6 ms·

What's wrong with Bell/Saw/Rogers having their own streaming services? I've found Bell's Crave TV to be pretty good, Shomi not as much.

by kejaed 10y ago

Cuuugi 10y ago
Crave TV has great content, but they have been very frustrating for me technically. Random drops in the stream, session cookies getting corrupted (they only recently allow password changes from their site).
- kejaed 10y ago
  Agree with that 100%. Any time I've had to use web/iOS apps for Crave, I've wondered what is up with Bell Media's software people. The TSN app is just as poor, especially compared to what Rogers' Sportsnet app is doing on iOS.
pmelendez 10y ago
May I ask what you don't like about Shomi? Is it the content?
- dibujante 10y ago
  The technical delivery is poor. Hiccups, corruption, and drops in service are pretty common :(
  - CountHackulus 10y ago
    I don't think I've gotten through a single episode without the PS4 app either crashing or the stream freezing.
    - nucleardog 10y ago
      Similarly, I think I've successfully watched maybe three things from Shomi on my Chromecast while Netflix/Spotify/etc are working flawlessly. Not being able to stream to my TV kind of defeats the point for me.
unprepare 10y ago
you mean besides the obvious conflict of interest?
thrusong 10y ago
It might just be my experience dealing with Bell when we had ExpressVu before becoming cable cutters, and Shaw's Internet service when I was growing up. I also hate the things Bell has tried to do through the CRTC, like that whole Internet thing with smaller providers using its pipes. I guess it's a principal thing. EDIT: Another example... I used to always choose Famous Players for movies. I avoided Cineplex. Then Cplex gobbled up Famous and I started going to Landmark. I should be able to choose where I consume my content.
- yuhong 10y ago
  Yea, the CRTC is much better than what it was years ago. They are pushing for channel unbundling for example now.
  - Corvus 10y ago
    Yeah, and look how well that turned out: http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/crtc-skinny-basic-pick-and-pay-1.3472647 http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/crtc-skinny-basic-pick-and-p... (Spoiler: the unbundled packages cost more and have fewer shows)
CamperBob2 10y ago
To understand what's wrong with that, you need to go back over 100 years. Do a search on the legends and lore behind a device called the "Strowger switch." This question is the very heart of network neutrality. You don't want your cable company running a competing streaming service. Really, you don't.
sickbeard 10y ago
You have to be a subscriber to cable
mmanfrin 10y ago
Which highlights the same situation, but reversed for US watchers: CraveTV owns rights to some shows that don't appear in the US (Letterkenny), but there is no way to get it in the US. The only way to legally pay for Letterkenny is by VPNing (which would/could be considered illegal in the US as 'circumventing protection'). Media companies need to grow up.

What's wrong with Bell/Saw/Rogers having their own streaming services? I've found Bell's Crave TV to be pretty good, Shomi not as much.

by kejaed 10y ago

What's wrong with Bell/Saw/Rogers having their own streaming services? I've found Bell's Crave TV to be pretty good, Shomi not as much.

Cuuugi 10y ago

Crave TV has great content, but they have been very frustrating for me technically. Random drops in the stream, session cookies getting corrupted (they only recently allow password changes from their site).

kejaed 10y ago
Agree with that 100%. Any time I've had to use web/iOS apps for Crave, I've wondered what is up with Bell Media's software people. The TSN app is just as poor, especially compared to what Rogers' Sportsnet app is doing on iOS.

pmelendez 10y ago

May I ask what you don't like about Shomi? Is it the content?

dibujante 10y ago
The technical delivery is poor. Hiccups, corruption, and drops in service are pretty common :(
- CountHackulus 10y ago
  I don't think I've gotten through a single episode without the PS4 app either crashing or the stream freezing.
  - nucleardog 10y ago
    Similarly, I think I've successfully watched maybe three things from Shomi on my Chromecast while Netflix/Spotify/etc are working flawlessly. Not being able to stream to my TV kind of defeats the point for me.

unprepare 10y ago

you mean besides the obvious conflict of interest?

thrusong 10y ago

It might just be my experience dealing with Bell when we had ExpressVu before becoming cable cutters, and Shaw's Internet service when I was growing up. I also hate the things Bell has tried to do through the CRTC, like that whole Internet thing with smaller providers using its pipes. I guess it's a principal thing. EDIT: Another example... I used to always choose Famous Players for movies. I avoided Cineplex. Then Cplex gobbled up Famous and I started going to Landmark. I should be able to choose where I consume my content.

yuhong 10y ago
Yea, the CRTC is much better than what it was years ago. They are pushing for channel unbundling for example now.
- Corvus 10y ago
  Yeah, and look how well that turned out: http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/crtc-skinny-basic-pick-and-pay-1.3472647 http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/crtc-skinny-basic-pick-and-p... (Spoiler: the unbundled packages cost more and have fewer shows)

CamperBob2 10y ago

To understand what's wrong with that, you need to go back over 100 years. Do a search on the legends and lore behind a device called the "Strowger switch." This question is the very heart of network neutrality. You don't want your cable company running a competing streaming service. Really, you don't.

sickbeard 10y ago

You have to be a subscriber to cable

mmanfrin 10y ago

Which highlights the same situation, but reversed for US watchers: CraveTV owns rights to some shows that don't appear in the US (Letterkenny), but there is no way to get it in the US. The only way to legally pay for Letterkenny is by VPNing (which would/could be considered illegal in the US as 'circumventing protection'). Media companies need to grow up.