I don't understand the value of Netflix, Amazon Video, Hulu, etc.

Wow. Jamin made a real post. I totally agree with you here dude.

Netflix has a lot of stuff I like. Various shows have come and gone over the years though, and it's really annoying that there are tons of shows out there with exclusive Amazon Prime or Hulu deals instead. Why does it always have to be exclusive?

I like Netflix because it streams quickly and reliably and easily, it keeps track of where I was and what I want to watch, and it doesn't have ads or popups.

I actually created my Netflix account back in the day because I got a job with a security clearance, and they asked me not to do certain things on my home computer. So I figured I'd get Netflix just to keep them happy (and they paid me a decent salary so I really had no excuse). Didn't want it to become a problem either way.

The way I think about it isn't, "What movie or TV show do I want to watch, let's see if Netflix has it." It's more, "Let's see what Netflix has, and if there's anything I want to watch." If the answer to the second question consistently becomes no, then I'll get rid of it, but there's been enough there for the past couple years that I've kept it. If there's something I really want to watch and it's not on Netflix I'll just find a stream.

Seriously though, I don't get why anyone would pay for Hulu. You're paying for it and you STILL have to watch ads. Give me a break.

There should just be one place where every movie exists for a monthly subscription fee. I couldn't believe how limited the selection Netflix had until I tried it. I guess some people still do buy movies, sad. My movie model would be based upon spotify, even though they don't have every song it's much better.

Jamin, why dont you just use Stremio? Its free, not really illegal yet and you can watch everything.

I ended my Netflix subscription about five years ago because I realized that I was just wasting my time mindlessly consuming television and crap movies. I actually was a pretty heavy user of the mail-in DVDs because most of the best films were only available on DVD. Not sure what it's like these days. The mindless consumption of low quality information that adds little to no value to my life is the same reason I didn't get a new TV after mine stopped working.

I don't care for Amazon Prime either because 1) I don't want to get caught binge watching crap TV series again. 2). I can't stand navigating Amazon's website, I have always found it horribly disorganized and clunky. 3). I don't like how Amazon makes it so inconvenient and expensive for non-Prime users, and I don't care to support a company that doesn't offer more customer friendly options.

That said, I love a good movie or well done TV series. If I want to watch a movie at home, which happens like once every month or two, I pay $3 or $4 to rent it on Google Play or Amazon video. If they don't offer rental for the video, I just buy the DVD off Ebay and wait a few days. For TV series, I'll just buy the box set of DVDs off EBay. I have a little portable DVD player that works great for my purposes.

Overall, I think having so much access to steaming content adds little value to my life and just encourages me to spend more time alone, so I prevent myself from getting caught in that trap by not subscribing.

By the way, the best post by jamin in awhile. Nice job.

I see your point, jamin, but I still find value in Netflix.

I live in a rural area, where there is no cable line down the road, various types of dish are not an option due to poor signal strength, and the "high-speed" Internet over the phone lines (not dial-up anymore; now, with various advances, we can get up to 4 Mb/s on occasion) is just a little too slow to make streaming an option if someone else wants to simultaneously use the Internet, or if we want higher definition.

So just a couple months ago I started paying for Netflix's DVD-in-the-mail option. $8 / month. I can get a DVD about every week, so about 4 per month, or $2 / movie, which is what I used to pay when the movie rental store in my area was still in business.

I'm loving it because it allows me to see all the movies that I wish I had seen in theaters, but didn't have the time or money. At our house, we have a rating system as follows: 1 star is worth seeing, 2 stars is worth seeing a 2nd time, 3 stars is worth owning, and 4 & 5 stars are reserved for exceptionally excellent & entertaining movies. I'm already going to buy the 3's, and I saw most of the 4's in theaters, so Netflix allows me to fill the gaps by watching the 1's & 2's. ...but you have to want to watch lots of movies in order for that to be the case, and I suspect your preferences are too specific for that.

While I normally don't read Jamin threads, I read this one and wondered what the hell was Hacksaw Ridge, so after a quick peruse of wikipedia I learned it was that recent Mel Gibson directed war movie.

And interestingly enough, while playing bar trivia tonight, we had a round of movie posters w/o words, and Hacksaw Ridge was one of the answers, so thanks Jamin for creating this thread getting me a point in bar trivia.

Did anyone see this? They're talking about the same thing I talked about -- "fragmentation of content."

https://www.thestreet.com/story/14262555/1/netflix-s-decision-to-pull-disney-content-is-robbing-the-american-family-blind.html

What a strange headline on that article.

jamin wrote:

Did anyone see this? They're talking about the same thing I talked about -- "fragmentation of content."

https://www.thestreet.com/story/14262555/1/netflix-s-decision-to-pull-disney-content-is-robbing-the-american-family-blind.html

WhY dont you use Stremio or Popcorntime, jamin?

Netflix, Amazon Video, Hulu boast a lot of flims, but they have a lot of filler films with 1 star ratings that no one would watch from start to finish.

I only subscribe when there is a specific show that I want to watch and then cancel when the show is over. I will have HBONOW for two months and cancel once GOT is over.

BTW, Hacksaw Ridge was/is on HBOnow.

Yesmovies app is one of the best online streaming app whihc people can use today. Though the app is still under beta trial version , but developers say that it haas performed very well. You canget the app from here: https://yesmoviesapp.com/

I'm finding that YouTube covers probably 95 percent of what I watch any more. Between that and an antenna for OTA, that's everything. And considering it's easier to see some NFL games from Euro streaming sites, whatever.

Netflix hires Obamas as story-tellers? Time to short?

Similar to how you feel when you date your hand every week?

"The Continuum has been observing observing Jamin King and has determined that screen time of any sort, mindless entertaintment and RW infotainment is hindering his potential of an opposite gender relationship and potential romance. Patience is a virtue in this situation. If he commits to moving from VR to IRL he might, just might find his love."

Q

Netflix soars, as they burn more money.

https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-10-16/nflx-soars-after-big-subscriber-beat-erases-q2-losses-cuts-eps-outlook

Please do not bump Jamin threads.

Sad Jamin wrote:

Please do not bump Jamin threads.

This is actually one of the better jamin threads.

jamin wrote:

I also wanted to watch South Park and couldn't find it on either Amazon Video or Netflix.

I think that netflix and amazon have this thing where you have to be under the age of 16 to watch South Park.