7 ms·

It has already happened to me as well. Look, I want a convenient way to watch movies. I would even be ready to pay more than I do right now to Netflix to have

It has already happened to me as well. Look, I want a convenient way to watch movies. I would even be ready to pay more than I do right now to Netflix to have a library of ALL the movies I want to watch. 1 library, not 10, especially if they may or may not contain the movie I want to see. My honeymoon period with Netflix and co is over. - I feel that their original content has dried out : there is even more of it, but it rarely interest me these days and I feel like the quality has dropped in favor of quantity. - Let's say I want to watch Blade Runner. I want the "final cut" (IMO the best version, it is the director's cut, unlike the "director's cut" which isn't one in this case). Well, I have just checked, this movie is not on Netflix. If it was, I would not have the choice of the cut. I would not be able to e.g. listen to the team commentary either. That's the first movie that sprung to my mind, but that's a good example of my experience with Netflix. A rolling library of content like what Netflix and co have is not what I want. At all. I want an ever growing one. I like to be able to get my content "legitimely" (quotes because if you watch old movies, chances are you are not paying the artists but the mega corporation who bought the rights to it but that's OT), and I am not looking for solutions to "cheat the system". However, right now torrenting sites are becoming again the most efficient (and in some cases only) solution to access the content I would like to watch.

josephdviviano 7y ago
This is why my local video store is still the better option.
- uxp100 7y ago
  It has far more titles than US netflix, at least. IDK what the size of the streaming "rental" catalogs are though.
auggierose 7y ago
They have Bladerunner 2049 though ;-)
- mey 7y ago
  But not in my region (US).
merlinsbrain 7y ago
If you’re willing to pay, why not rent from the iTunes Store / Amazon Prime? Pick one, they’ve had all the movies / TV shows I wanted to watch, which are not all mainstream. If there’s an exception and there’s something you don’t find it there - well, do you, but I really don’t understand how piracy is the default answer to convenience with people claiming they have the willingness to pay. Someone else commented about the local video store - also an option, if not something I’d do myself (does redbox count?)
- gbear605 7y ago
  Another good option is your local library system. They almost certainly have the dvd, and for free too.
  - criddell 7y ago
    Doesn't Netflix still do DVDs by mail? That might be a good option as well.
    - zainhoda 7y ago
      Yes. About a year ago, I resubscribed to Netflix DVDs because the library is so much better than what's on streaming. I feel like people have forgotten that the DVD library is enormous and has basically every movie you'd ever want -- and now that fewer people use it, you don't have long wait times anymore.
      - criddell 7y ago
        I've never bothered to resubscribe to Netflix DVDs because I've always been able to find what I'm looking for as a rental from Amazon or iTunes.
    - dawnerd 7y ago
      It's a shame they haven't adopted UHD. That'd give me a reason to re-subscribe.
    - 7y ago
zzzcpan 7y ago
It seems to me neither your case nor what parent comment describes is about convenience, but merely about not wanting to pay too much for all the streaming services. I mean I don't think you would pay 10x more for netflix if it had everything, right?
- katbyte 7y ago
  i'd pay 2-3x which is more than i pay now (I refuse to use more then netflix tbh)
- on_and_off 7y ago
  What about my case isn't about convenience exactly ? All of it is about convenience to access content. Netflix had it at first when its library was "fresh". But since it is a rolling library instead of an ever growing one, it almost never has the movie I want to watch. Blade Runner is the first example that came to mind and I believe that it is a good one. it is an acclaimed movie that should be very easy to find online. I would be ready to pay more for a Netflix like service with "everything". Actually I used to pay for multiple services at once. Would I pay 10 times ? I don't think so, personally I don't value such a service that highly but that's a subjective opinion (just like somebody could rightfully say that for them Netflix or Spotify are too costly) and a bit of a straw-man IMO.
- reificator 7y ago
  > I mean I don't think you would pay 10x more for netflix if it had everything, right? Have you heard of a thing called cable? True, after Netflix anchored it's price at a reasonable level for it's offerings, I probably would not pay 10x more. But a service that made it easy to watch everything under one interface could get more money out of me than Netflix. By one interface I mean search and/or browse in one place, click a video, optionally pay or subscribe with one click if needed, rinse, repeat. No switching between different catalogs, launching different apps, anything like that. Launching a different app for viewing is acceptable if it's super slick. Amazon Prime has most of this (and x-ray is cool), so it tends to get my money more than other services, but it still doesn't have anywhere near every title I want to watch, and it's sometimes expensive enough that I will switch to a different service for a significant discount.
dfxm12 7y ago
It's disingenuous to call switching libraries "inconvenient". We're talking about opening a new tab or switching an app. A few finger budges for ~2hr of entertainment. I don't know what to say if you find that so inconvenient, especially compared to the effort it would take to go to a torrent site, find a high quality stream, make sure it has the right special features you're looking for, or what have you, to pirate a movie. If you're looking for an ever growing library of specific movies you want to watch, with the special features you want to consume, it sounds like you just want to buy movies. Netflix and co. were never that and were never advertised as that.
- elif 7y ago
  The inconvenient part is I have to labor for income to pay for all these services. That's really a bummer because I prefer to not labor. Additionally, I am in 6 countries for 9 months of this year. It is inconvenient that YouTube TV tells me the $35 I am paying them buys me absolutely nothing, despite the app saying "some content and local channels" will not be available, Netflix forces me to stop halfway through a series because I crossed a border. That's not convenient. Piracy just works.
  - holy_city 7y ago
    It's my understanding that the issues with international content distribution have to do with regulatory differences across borders, not the streaming services themselves.
    - arghwhat 7y ago
      It has to do mainly with an archaic business model where the rights are given to local distributors that have no purpose anymore. They are the only ones allowed to license the work in a region, so providibg a movie or selection requires separate licensing agreements for every country or region it is served in. Businesses that manage to take fees for nothing due historic reasons need to be eliminated.
    - dvdbloc 7y ago
aidenn0 7y ago
My (arguably) legitimate way that gets me an ever-growing library: 1. BluRay 2. MakeMKV 3. Kodi This is relatively future proof because unless I either get a bigger living room wall or sit uncomfortably closer to the screen 1080p is indistinguishable from 4k. I get whichever cut I want all the commentaries &c. I have all the discs in 3-ring binders with disc holders just in case there is a cut or featurette or whatever I'd like to watch at some point in the future. Note that Disney has announced they are no longer going to re-release their back-catalog on physical media, so if you are a fan of their stuff, get the used BD now before it goes way up in price. I expect other studios will follow suit as well. I chose not to get cable when I first moved in on my own in 2004 and allowed myself to buy TV shows and movies I wanted budgeted to the monthly cost of cable (I rarely actually ran up against that budget; at one point craigslist loaded with TV shows and movies for pennies on the dollar). I now have enough movies and TV shows to last me a very long time. Only downside: I won't get to see GoT season 8 until December.

josephdviviano 7y ago

This is why my local video store is still the better option.

uxp100 7y ago
It has far more titles than US netflix, at least. IDK what the size of the streaming "rental" catalogs are though.

auggierose 7y ago

They have Bladerunner 2049 though ;-)

mey 7y ago
But not in my region (US).

merlinsbrain 7y ago

If you’re willing to pay, why not rent from the iTunes Store / Amazon Prime? Pick one, they’ve had all the movies / TV shows I wanted to watch, which are not all mainstream. If there’s an exception and there’s something you don’t find it there - well, do you, but I really don’t understand how piracy is the default answer to convenience with people claiming they have the willingness to pay. Someone else commented about the local video store - also an option, if not something I’d do myself (does redbox count?)

gbear605 7y ago
Another good option is your local library system. They almost certainly have the dvd, and for free too.
- criddell 7y ago
  Doesn't Netflix still do DVDs by mail? That might be a good option as well.
  - zainhoda 7y ago
    Yes. About a year ago, I resubscribed to Netflix DVDs because the library is so much better than what's on streaming. I feel like people have forgotten that the DVD library is enormous and has basically every movie you'd ever want -- and now that fewer people use it, you don't have long wait times anymore.
    - criddell 7y ago
      I've never bothered to resubscribe to Netflix DVDs because I've always been able to find what I'm looking for as a rental from Amazon or iTunes.
  - dawnerd 7y ago
    It's a shame they haven't adopted UHD. That'd give me a reason to re-subscribe.
  - 7y ago

zzzcpan 7y ago

It seems to me neither your case nor what parent comment describes is about convenience, but merely about not wanting to pay too much for all the streaming services. I mean I don't think you would pay 10x more for netflix if it had everything, right?

katbyte 7y ago
i'd pay 2-3x which is more than i pay now (I refuse to use more then netflix tbh)
on_and_off 7y ago
What about my case isn't about convenience exactly ? All of it is about convenience to access content. Netflix had it at first when its library was "fresh". But since it is a rolling library instead of an ever growing one, it almost never has the movie I want to watch. Blade Runner is the first example that came to mind and I believe that it is a good one. it is an acclaimed movie that should be very easy to find online. I would be ready to pay more for a Netflix like service with "everything". Actually I used to pay for multiple services at once. Would I pay 10 times ? I don't think so, personally I don't value such a service that highly but that's a subjective opinion (just like somebody could rightfully say that for them Netflix or Spotify are too costly) and a bit of a straw-man IMO.
reificator 7y ago
> I mean I don't think you would pay 10x more for netflix if it had everything, right? Have you heard of a thing called cable? True, after Netflix anchored it's price at a reasonable level for it's offerings, I probably would not pay 10x more. But a service that made it easy to watch everything under one interface could get more money out of me than Netflix. By one interface I mean search and/or browse in one place, click a video, optionally pay or subscribe with one click if needed, rinse, repeat. No switching between different catalogs, launching different apps, anything like that. Launching a different app for viewing is acceptable if it's super slick. Amazon Prime has most of this (and x-ray is cool), so it tends to get my money more than other services, but it still doesn't have anywhere near every title I want to watch, and it's sometimes expensive enough that I will switch to a different service for a significant discount.

dfxm12 7y ago

It's disingenuous to call switching libraries "inconvenient". We're talking about opening a new tab or switching an app. A few finger budges for ~2hr of entertainment. I don't know what to say if you find that so inconvenient, especially compared to the effort it would take to go to a torrent site, find a high quality stream, make sure it has the right special features you're looking for, or what have you, to pirate a movie. If you're looking for an ever growing library of specific movies you want to watch, with the special features you want to consume, it sounds like you just want to buy movies. Netflix and co. were never that and were never advertised as that.

elif 7y ago
The inconvenient part is I have to labor for income to pay for all these services. That's really a bummer because I prefer to not labor. Additionally, I am in 6 countries for 9 months of this year. It is inconvenient that YouTube TV tells me the $35 I am paying them buys me absolutely nothing, despite the app saying "some content and local channels" will not be available, Netflix forces me to stop halfway through a series because I crossed a border. That's not convenient. Piracy just works.
- holy_city 7y ago
  It's my understanding that the issues with international content distribution have to do with regulatory differences across borders, not the streaming services themselves.
  - arghwhat 7y ago
    It has to do mainly with an archaic business model where the rights are given to local distributors that have no purpose anymore. They are the only ones allowed to license the work in a region, so providibg a movie or selection requires separate licensing agreements for every country or region it is served in. Businesses that manage to take fees for nothing due historic reasons need to be eliminated.
  - dvdbloc 7y ago

aidenn0 7y ago

My (arguably) legitimate way that gets me an ever-growing library: 1. BluRay 2. MakeMKV 3. Kodi This is relatively future proof because unless I either get a bigger living room wall or sit uncomfortably closer to the screen 1080p is indistinguishable from 4k. I get whichever cut I want all the commentaries &c. I have all the discs in 3-ring binders with disc holders just in case there is a cut or featurette or whatever I'd like to watch at some point in the future. Note that Disney has announced they are no longer going to re-release their back-catalog on physical media, so if you are a fan of their stuff, get the used BD now before it goes way up in price. I expect other studios will follow suit as well. I chose not to get cable when I first moved in on my own in 2004 and allowed myself to buy TV shows and movies I wanted budgeted to the monthly cost of cable (I rarely actually ran up against that budget; at one point craigslist loaded with TV shows and movies for pennies on the dollar). I now have enough movies and TV shows to last me a very long time. Only downside: I won't get to see GoT season 8 until December.