The Current State of Streaming

[overkill]

Is anyone frustrated with the increased competition in streaming services.
Normally more competition in an industry benefits the consumer but in this case it's done the opposite.

Extra streaming services popping up means shows and films you want to watch are spread out between multiple paywalls.

A couple years ago, if you had Netflix you were pretty much set, it had a lot of content.
However now we have content spread across lots of different services

Disney +
Now TV
Amazon Prime
Britbox
Crunchyroll
Discovery+

There is probably more, what these service have in common is they all used to have some of Thier content on Netflix.

So now for me at least, DVDs, Blu Rays have made a comeback and I've dug my ps3 out the loft to be my blu ray player.

It's been fun picking up DVDs and blue rays for my favourite shows that I always watch, and mostly fairly cheap.

For example me & the wife warned to rewatch Dexter, hadn't seen it since the initial run.
Obviously it's no longer in Netflix but DVDs were about £2 per season.

 

[ClausThomsen]

The same number of shows aren't being spread across the streaming services though. It has given more choice and a lot of the shows you want to watch wouldn't be getting made if there wasn't the market of content hungry services looking for the next big thing. The increasing number of services are leading to more and more to choose from - sometimes you have to accept that you can't have everything.

We have Discovery+ as it's an easy Xmas present for MrsCT and she absolutely devours the ghost hunting nonsense on there. Without streaming competition there is no way any network is commissioning several different ghost hunting shows but given the competition it's become a good niche for them.

If you just have Netflix you still have an enormous amount of content. Especially added to the multitudes of free streaming services (ITV, BBC, Ch4, UKTVPlay) that are about.

Totally agree with retaining physical media though. I'm the same with music and movies as I don't want to be reliant on streaming for availability.

 

[bicycleheader]

If you watch a lot of movies and series, it is worth the effort to set up, or get somebody savvy with this stuff to set up, a Kodi profile on a firestick. Pay the cheap Real Debrid sub for quality streams and get WakoTv or the likes on your mobile. You can access anything regardless of where it's streamed and can easily make lists of series/movies you want to watch. it tracks what episodes you are on and will autoload next episode. I love being able to easily switch between a brand new movie, latest episode of some show or bringing up some old flick or series I had just remembered.

 

[overkill]

If you watch a lot of movies and series, it is worth the effort to set up, or get somebody savvy with this stuff to set up, a Kodi profile on a firestick. Pay the cheap Real Debrid sub for quality streams and get WakoTv or the likes on your mobile. You can access anything regardless of where it's streamed and can easily make lists of series/movies you want to watch. it tracks what episodes you are on and will autoload next episode. I love being able to easily switch between a brand new movie, latest episode of some show or bringing up some old flick or series I had just remembered.

Done something similar with Plex, have a lot of shows downloaded and set Plex up as a.local server so other devices on my network can connect to it.

However there are some shows I like I can't get downloads for or there not on streaming sites.
(Cancelled programmes like Better off Ted, it never done well but was dam funny, or White Van man, obscure comedies that are hard to find)

 

[bicycleheader]

I struggle with a few also , it's true, but they've almost all been stuff you can't stream elsewhere regardless

Was watching Homicide Life on The Streets from the start but frustratingly streams dried up a few episodes in

 

[Lee Smith]

I go halves with a mate on the 4 x user Netflix, mainly so I have access to it on my phone when travelling, and for the kids to have it in their bedrooms, but our main TV consumption is via IPTV. £50 a year for literally every channel inc PPV imaginable (plus on-demand series and movies), all in buffer free HD/4K. Trouble is it’s only on one device (Nvidia Shield) but we can move device around house if needed.

I’m amazed that not more people have moved over to IPTV in all honesty, especially the way the monthly subs of streaming services have gone up recently.

 

[dublinbluenose]

I go halves with a mate on the 4 x user Netflix, mainly so I have access to it on my phone when travelling, and for the kids to have it in their bedrooms, but our main TV consumption is via IPTV. £50 a year for literally every channel inc PPV imaginable, all in buffer free HD/4K. Trouble is it’s only on one device (Nvidia Shield) but we can move device around house if needed.

I’m amazed that not more people have moved over to IPTV in all honesty, especially the way the monthly subs of streaming services have gone up recently.

Same

 

[GoldenToffee]

IPTV solves most if not all of these problems. £8 a month I pay.

 

[Tramps_mate]

IPTV solves most if not all of these problems. £8 a month I pay.

Whats IPTV??

 

[kev]

Is anyone frustrated with the increased competition in streaming services.
Normally more competition in an industry benefits the consumer but in this case it's done the opposite.

Extra streaming services popping up means shows and films you want to watch are spread out between multiple paywalls.

A couple years ago, if you had Netflix you were pretty much set, it had a lot of content.
However now we have content spread across lots of different services

Disney +
Now TV
Amazon Prime
Britbox
Crunchyroll
Discovery+

There is probably more, what these service have in common is they all used to have some of Thier content on Netflix.

So now for me at least, DVDs, Blu Rays have made a comeback and I've dug my ps3 out the loft to be my blu ray player.

It's been fun picking up DVDs and blue rays for my favourite shows that I always watch, and mostly fairly cheap.

For example me & the wife warned to rewatch Dexter, hadn't seen it since the initial run.
Obviously it's no longer in Netflix but DVDs were about £2 per season.

Maybe turn your telly off now and then. Get out and enjoy the countryside.

 

[GrandOldTeam]

DVDs are very cheap

 

[Moomin]

Is anyone frustrated with the increased competition in streaming services.
Normally more competition in an industry benefits the consumer but in this case it's done the opposite.

Extra streaming services popping up means shows and films you want to watch are spread out between multiple paywalls.

A couple years ago, if you had Netflix you were pretty much set, it had a lot of content.
However now we have content spread across lots of different services

Disney +
Now TV
Amazon Prime
Britbox
Crunchyroll
Discovery+

There is probably more, what these service have in common is they all used to have some of Thier content on Netflix.

So now for me at least, DVDs, Blu Rays have made a comeback and I've dug my ps3 out the loft to be my blu ray player.

It's been fun picking up DVDs and blue rays for my favourite shows that I always watch, and mostly fairly cheap.

For example me & the wife warned to rewatch Dexter, hadn't seen it since the initial run.
Obviously it's no longer in Netflix but DVDs were about £2 per season.

What is Crunchyroll?

 

[chrismpw]

Is anyone frustrated with the increased competition in streaming services.
Normally more competition in an industry benefits the consumer but in this case it's done the opposite.

Extra streaming services popping up means shows and films you want to watch are spread out between multiple paywalls.

A couple years ago, if you had Netflix you were pretty much set, it had a lot of content.
However now we have content spread across lots of different services

Disney +
Now TV
Amazon Prime
Britbox
Crunchyroll
Discovery+

There is probably more, what these service have in common is they all used to have some of Thier content on Netflix.

So now for me at least, DVDs, Blu Rays have made a comeback and I've dug my ps3 out the loft to be my blu ray player.

It's been fun picking up DVDs and blue rays for my favourite shows that I always watch, and mostly fairly cheap.

For example me & the wife warned to rewatch Dexter, hadn't seen it since the initial run.
Obviously it's no longer in Netflix but DVDs were about £2 per season.

Just don't play the game mate.
We've had Netflix for a while but struggle to find anything these days. We use Disney more. I want to watch the new star trek series on paramount but there's no way I'm subscribing to 3rd. Once we've finished a current series on Netflix we plan to bin it and try a different one.

But yeah you're right- there is no such thing as diversity if you can't afford it.

 

[coollino]

Yeah, it's mad. we refuse to pay for more than one, so we have Netflix and i just torrent everything else.

I'd happily pay £20-330 or so, to cover them all (and i'd sack off 'illegally downloading' but there is no option at all. I used to torrent music but stopped now i have Spotify (obv another argument to be had there)

I feel sorry for people that don't watch things 'illegally', it must cost a fortune. luckily i don't really care about sport enough to pay for it too,, just watch whatever is on freeview

I also have Mubi actually, which is worth way more than they charge. A fantastic film streaming site.

 

[ClausThomsen]

Whats IPTV??

Internet Protocol TV. A method of streaming TV/Films over the internet. There are many legitimate companies broadcasting their content over IPTV.

There are many, many more streaming content over IPTV including live TV, subscription TV such as Netflix, Prime, Disney etc and PPV/Box Office content - quite illegal but comparatively very, very cheap.

Finding a good supplier of the dodgy illegal streams is a bit of a minefield though as by it's nature there is zero oversight or consumer protection whatsoever.