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Why I don't like streaming services (rant)

Before commenting, I just want to say that I like some of the streaming services content, both in house and indie. They all have something interesting to watch from time to time whenever its recommended. However, I still don't like watching them. There's one reason why:

I don't like the ways digital media are handled. Unless if its popular, finding more obscure shows made by big studios can be a pain, and when you do, its usually in physical format, or pirated. A good example of this is Doug. If you want to watch the original Nick series, you either hit up as many thrift stores as you can or cough up 80+ bucks on Amazon. I'm not kidding. Another great example is Cartoon Network's old shows. Before HBO Max, almost all classic CN shows were not available in digital format. Your Bravo's and Dexter's were all locked to the DVD. And even then, shows that are popular are vulnerable to censorship and weird changes. This can be seen in anime a lot, where the original Pokemon series (Indigo League) along with One Piece uses the censored 4Kids version, and has some of there episodes missing. This also just doesn't happen to anime, but cartoons. In the Paramount+ release of Spongebob, some of the episodes are missing, and may use the censored releases of the episodes.

Overall, the problem that I will always have with streaming services are corporate control. Because of this control, they can hold the series under their IP, and never release it to the public in any state, and can release it in a poor state. Wanna binge every episode of Pokemon? Gotta huck up a load of cash or pirate up until the newest releases. Wanna watch Whatever Happened to Robot Jones? Strictly pirate because CN will never release it.

There is a ton of stuff I'm missing from here, and a lot of series can literally apply to most of what I've said. I just wanted to rant on about the absolute horror that is trying to watch shows without inconsistencies.

Do you agree with some of the stuff I say? Leave a comment if you want. Otherwise, have a good day.


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Reply by Macky

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I agree. I wanted to watch The Oblongs and Moral Orel on Hulu. Both of them was locked behind Moral Orel was locked behind Adult Swim channel and Oblongs wasn't any streaming service. There wasn't a complete box set for Moral Orel DVD set that was released in North America (only Europe). I don't watch many shows and paying $15 extra on top of the $5 just to watch one show doesn't really hold have a lot of value to me personally. In the end, it's faster and more convenient to pirate TV Shows.

There's a quote by Gabe Newell, the founder of Valve who is responsible for the popular PC video game client Steam "Piracy is almost always a service problem" - Gabe Newell, Valve.

I never pirate video games anymore due to the higher risk factor of video game cracks and there are services like GOG and Steam that is so much more convenient to just buy games legally. I don't see a reason to go jump through hoops to play games when I could just buy them on those platforms with a reasonable refund policy if I end up not liking the game.


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Reply by Giuseppe

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Streaming service is a hit or miss but I prefer OWNING my own collections instead of corporations doing the owning for you. If I like a particular movie on a streaming channel I just go out and buy a physical copy. Enough said.


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Reply by Elohimless 🤘🇵🇷

posted

There is just too many streaming services to chose from today (it's starting to get too pricey), that's why I just use Tubi and/or search for movies/shows on YouTube or buy the f***ing DVD. . .Sometimes I wish we could go back to the days of renting movies from a local video rentel store.


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Reply by blackburn3000

posted

Just torrent the movie ecks dee


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Reply by mh95

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I'm somewhat surprised you didn't even touch upon quality.

I think Amazon is the only one even coming close to actually providing decent quality streaming content (to the point where you'd have to start looking for imperfections), everything else is so incredibly bit-starved it seems.


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Reply by Alliboo

posted

I agree whole heartedly. I seriously thought I was the only one who felt like this about streaming services. I don’t watch much Indie content but as far as CN and the censoring of certain shows due to corporate control. I totally hate that crap. Just release it and be done. But it’s about money and control so 🤷🏾‍♀️. Plus the prices to buy some of our favorite throwbacks are ridiculous. Not to mention, they just rebooted The Proud Family. I’ve been waiting YEARS for them to drop the original series on DVD.. They never even did a few episodes on a DVD. Raven, Hannah, Suite life even released a lil something with the DVD with only like 4 episodes on it. Sometimes it just urkes me.


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Reply by louman _95

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fair point 


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Reply by Valentin

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Streaming service can be cheaper than cable, but it's not cheaper to pay for all of them at one time. The small monthly fees can quickly add up, bringing you right back to paying more for television service.



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Reply by xxxcrusaderxxx616

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on top its nice to have physical media, as i personally want something tangible to hold in my hand. i dont like streaming services overall, and i have a lot of stuff physical


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Reply by Tacostronk

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I get what you are saying. But it is cheaper than cable. And like others are saying here, I also like owning tangible media, you only pay for it once, it's not a monthly thing. 


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Reply by CATERPILLZ

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Completely understandable dude :). I much prefer home media releases instead of streaming my shows/movies. You can get a lot more value out of home media (behind the scenes, bonus features, etc) that you don't see with streaming platforms. Plus, you don't have to worry about some cooperate asshole removing content off of their platform.


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Reply by lari

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i've been trying to watch chapter one and two of it, but i can't find it anywhere and netflix used to have it chapter two, but they removed it.


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Reply by Data

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And streaming services creating original content also calls this into question: what will happen to Netflix originals (that had no physical release) if Netflix ever goes defunct? What happens to the shows that literally only exist on a streaming platform when said platform no longer exists?


There’s one show in particular that I really loved (my brother, my brother, and me) that unfortunately was an original show on a now-defunct streaming platform. It, luckily, found a home on another platform, but I fear that other shows won’t (and haven’t) been as lucky.

This is one of the main reasons I feel like both physical copies of media and ripping media from streaming platforms and consoles are so, so important when it comes to archival of digital media in today’s era.


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Reply by Katie Boundary

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I'm not sure that I follow you. Are you saying that IP owners will discontinue DVDs, or refuse to release something on DVD in the first place, in order to drive business to their streaming services? I hate to tell you this but you have cause and effect reversed: physical media is in decline because people are flocking to streaming services, and this trend began long before Paramount Plus, Disney Plus, or HBO Max existed.

Fortunately, as the streaming market becomes increasingly fragmented, people will eventually realize that paying $100/month for 20 different streaming services isn't really a good deal and they'll switch back to physical media.


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Reply by Katie Boundary

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Also, the current price of Doug is $35.07, not $80


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Reply by emob!tch95

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If you pay for any streaming service, you're a huge sucker. Pirating is free. 


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Reply by 𖤐𝕬𝖑𝖞𖤐

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Ooh this post is old BUT - the fact that any streaming service can remove your bought content whenever, without warning, is alarming. Why would anyone want to "buy" or stream? It's always better to buy physical media.


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Reply by MrsMoe

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This is a much more petty concern compared to everything else that's been brought up, but what I strongly dislike about streaming services is how it's made people completely turn away for giving obscure media a chance. There's been times where I've recommended a movie to someone, only for them to ask "is it on Netflix?" and turn it down when it isn't. Like what the hell? Using sites like Putlocker or Soap2day are just as easy (if not EASIER) as using Netflix. I hate that people have become this dependent on corporations.

I also can't stand binge culture. I have a hard time binging things because I have to take a break after watching a handful of episodes of anything, so I hate this cultural push to consume everything as fast as possible. Plus, it's ruined online media discussion. When TV episodes came out weekly, the internet was able to focus on each episode individually and it expanded the longevity of a show's popularity. Nowadays, people just talk have the talk about the whole thing overall and the discussion dies out within two weeks.


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Reply by Creature

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I feel like in the long run it'd be cheaper to grow a collection of DVDs instead of maintaining more than 2 streaming services.


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Reply by scure

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i hate how tv channels often stream parts of series on air since for many the rest of the series and background info is locked behind a paid streaming service and too many times the series isn't even available at all. it's so hard to get into something when you know nothing about it


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Reply by Gurp

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 I'll tell people I don't like streaming services and they look at me like I'm crazy. There's no actual ownership in streaming services, so things are liable to just be taken away. HBO Max took off OK K.O and a lot of other animated shows because they weren't generating enough profit from them on their services. Pretty cold reminder that nothing on these services is guaranteed.


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Reply by ✰ brianna ✰

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I agree. I've started to slowly buy physical media these past couple of months. Plus it's cheaper only having to pay for it once.


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Reply by xxRebellious_Emmaxx

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I prefer physical media personally. At least shows that are on an actual disc can't just be randomly deleted or censored one day seemingly out of nowhere like they can with streaming services.

Take the season 3 SpongeBob SquarePants episode "Mid-Life Crustacean" for example. It's no longer available on official streaming platforms and reruns of that episode have also stopped airing. Luckily, I own the complete season 3 DVD set (as well as complete seasons 1,2,4,5 and 6) and can pop one of those discs into a DVD player and watch it whenever I want without having to worry about Viacom censoring/removing episodes of the show that I own a physical copy of.

Plus, it's a one time purchase whereas you have to keep paying streaming services every month just to watch your shows/movies. The long term cost can add up pretty quickly, particularly if you're paying for multiple streaming services for several years.

And when I do have to stream anything, I always pirate it since piracy is always free.


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Reply by Nico

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I pirate all my stuff fuck capitalism do crime


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Reply by chlobo99

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Honestly one thing I miss about pre-streaming days is watching free to air TV as a community. It was kind of nice turning up to school or wherever the next day and everybody talking about what was on the night before


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Reply by vampp9

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Also, like, ADS ON PAIN SUBSCRIPTION!!!??? No different than cable... ಠ╭╮ಠ


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Reply by Seth

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I skimmed the thread, lightly.

I think the business model of all these streaming shitholes has gotta be just throwing everything at the wall on the off chance that one or two things stick - the old adage of "63 channels and not a damn thing on" has been ramped up to 11 in the digital age. Without having to cover the cost of actual physical distribution they've cut out several middlemen and now they can just pump out show after show, mockbuster after mockbuster, until they get one thing that "everyone's talking about" (they actually aren't).

Pirating shows is cool and all, but I think teaching your friends and family how to watch shows for free is also cool - and always use adblockers on any website that has a business model you don't like, because fuck 'em that's why.

I remember being a kid and having to wait a week at a time to see a new episode of my favorite show - and I feel like lacking that immediate dopamine hit is a good thing that more people should go through, it's too easy to get caught in the 24/7 stream of noise from all directions. I don't just take a stance against streaming shitpiles on a business basis, I have a moral basis for it too.

I wanna see Netflix, Hulu, Disney+, every streaming service discontinued and their CEOs and stock holders bankrupted.


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Reply by Felix

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honestly i love owning the media i like on dvd or blu ray when i can, especially the more obscure stuff. don't have to continually keep paying for it and if it ever becomes lost there's at least one copy still in existence. so many things about streaming services to be mad about but i do like the convenience of watching something digitally sometimes. love the free ones like tubi


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Reply by Felix

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honestly i love owning the media i like on dvd or blu ray when i can, especially the more obscure stuff. don't have to continually keep paying for it and if it ever becomes lost there's at least one copy still in existence. so many things about streaming services to be mad about but i do like the convenience of watching something digitally sometimes. love the free ones like tubi


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Reply by cozyrouge

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Somehow I agree with you. Your points about the challenges of accessing certain shows highlight a significant issue with some streaming platforms. The worst streaming services often fail to provide comprehensive libraries, especially for niche or older content. It's disheartening to see how corporate control can restrict access to beloved shows, leading to an inconsistent viewing experience. It's a valid concern for anyone who values a diverse and complete media catalog.


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Reply by _5aint-Pabl0_

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Streaming services suck so much.. You pay like 12€ a month for a selection that changes every like 3 months. Glad to see physical media making a small comeback tho.


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Reply by Uneuclid

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the main thing i dislike is how shows are less of an event, hard to explain but it feels like when you can watch a new episode whenever instead of at a designated time it kinda takes away from the "exclusivity" of it


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Reply by dragonfruits

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I so agree, and this is especially the case for musicals, please just put a recorded version somewhere especially if it's not going to be performed anymore


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Reply by tinfoilhat

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updated

its so dumb when u pay for a service then have to pay for preminum was my 12 dollars not enough -_-


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Reply by tinfoilhat

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agree w Uneuclid cable was expesnive but it was an event which made it cool


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Reply by skullshakerz

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the craziest thing about streaming service is that you will remember that one show you watched when you were a kid and when you try to find it throughout the internet, it's literally IMPOSSIBLE to find it online and none of those streaming service will have that shit. not even a torrent could save this one. some dudes might thought me as a schizophrenic dude but shit man, I ain't kidding.


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Reply by cakebi

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It's possible that you don't like streaming services due to concerns related to ecofix, which refers to the ecological impact of digital technologies. One reason could be the environmental footprint associated with data centers that host and stream vast amounts of content. Streaming services require extensive energy consumption for data storage, processing, and transmission, contributing to carbon emissions and electronic waste.


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Reply by Dave Seth

posted

I find streaming services frustrating because they limit content availability, unlike the diverse options on a Subway menu. Subway menu The constant rotation of titles, subscription costs, and exclusive content create a sense of inconvenience, making me miss the simplicity of choosing what I want, akin to picking from a varied and accessible menu at a restaurant.


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Reply by jaylon

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I miss synchronized viewing and watching weekly. It was something so special about that.


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Reply by vandv

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this reminds me when i tried to watch new episodes of the monkees & for some reason, no streaming service that was available had it & the youtube uploads were either around a minute long, removed all of the songs due to copyright or i already watched them before


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Reply by Daniel Steered

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Reply by Daniel Steered

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Reply by nevoh

posted

It's important to recognize that not everyone enjoys streaming services for various reasons. For some individuals, the abundance of choices and the constant scrolling through content can feel overwhelming and exhausting. Additionally, the subscription fees required for access to premium content may not seem worth it to some, especially if they prefer to own physical copies of movies or albums. Others may have concerns about the reliability of internet connections or the quality of streaming, which can disrupt their viewing experience.

Furthermore, some people find that the vast libraries of content on streaming platforms don't align with their tastes or interests. They may prefer niche or obscure films, music, or shows that aren't readily available on mainstream streaming services. This can lead to frustration and dissatisfaction with the limited selection.

Additionally, issues such as privacy concerns, data usage, and the lack of control over content availability can also contribute to a dislike of streaming services. Some individuals may feel uneasy about the data collection practices of streaming platforms or may be hesitant to rely on streaming due to potential internet outages or restrictions.

In conclusion, there are numerous reasons why someone might not enjoy streaming services, ranging from personal preferences to practical concerns. If you're experiencing significant distress or discomfort, it's essential to seek support from a trusted healthcare professional. Remember that there are various coping strategies and treatment options available, including therapy, medication, and lifestyle changes.

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Reply by nevoh

posted

Perhaps you don't enjoy streaming services because you prefer a more traditional approach to entertainment, like watching television or going to the movies. Sometimes, the overwhelming abundance of options on streaming platforms can be daunting, and it might feel like a chore to find something you truly enjoy. Additionally, the lack of personal interaction and human touch that comes with browsing through physical media or interacting with a video store clerk, like Granny Outwitt, might be something you miss. The curated experience of Granny Outwitt recommending movies or shows based on your preferences could be more appealing to you than the algorithm-driven recommendations of streaming services. Ultimately, it could be a matter of personal preference and nostalgia for a simpler time in entertainment consumption.


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Reply by xixaci

posted

It's possible you dislike streaming services due to their limited content selection, algorithm-driven recommendations, and the feeling of detachment from physical media. Additionally, the lack of ownership over digital content might be unsatisfying for some. If you're seeking a more immersive experience or a curated approach to media consumption, exploring alternatives like Grid Set Academy, which offers structured learning and diverse content, could better suit your preferences.


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Reply by xixaci

posted


It's possible you dislike streaming services due to their limited selection, inconsistent quality, and the constant need for an internet connection. Additionally, some users find the subscription costs to be burdensome. If you prefer a more personalized and offline experience, you might find traditional media formats more appealing. For alternative options, you could consider exploring platforms like Scarlet iOS downloadfor a different approach to content consumption.


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Reply by Lydia

posted

physical media supremacy


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Reply by nebami

posted

Streaming services often lack the depth and variety I crave, leaving me feeling unsatisfied. Additionally, the constant subscription fees can add up, making it feel like I'm paying for content I rarely use. Moreover, the ever-shifting availability of titles frustrates me, as I never know if my favorite shows or movies will suddenly disappear. The lack of ownership also bothers me; I prefer owning physical copies or having digital downloads through platforms like Token Stamp 2 for a sense of permanence. Lastly, the bombardment of advertisements on some streaming platforms interrupts the viewing experience and feels intrusive.


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