[grimreefer]

Ladybird, on 13 November 2019 - 11:40 AM, said:

A couple months ago I got in an argument with a weirdly aggressive salesman in one of the store/repair shops. I complained to the corporate office and they cut my bill for a year.
When the years up, it will be internet only.

A skill undoubtedly honed here at RN over the years. :cool:

[Hieronymous]

Moderator T, on 13 November 2019 - 08:03 AM, said:

Yes to a degree. They have both said that they understand family streaming dynamics, but have also stated they plan on being very strict with both account sharing as well as piracy.


I imagine if you share with your parents in town you'll be fine but if you share with your sister on the other side of the country or a dozen coworkers, you'll be screwed.

I can share Netflix with Mrs H in PI, but not Hulu, because she says she can't get the app there. I'll ask her about D+, but I will keep Netflix for awhile since I have to wait until mid 2020 for Season 3 of Ozark.

This post has been edited by Hieronymous: 15 November 2019 - 04:11 AM

[erp]

Hieronymous, on 15 November 2019 - 04:11 AM, said:

I can share Netflix with Mrs H in PI, but not Hulu, because she says she can't get the app there. I'll ask her about D+, but I will keep Netflix for awhile since I have to wait until mid 2020 for Season 3 of Ozark.

I did really like Ozark. Great show. I may do what a poster suggested here and pay for one month of Netflix just to watch that show. But I’m done paying for months on end for only a few shows.

[Ladybird]

Hieronymous, on 15 November 2019 - 04:11 AM, said:

I can share Netflix with Mrs H in PI, but not Hulu, because she says she can't get the app there. I'll ask her about D+, but I will keep Netflix for awhile since I have to wait until mid 2020 for Season 3 of Ozark.

Great series. Why can't she get Hulu? I'm sharing an account now.

grimreefer, on 14 November 2019 - 09:01 PM, said:

A skill undoubtedly honed here at RN over the years. :cool:

I get it from my mama.

This post has been edited by Ladybird: 15 November 2019 - 07:21 AM

[Hieronymous]

Ladybird, on 15 November 2019 - 07:19 AM, said:

Great series. Why can't she get Hulu? I'm sharing an account now.



I get it from my mama.

She said the app was unavailable to her in the Philippines. It’s cheaper for me to believe her...

[oki]

Dean Adam Smithee, on 14 November 2019 - 08:52 PM, said:

Comcast is the wild card. As BOTH an ISP and "Content Provider", and given their history, I DISTRUST THEM to a hilt especially on the issue on "Net Neutrality". In fact Comcast is the #1 reason WHY I support "Net Neutrality".

Absolutely, Comcast will do what ever they can to bleed every last dime out of the public. So will AT&T and every one of the large providers. I have very mixed feelings on Net Neutrality to be honest.
That whole creature came about because of streaming and the growth of services like Netflix. But, as you are stating with what amount to ISP's more and more becoming content makers as well as providers the waters become very muddied. What I see happening is your ISP will also become your content maker as well as provider. In a way it will kinda be' like before the internet when the signal was just broadcast. Content provider was also the content broadcaster. Just know it the broadcast medium will be the internet(which you pay for) and content will cost you, via streaming.
Main difference is you may have one bill for how you get the services(internet) and one bill for each subscription to individual content makers. But, you won't be paying for stuff you don't want. And you will have an on demand for everything, or maybe a playlist.

Interesting times.

[scotsman]

oki, on 14 November 2019 - 02:55 PM, said:

There will be two major changes in the coming years.
1st streaming services which bundle content makers. IE Netflix, Roku, Apple, Amazon and a few others will become the Cable and Satellite companies so to speak.
2nd content makers will be launching their own streaming services and sell/stream directly to customers. It is already starting and will only continue to grow. Once that is in full force not only will it put traditional cable/satellite out of business it will also be devastating to streaming services like Roku, Netflix, and Amazon. It will come right back to why pay for what I don't want.
And, to the consumer it will be a finally I will only pay for what I really want. To the content maker it will be finally I don't have to deal with these companies that don't want to pay the going rate. Many of the cable companies also are internet providers anyways so they won't go out of business outright, but they will simply be internet providers. Satellite, hard to say as they will be the only people trying to buy bulk content at rock bottom prices. From Disney's point of view why even go through the trouble of dealing with it when you can make so much more from just doing direct to customer streaming?

Obviously, and to be clear, we in the UK and Ireland and Europe get Netflix, Apple, Amazon and other streaming providers. Hulu is I think the only one we don't get.

[scotsman]

Dean Adam Smithee, on 14 November 2019 - 02:13 PM, said:

Yes, they all have On-demand via broadband to one extent or other. HBO on-demand for $15/mo. NBC on-demand for $12/mo, but it's free if you're a cable or satellite subscriber. I don't know how extensive their libraries are, I don't use them.

My "TV" is a PC with a WinTV card in it running Windows 7 Media Center which has DVR functionality, then video output via HDMI to a 52" Panasonic flatscreen TV, audio out to my Marantz stereo system with a couple of Bose 301 speakers. I used to do Surround sound but never bothered to hook up the extra speakers after the last move; Surround always seemed like more of a distraction than an enhancement anyway.

Only problem with my setup is that Microsoft will be disabling access to the on-line guide for the TV Tuner part of Windows Media Center when they stop supporting Win7 in January. I haven't decided yet if I'm go to build another PC with Win10 or Linux + Kodi (formerly XBMC) as the Media Center, or if I'll just go with a Roku- or TiVo-type set top box. Right now I'm leaning towards building my own because that PC also has all my music ripped from CDs and maybe a hundred or so movies ripped from DVDs, but I haven't yet looked into what all the "ready-made" options are.

In the UK, the various on-demands are free, albeit you already pay the BBC for the licence fee, so technically its not entirely free, the BBC works out at £3.50 a week for all its channels, radio and TV, its website and its iplayer on-demand. The on-demands of ITV, CH4 and CH5 are free. With Sky or Virgin, again all the various on-demands of several channels, some of which are directly Sky or Virgin, some not, are 'free', but of course its part of that monthly bill from your provider. So again, not technically free.

So if you only have the 'basic' free-to-air tv channels in the UK, as long as you pay the yearly licence fee, the only thing you need is an email account to access the BBC iplayer. Not needed for ITV, CH4, CH5 on-demands. You don't need said email account to access BBC Interactive Text Services.

The combined library of the BBC, ITV, CH4 and CH5 on-demands will be easily over a few 0000hrs of programming. From old BBC programmes of the 50s to last night's hit new drama. Same for satellite/cable on demands.

This post has been edited by scotsman: 15 November 2019 - 10:45 AM

[oki]

scotsman, on 15 November 2019 - 10:33 AM, said:

Obviously, and to be clear, we in the UK and Ireland and Europe get Netflix, Apple, Amazon and other streaming providers. Hulu is I think the only one we don't get.

Netflix is trying to become a content maker as well as provider because they know that's where the money is.
People may think they started the trend but that would actually be false. HBO could be seen as one of the first for the fact that they started making their own productions and then offering it on a streaming service. HBO learned that first paying royalties for content, then trying to make money via cable/satellite companies for content which is available for rental or free is outdated and a loosing proposition. To be honest it's very possible that even movie studios may jump on board and offer streaming subscriptions or on demand. Years ago infrastructure and cost was much higher than it is know. Throw in the fact that a TV could not stream a damn thing much less hook up to the internet. Know, all that's changed. What you can watch will no longer be determined by what 'providers' are available in your area or the packages they offer but more so by your broadband speed.

[Dean Adam Smithee]

oki, on 15 November 2019 - 02:05 PM, said:

Netflix is trying to become a content maker as well as provider because they know that's where the money is.
People may think they started the trend but that would actually be false. HBO could be seen as one of the first for the fact that they started making their own productions and then offering it on a streaming service. HBO learned that first paying royalties for content, then trying to make money via cable/satellite companies for content which is available for rental or free is outdated and a loosing proposition. To be honest it's very possible that even movie studios may jump on board and offer streaming subscriptions or on demand. Years ago infrastructure and cost was much higher than it is know. Throw in the fact that a TV could not stream a damn thing much less hook up to the internet. Know, all that's changed. What you can watch will no longer be determined by what 'providers' are available in your area or the packages they offer but more so by your broadband speed.

At least one major studio - I think it was either Sony or Universal - has been experimenting with the idea. Price point being somewhere between $30-$50 per viewing for a first-run picture.

That may sound steep but think about it: What's the cost of schlepping a family of 4 or 5 to the local multiplex including refreshments, popcorn, etc? What would you pay to avoid all that hassle to see a first-run flick?