Technology Rankings of the Streaming Services

[nelsonmuntz]

1) Netflix - clean, thin feed, automatically turns to next episode. Can pause easily and is easy to find where you want to watch within an episode or movie. This almost makes up for the crappy content.

2) DisneyPlus - basically Netflix quality streaming, although I don't watch it that often.

3) HBOMax - Does most of what Netflix does, but occasionally glitches and requires a refresh.

4) Paramount+ - don't watch it much but no complaints so far.

5) Hulu - Some weird glitches, like when you are re-watching a series you have seen before, and are binge watching, Hulu will occasionally jump to the spot in the next episode where you left off months ago. I was rewatching The Great while working late recently, and episode 5 finished and it jumped to the middle of episode 6. I haven't watched the show in over a year, but that must have been where I had left off that episode before. Also, the episodes are not always in order for broadcast television shows.

6) AppleTV - stable feed but the menu and navigation is annoying because Apple is always trying to sell me something.

7) Starz - usually fine, but it will sometimes just hang and cycle. Thick feed so it can periodically buffer on wifi and doesn't work on weak signals like vacation houses.

8) ESPNPlus - the login is messed up and keeps logging me out or not recognizing that I am logged in during the same visit. It also doesn't automatically rollover to the next episode every time. I have a lot of problems with the login which pisses me off since I pay for this. Anything below ESPN in the rankings is really bad technologically.

9) AMCPlus - great content, but there is a bare bones feel to it, and the menu is impossible to get through. There is no search function so you have to browse even to find a show like Mad Men, which should be on the front page of this service since that show is probably why most people initially pay for AMCPlus. Also, when binge watching, it doesn't automatically rollover to the next episode, so I have to go all the way out to the main menu, browse to find the show, and then pick the next episode.

10) ShowtimeAnytime - this technology looks like it was developed by a high school AV department. Sometimes a show or movie just won't let me rewind, and when I try, the site will just hang so bad that I can't even pick another show or stop it. This forces me to exit the browser and re-login over and over until it finally works, which doesn't always happen. Sometimes I just give up and come back later.


Don't have: Peacock

 

[storrsroars]

You didn't mention Prime, which along with Netflix are the only two I have as I'm not rich like you.

To me, they work more or less the same, although Prime has had glitches when scrolling over the offerings, which will then show a clip from a different movie. But I like that they have ratings and comments attached whereas Netflix doesn't.

 

[nwhoopfan]

Another knock on Hulu--damn ads. Why are there ads on a streaming service you are paying for? Certainly don't get that w/ Netflix or Prime, don't have any experience w/ the others. On a 22 minute episode of a sitcom Hulu manages to pack in 4 or 5 90 second commercial slots. Annoying as hell, nearly as bad as broadcast television.

I think similar to mentioned above, several times when I'm close to the end of an episode, it jumps forward to the beginning of the next. Takes a while to go back to where I should've been, and it always rewards me w/ another set of ads. Not generally impressed w/ that aspect of Hulu.

 

[HuskyHawk]

1. Prime. I think Prime does a better job of sorting content than Netflix. Good at providing data and even previews immediately to help you decide what to watch. I will give Prime the edge because I can add Starz, Shudder, Masterpiece and others directly to it, plus stream or rent new movies. It made Vudu pointless.

2. Netflix. Netflix spends too much effort pushing their content at me. Streaming is good. Controls are good. Good at providing data and even previews immediately to help you decide what to watch.

3. Disney+ is good, no issues streaming and the interface is better than HBOs. I like that it spends less time pushing content at me, but that's because it's all their content, unlike Netflix and Prime. The organization is superb.

4. Paramount+ only got it for WC Qualifying. Watching Star Trek. It works fine and has more movie content than I expects (even if most is on Prime or Netflix). The interface is pretty good, maybe as good as Disney.

5. HBO Max streams fine, but the interface needs work. It doesn't show you anything about a show or movie when you "hover" over it, unlike the other services. You have to go a click deeper. The organization of content is ok.

6. AppleTV. Streaming is good. Controls are good. You get some preview effects, so that is a plus. The organization of the main page is poor. It is trying to do what Prime does well, allow you access to other content, but it doesn't have enough if it yet so it feels cluttered and cumbersome. I can see it working better if you don't have Prime and it's your main source of other content.

7. Hulu. Ads are annoying for paid service. Streaming is usually fine. Interface is tired and not that easy to navigate.

8. ESPN+. I use it on Xbox and the app sucks. As @nelsonmuntz notes, they struggle trying to co-mingle free and paid content, with login issues etc. Very hard to find what I want.

 

[Waquoit]

Don't have: Peacock

Yet you still put it where it belonged.

 

[Waquoit]

I hate ESPN but I love ESPN+. I watch it more than any other streamer. I have had no problems with tech or finding things. FWIW, my use is almost all on a Roku TV. It let's you pause and rewind live action. Peacock and Paramount+ do not.

 

[ZooCougar]

If you have the best shows then I don’t care about tech.

 

[CL82]

Peacock has a weird glitch we’re coming back from a commercial you will get stuttering. I’m not sure what causes it, but it is a known problem. The fix is to just stop and restart after commercials are on, but that’s obviously a PIA.

 

[Purple Stein]

Paramount Plus kills me with its ads. I'll be watching ST Discovery and I can't hear anything because the characters are constantly whispering and/or crying so I rewind but if I don't catch it quite right it rewinds into the ad and then I mash "PLAY" and it sticks me at the front of the ad cycle and I have to watch the ads all over again. God it makes me so mad just thinking about it.

All this because Michael Burnham has to whisper and cry and cry and whisper.

 

[dvegas]

The new Apple remote for the upgraded series 4 is light years above the previous remote. So much so, its acknowledge by Apple and they are offering the new remote for sale on a stand-alone basis.