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Not a single word about the proliferation of official services recently that makes it harder to access content because unless you're signed on with all of them

Not a single word about the proliferation of official services recently that makes it harder to access content because unless you're signed on with all of them (which gets expensive fast) you're missing out on _something_ while still paying dearly for the privilege. DVDs don't require a monthly payment to remain accessible, and there's no executive who can decide on a whim to deny access even when paying. Nobody cares that the season 1 DVDs come from studio A, while season 2-4 DVDs are from studio B. They can be shared or swapped with friends. Some DVDs are even available to loan at the public library for a modest annual membership fee (and we're members anyway because they also have gasp books!)

Nursie 3y ago
Yep, this is the primary reason I've considered it again. So I have Prime (which is kinda/sorta effectively free to me because I pay for it for the delivery service), Netflix, Disney (I like Star Wars and Marvel), we sometimes subscribe to Apple. Then over here in Aus there's also Stan and Binge, who have some of the tv content we want. This is already a far cry from what Netflix used to be - the place to go to for most stuff. It's also a far cry from the music situation, where I can pick my streaming service (I use Deezer) and more or less have the same catalogue available whichever one I pick. (I know, none of them pay artists very well, I also buy CDs and t-shirts.) And now on top of this, the various studios are trying to get me to subscribe to their offerings, either as standalones or as add-ons to Prime - AMC, Paramount etc, so I can get their one flagship show on there. How about no? This is getting more expensive than the old cable and satellite packages that streaming was supposed to replace, and they're putting prices up at the moment. And that's before we get into stuff that's not available on any service legally here. That show you like? Yeah we're only going to give you access to the first few seasons, even though there have been five more seasons made. Why won't you let me pay? So yeah, piracy is quite appealing, especially when I can go to yandex.com, type "Stream <movie>" or "Stream <show>" and I'll be taken to a site where I can watch it immediately. Maybe it's not always the best quality stream, but the pirate bay still seems to be up too.
- lotsofpulp 3y ago
  >This is getting more expensive than the old cable and satellite packages that streaming was supposed to replace, and they're putting prices up at the moment. Definitely not in the US. People were paying minimum $100 per month for a fraction of the content, not inflation adjusted, not on demand, not on nearly any device anywhere, 15 years ago. Not to mention you can simply cancel and resubscribe so you only pay for one or two services per month, an option that was never available before. Apple: $10 Netflix: $23 Amazon: $9 WarnerBros Discovery: $20 Disney: $20 Comcast: $12 Paramount: $12 The only one missing is Sony, but I don’t think they offer streaming. $106/month gets an individual on demand access to almost everything except sports, without advertising breaks. Family sharing would make it much cheaper. Either way, I would take this situation over having to pay Comcast/DirecTV/Dish Network/Verizon to be a middleman any day.
  - abricot 3y ago
    If we're talking Europe prices were never even near $100
    - lotsofpulp 3y ago
      Sorry, I edited to specify US.
  - Nursie 3y ago
    You can get to that by subscribing to a few services fairly easily now (if we're talking AUD, I have no idea about USD or the US market), especially if you go for the studio-specific services/add-ons too. I don't give a crap about 'any device', and 99% of the content is not interesting, we tend to watch a handful of things on each one. We're back to paying a premium for a few things we want and a load of shit we don't want.
    - lotsofpulp 3y ago
      Sorry, I edited to specify US. I also only watch a handful of things, so I just rent the series in my Apple TV app. Usually a few USD per episode.

Nursie 3y ago

Yep, this is the primary reason I've considered it again. So I have Prime (which is kinda/sorta effectively free to me because I pay for it for the delivery service), Netflix, Disney (I like Star Wars and Marvel), we sometimes subscribe to Apple. Then over here in Aus there's also Stan and Binge, who have some of the tv content we want. This is already a far cry from what Netflix used to be - the place to go to for most stuff. It's also a far cry from the music situation, where I can pick my streaming service (I use Deezer) and more or less have the same catalogue available whichever one I pick. (I know, none of them pay artists very well, I also buy CDs and t-shirts.) And now on top of this, the various studios are trying to get me to subscribe to their offerings, either as standalones or as add-ons to Prime - AMC, Paramount etc, so I can get their one flagship show on there. How about no? This is getting more expensive than the old cable and satellite packages that streaming was supposed to replace, and they're putting prices up at the moment. And that's before we get into stuff that's not available on any service legally here. That show you like? Yeah we're only going to give you access to the first few seasons, even though there have been five more seasons made. Why won't you let me pay? So yeah, piracy is quite appealing, especially when I can go to yandex.com, type "Stream <movie>" or "Stream <show>" and I'll be taken to a site where I can watch it immediately. Maybe it's not always the best quality stream, but the pirate bay still seems to be up too.

lotsofpulp 3y ago
>This is getting more expensive than the old cable and satellite packages that streaming was supposed to replace, and they're putting prices up at the moment. Definitely not in the US. People were paying minimum $100 per month for a fraction of the content, not inflation adjusted, not on demand, not on nearly any device anywhere, 15 years ago. Not to mention you can simply cancel and resubscribe so you only pay for one or two services per month, an option that was never available before. Apple: $10 Netflix: $23 Amazon: $9 WarnerBros Discovery: $20 Disney: $20 Comcast: $12 Paramount: $12 The only one missing is Sony, but I don’t think they offer streaming. $106/month gets an individual on demand access to almost everything except sports, without advertising breaks. Family sharing would make it much cheaper. Either way, I would take this situation over having to pay Comcast/DirecTV/Dish Network/Verizon to be a middleman any day.
- abricot 3y ago
  If we're talking Europe prices were never even near $100
  - lotsofpulp 3y ago
    Sorry, I edited to specify US.
- Nursie 3y ago
  You can get to that by subscribing to a few services fairly easily now (if we're talking AUD, I have no idea about USD or the US market), especially if you go for the studio-specific services/add-ons too. I don't give a crap about 'any device', and 99% of the content is not interesting, we tend to watch a handful of things on each one. We're back to paying a premium for a few things we want and a load of shit we don't want.
  - lotsofpulp 3y ago
    Sorry, I edited to specify US. I also only watch a handful of things, so I just rent the series in my Apple TV app. Usually a few USD per episode.