Disney+ hit by technical glitches on launch day • Hacker News Board

Re: Disney+ hit by technical glitches on launch day

#141

Post by dewey » Tue, Nov 12, 2019, 9:54 PM UTC

zzzcpan wrote: post #107

cookiecaper wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Indeed. Last night I was telling my wife that it'll be real interesting to see how well the launch goes and that I'd expect them to have continuous issues for the first 3-6 months (which may be Netflix's only prayer). Video is hard to get right, with quirks across many combinations of platform/device/OS/browser version/video card/playback resolution/format features, and it consumes around 90% of total internet traffi…

> which may be Netflix's only prayer Isn't Disney projecting to get like 10-20% of subscribers compared to that of Netflix in five years? Why are people talking like Disney streaming is such a big thing?

Because Disney has a huge back catalog that they can use in the coming years (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disney_Vault) would be one reason for that (and a lot of nostalgia).

Re: Disney+ hit by technical glitches on launch day

#142

Post by [deleted] » Tue, Nov 12, 2019, 9:54 PM UTC

baddox wrote: post #127

bryanlarsen wrote: post #126

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Netflix's costs are higher for UHD streaming: storage, bandwidth, production, et cetera. What's scummy about it?

In my view, the "native" format that they produced the content in is the format they should be delivering by default (if supported by the viewer's setup). Of course I recognize that people will disagree, after all, UHD Blu-rays also generally cost more than 1080p Blu-rays. But of course, UHD Blu-rays aren't backwards compatible with standard Blu-ray equipment, so it doesn't feel like an artificial limitation simply f…

[deleted]

Re: Disney+ hit by technical glitches on launch day

#143

Post by dewey » Tue, Nov 12, 2019, 9:55 PM UTC

testplzignore wrote: post #78

MentallyRetired wrote: post #3

I don't think anyone on hackernews would be surprised by this. The scale they have to operate at is absolutely insane. To scale flawlessly on day 1 is a big ask of any development team.

Disney+ is arguably the largest software release of all time in terms of scale. My estimate is that they will be handling 1-2% of all internet traffic by the end of the week. I can't think of a launch of this scale that has gone smoothly. Modern console releases, AAA games with online multiplayer, Pokemon Go, healthcare.gov... all cases where organizations literally have billions in cash. It does not matter how much…

To be exact they didn't go from 0 to 100 though as it was already live in the Netherlands for a month.

Re: Disney+ hit by technical glitches on launch day

#144

Post by TylerE » Tue, Nov 12, 2019, 9:56 PM UTC

gamblor956 wrote: post #121

WorldMaker wrote: post #119

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Disney+ also has a bundle offer for Hulu, and ESPN+ as a trio. Disney just recently reassured shareholders that Hulu was their focus for all of Disney's less "family friendly/family focused" content (Miramax, much of the Fox catalogs), including that the FX/FXX content programming team is moving into building Hulu Originals in addition to cable content. Disney seems keen on differentiating Hulu enough from Disney+ th…

From people that work at Hulu, the current strategy is for Hulu to remain the live-streaming/online DVR option for broadcast shows, and to be the sreaming platform for experimental and adultish fare like Always Sunny, with Disney+ remaining the family-friendly/mainstream/prestige streaming platform in the Disney suite.

Who on earth thinks this is a good idea? I want ONE FUCKING SERVICE.

Re: Disney+ hit by technical glitches on launch day

#145

Post by reaperducer » Tue, Nov 12, 2019, 9:56 PM UTC

riazrizvi wrote: post #131

gamblor956 wrote: post #122

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's a gigantic arctic front moving across most of the US East coast right now. Thousands of schools and businesses are closed due to the weather. The point of launching on a Tuesday morning was to test out the system with a small audience ahead of Thanksgiving, or even the weekend, when they would properly expect to be slammed. But due to the weather, they're getting slammed by all the people stuck at home with n…

Given that a good plan would involve a contingency of handling initial users between 10mm and 100mm, bad weather is a poor excuse.

You keep trying to flog that same horse, and you only end up sounding like someone who's never launched anything at scale.

Re: Disney+ hit by technical glitches on launch day

#146

Post by Macuyiko » Tue, Nov 12, 2019, 9:59 PM UTC

riazrizvi wrote: post #110

SigmundA wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No plan survives contact with the enemy. Simulating the real world is hard.

'No plan survives contact with the enemy', means you need an adaptable system to succeed. The way you use it though, it's like you are saying 'expect to fail'.

That's exactly what you should be saying

Re: Disney+ hit by technical glitches on launch day

#147

Post by jonwachob91 » Tue, Nov 12, 2019, 10:03 PM UTC

cookiecaper wrote: post #29

MentallyRetired wrote: post #3

I don't think anyone on hackernews would be surprised by this. The scale they have to operate at is absolutely insane. To scale flawlessly on day 1 is a big ask of any development team.

Indeed. Last night I was telling my wife that it'll be real interesting to see how well the launch goes and that I'd expect them to have continuous issues for the first 3-6 months (which may be Netflix's only prayer). Video is hard to get right, with quirks across many combinations of platform/device/OS/browser version/video card/playback resolution/format features, and it consumes around 90% of total internet traffi…

>>> The logical conclusion, of course, is that Disney should've just bought Netflix

Why buy Netflix when you could get a similarly qualified team and infrastructure by buying Hulu? Oh wait... Disney already owns Hulu... Whoops.

What about ESPN. ESPN has a really good streaming product. Oh wait... Disney already owns that one too...

Disney didn't need to buy Netflix, they just needed to use the resources they already owned!

Re: Disney+ hit by technical glitches on launch day

#148

Post by shmerl » Tue, Nov 12, 2019, 10:04 PM UTC

EpicEng wrote: post #135

shmerl wrote: post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Whatever it is, it's simply dumb and totally Disney style.

Is it dumb though? Why should they care about Linux users? Really, how does it make sense for them to spend time on it?

It sure is, because it will be broken and pirated either way. So what did they achieve? They simply lost paying customers, nothing more.

It totally makes no sense to spend any time and resources on DRM. Instead, they should start offering video DRM-free for sale, not just for rent.

The reasons they are pushing this junk are political. As was well explained here: https://www.gog.com/forum/general/introducing_gogcom_drmfree...

Also, surprising to see so many here on HN endorsing DRM junk and those who push it on everyone.

Re: Disney+ hit by technical glitches on launch day

#149

Post by NikolaNovak » Tue, Nov 12, 2019, 10:07 PM UTC

lotsofpulp wrote: post #117

nickthegreek wrote: post #112

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The plan that offers UHD also offer multiple screens. It it is a legitimate way for customers to pay to stream multiple things at the same time. So while it costs around the same as the HBO plan, it offers something that some other services do no. Apple TV+ allows family sharing, but I dont know about Disney+.

Netflix’s multiple screens implementation makes it everyone has access to everyone else’s profile. They should’ve let people link individual Netflix accounts together, but I can see how that can cause fewer possible subscribers if people start sharing.

>. They should’ve let people link individual Netflix accounts together

Spotify does that and it's a complete deal breaker.

I want to log in to all my home devices _once_, with a single account. Not continuously log out and log in and try to type complex passwords with a remote control. I mean, I can't even play different songs on different Google Homes or different TVs with Spotify, unless I sign in with different account on each - and then each device is stuck with a specific set of playlists. Horrible.

Netflix's system has worked out brilliantly for us - we have half a dozen TVs, and any member of the family can watch anything they want on any TV with their own preferences and profiles with minimum hassle.

Re: Disney+ hit by technical glitches on launch day

#150

Post by makr17 » Tue, Nov 12, 2019, 10:08 PM UTC

basch wrote: post #100

ssully wrote: post #91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've never handled a project like this, but I feel like the goal should be to meet what average demand will be once the high demand of the first few days goes down. No one is going to remember that they couldn't login to Disney+ on the first day as long as the experience on the second and going forward is strong.

Plus, its free press. "Disney+ so popular at launch it was hard to get into for a couple hours." Meanwhile, as people are getting home from work and reading that headline, and Disney+ now works.

"You loved us so much you broke us."