Best streaming movie/TV shows service

[Olgar Shiverstone]

We get DVDs from Netflix, which is where the selection seems to be, and have Amazon Prime for streaming. Yeah, there's not a lot of free new movies on Prime (there are a lot of movies, but not a lot I'm necessarily interested in), but the TV selection is pretty good, and it pays for itself over a year with free shipping anyway.

 

[Morrus]

So you can't just go to netflix.com and see/access the same things I do? You get routed differently because of your IP? I didn't know that.

Nearly all media on the internet is geo-encoded. To those of us outside the US, the message "Sorry, this content is not available in your country" is a frequent and depressingly familiar one.

 

[Nytmare]

I don't know all of the specifics, but a lot of this probably has to do with the fact that Netflix and a bunch of the big production companies (MGM, Universal, WB, Starz...) allowed their contracts to expire over the last couple of years. If I remember correctly, a good bit of it involved different companies wanting exclusivity over content, and the different production houses wanting to cash in with their own streamed content branches.

 

[sabrinathecat]

OK, here's the deal: NF puts up as much material as it can. It is, however, obliged to obey CONTRACTS. Sometimes contracts expire. Sometimes the supplier chooses not to renew.
Sorry you aren't finding what you want. But guess what: maybe in a couple months it will be up. Some movies pop in and out. Annoying, but it happens. Considering everything else NetFlix has up there, I have yet to have a night with nothing to watch.

Incidentally, this happens with DVDs too. They plan to get ____, but for some reason, the distributor doesn't want to deal with NF. NF remains hopeful that they will eventually get the movie/show, so they leave it in the catalog.

Then you have HBO, which was giving NF everything for streaming because they didn't realize what it was. Suddenly, they see that their shows are popular. Someone at HBO perceived this as a threat to their DVD sales (because regular rental stores don't worry them?), and pulled all of their shows (Dexter, Penn & Teller's BullSh*t, South Park, etc). Everyone blamed NF, but it was HBO's doing. What's more, HBO forced NF to buy DVDs at full retail cost, rather than the usual merchant rate. In short, HBO policy to NF is being set by a bunch of petty, greedy camel-droppings.

 

[Jet Shield]

Two options that haven't been mentioned yet:

Redbox Instant (unlimited streaming + 4 free DVD rentals from the kiosk - Still a young service so it's selection is smaller than Netflix)

Hitbliss (watch adds to earn credits to spend on movies - small selection, but you can also use your credits to pay for your Pandora One sub)

 

[Crothian]

I use Netflix. Sure, it doesn't have everything but it has enough to keep me watching movies and TV Shows I haven't seen for quite a while. I got it last December and still have dozens of items in my Cue with more that I add when I go looking.

I do you my local library for items on DVD Netflix does not have. I reserve them by the computer and usually I get them within a week unless it is really new. It is of course free and really convenient.

 

[Elf Witch]

I have Netflix and I am very happy with it. I find plenty of TV and odd movies and documentaries to watch on streaming and I get one DVD at a time for the things I can't stream. I live with my son and he has an Amazon Prime account he buys a lot of stuff and so I have access to Amazon prime streaming on my Roku. Bullgrit you do understand that Amazon prime gives you free shipping and upgrades to other shipping options plus the free streaming.

I was given a gift subscription to Hulu Plus. My biggest complaint is the commercials. They charge the same as Netflix which does not have commercials. Plus Netflix plans to have everything it offers closed captioned by the end of 2014 which maters because my roommate is hard of hearing and needs it.

 

[Orius]

Hulu's mainly good for TV. A lot of the domestic movies they have are junky B-movies that they probably get on the cheap or aren't really worth much to the IP holders. And they expire after a while too and sometimes don't get renewed.

 

[Janx]

this thread seems like a modern pulse check on past "can I fire my cable vendor".

Answer:

No.


If you're behind on movies or shows, any of the big ones are great deals to keep yourself entertained.

But if you watched true Blood as it aired, and you know what happens to science teachers who decide to cook Meth, then it's a still a little disappointing.

and it all stems from the problem BG raised about not finding movies he specifically looked for. Licensing.


If one of these vendors would offer to rent me the episode the day or two after it airs, I would happily pay $2 to see it, and fire my cable provider.

The problem is, the big show vendors don't do that. Especially HBO. they are so tightly married to the cable-company and DVD model of getting their product to the masses, they can't let go.

 

[Janx]

this thread seems like a modern pulse check on past "can I fire my cable vendor".

Answer:

No.


If you're behind on movies or shows, any of the big ones are great deals to keep yourself entertained.

But if you watched true Blood as it aired, and you know what happens to science teachers who decide to cook Meth, then it's a still a little disappointing.

and it all stems from the problem BG raised about not finding movies he specifically looked for. Licensing.


If one of these vendors would offer to rent me the episode the day or two after it airs, I would happily pay $2 to see it, and fire my cable provider.

The problem is, the big show vendors don't do that. Especially HBO. they are so tightly married to the cable-company and DVD model of getting their product to the masses, they can't let go.