I've discovered that I prefer scrolling in silence.  I don't want a trailer or a clip of everything on Netflix or Amazon I happen to roll over.  Further, I hate the autoplay from one episode to the next.  Sometimes I like to take in what I just saw and I don't like having to race to my remote after the show ends to prevent the next ep from playing.  This also holds if I'm watching Karate Kid Part II.  I just want to rock out to The Glory of Love in peace.  

If that makes you old AF, then I've been dead for a hundred years.  I can't stand that I click on a tile I see on Netflix, just to read the description to decide if I want to watch it, and the video starts playing.  And it doesn't matter that I have my preferences set not to auto-play.