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> What this means I suppose is that the streaming service have managed to recreate the cable era, but in some aspects also made things worse than before. I dis
by gretch 3y ago
> What this means I suppose is that the streaming service have managed to recreate the cable era, but in some aspects also made things worse than before.
I disagree. It’s not as good as the golden era of streaming when everything was on Netflix for 1 low price, but we’re still wayyyyyy above where cable was before.
You don’t have to sign any contracts and you can go the website and make 3 clicks to cancel the service.
Also everything is available on demand, you don’t have to be watching at the exact time the show or movie airs.
- vel0city 3y agoNot only can you cancel service in just a few clicks, you can actually go find another provider. Being able to choose between different cable providers was unheard of. Now there's several cable-like providers along with dozens of different on-demand media companies.
- dylan604 3y agoI'm now to the point where I've started pausing subscriptions as I marathon content from a new provider. Why pay for Netflix, when your only watching shows from any of the other platforms? Of course, I'm just me and not having to navigate the complexities of other family members. We'll just chalk that one up in the being single pro column.
- rchaud 3y agoThe alternative to cable was broadcast TV or a visit to your video rental store. Same as today. If you cancel your Netflix, the alternative will not have the same programming available.
- vel0city 3y agoBut one can cancel their cable TV subscription and go to YouTubeTV and go to Hulu Live TV or Fubo or Direct TV Stream or Sling which are all very old school cable-like in experience but no contracts, which is what I was mostly talking about. Or as you mentioned, OTA which in many markets has had an explosion of content (over 110 channels in my area!) Or the hundreds of free internet streaming TV channels often bundled into most smart TVs these days.
- sonicanatidae 3y agoThat's not entirely accurate. ;)
- dylan604 3y ago>you don’t have to be watching at the exact time the show or movie airs. With the advent of DVRs, this wasn't an issue either. Even in the 80s with VCRs and a competent user that could make the clock stop flashing 12:00, you could record a single show at a time. No where near as convenient as a DVR and still less convenient of on-demand, but let's not act like watching a delayed show wasn't possible until on-demand.
- js2 3y agoI was both a ReplayTV and TiVo owner for many years. It was better than cable but sucked compared to streaming. Yes, you could record a show, but you still had to wait for it to air. There was nothing like an entire season being dropped at once for new shows. And for syndicated shows, again, you had to wait for them. You had to setup a season pass. You had to juggle drive space. You could only watch in front of the one TV you had the TiVo/ReplayTV hooked up you (later TiVo had an overpriced option to watch over the network within the home). Plus, you had to pay for your TiVo (or buy a lifetime pass) on top of the cost of your cable or satellite subscription.
- dylan604 3y ago>There was nothing like an entire season being dropped at once for new shows. Even with the streaming platforms, entire season drops is not a guarantee for new content. Lots of shows are weekly drops, and I'm guessing it will only become standard for all new content. Ensures people don't pay for a single month or use a free trial period to watch the entire season. Rent seeking is only going to creep into more and more of your life
- deleted 3y ago[deleted]
- scarface_74 3y agoI also couldn’t get shows on demand on my phone, on a TV when I’m not at home by either logging into apps on the TV or by booking up a $35 dongle.