The bottom is dropping out of Netflix • Hacker News Board

Re: The bottom is dropping out of Netflix

#381

Post by samstave » Fri, Apr 22, 2022, 4:25 PM UTC

hardwaregeek wrote: post #268

cercatrova wrote: post #101

It's easier just to pirate than keep up with all these streaming services. - You get the benefit of high quality (true 4k, not stream compressed "4k") and no buffering. - Plex, Radarr, Sonarr automatically downloads and categorizes your content for you, you can just sit back and enjoy your content. - Edit: Plex et al are not the *only* ways to download content, not sure why some replies are thinking so. I too can typ…

I don't know how to phrase this nicely, but this is precisely the type of Hacker News nerd-blindness that I find amazing. It's "easier"? Is it? For young children who want to watch their kids shows and don't know what 4k means? For grandparents who want to see some k-dramas and have no clue about DRM or geo-locked? Sure, Netflix has issues and it's made some bad decisions, but let's not delude ourselves here. The gro…

This is why we need an Airport Hub model for media consumption hubs, like Plex. (Which is what Cable TV started out to be: We provide the infrastructure to get the signal into the home. You, the media-company, pays to land your content at our hub so that our subscribers to our infrastructure can see your content.

There are lists of how much it would cost to have all the streaming services, and for a LONG time, it was illegal for cable companies to prevent you from selecting the channels you would like a-la-carte... but it did NOT prevent them from charging too much for each channel to make that an unworkable...

"You want JUST HBO? Sure, no problem, if you don't buy it in the bundle, the individual channel cost is $29 per month!"

---

That is THE failure of "regulation" ; THE GOVERNMENT WILL MANDATE THROUGH LOBBIED REGULATION THAT ONE MUST HAVE THIS [SERVICE] - HOWEVER, WE WILL NOT REGULATE HOW MUCH YU CAN BE CHARGED FOR THE SERVICE, BUT WE WILL FINE AND PUNISH YOU IF YOU DO NOT HAVE THIS SERVICE.

Re: The bottom is dropping out of Netflix

#382

Post by teawrecks » Fri, Apr 22, 2022, 4:25 PM UTC

hardwaregeek wrote: post #268

cercatrova wrote: post #101

It's easier just to pirate than keep up with all these streaming services. - You get the benefit of high quality (true 4k, not stream compressed "4k") and no buffering. - Plex, Radarr, Sonarr automatically downloads and categorizes your content for you, you can just sit back and enjoy your content. - Edit: Plex et al are not the *only* ways to download content, not sure why some replies are thinking so. I too can typ…

I don't know how to phrase this nicely, but this is precisely the type of Hacker News nerd-blindness that I find amazing. It's "easier"? Is it? For young children who want to watch their kids shows and don't know what 4k means? For grandparents who want to see some k-dramas and have no clue about DRM or geo-locked? Sure, Netflix has issues and it's made some bad decisions, but let's not delude ourselves here. The gro…

You mean the kids who don't buy all those streaming services? Or the grandparents who don't buy all those streaming services? We agree, not having to deal with all these streaming services is easier than having to deal with all these streaming services.

But if we're talking about the people who are buying all the streaming services, it's currently easier to pirate. I get that you haven't taken two seconds to do any amount of research on the matter and that complete lack of any experience whatsoever gives you a sense of expertise to call other people blind and absurd, but consider that maybe you just don't know what you're talking about?

Re: The bottom is dropping out of Netflix

#383

Post by dml2135 » Fri, Apr 22, 2022, 4:25 PM UTC

CabSauce wrote: post #160

cercatrova wrote: post #101

It's easier just to pirate than keep up with all these streaming services. - You get the benefit of high quality (true 4k, not stream compressed "4k") and no buffering. - Plex, Radarr, Sonarr automatically downloads and categorizes your content for you, you can just sit back and enjoy your content. - Edit: Plex et al are not the *only* ways to download content, not sure why some replies are thinking so. I too can typ…

Sure. It's also stealing. And doesn't provide any money for future shows that you might enjoy. Don't get me wrong, I've done it for some things that I wanted to watch, but wasn't willing to pay for. But let's not pretend that everyone torrenting is a reasonable solution.

There are many lifetimes of content out there already. What if I'm fine with there being no money for future shows?

I really fail to see how a world without high-budget Marvel films will be so bad. I'd be fine watching old movies and art-house productions for the rest of my life.

Re: The bottom is dropping out of Netflix

#384

Post by rnd0 » Fri, Apr 22, 2022, 4:25 PM UTC

gorwell wrote: post #337

rnd0 wrote: post #271

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"the blue bus travels over denmark" rnd0, April 2022. Also gibberish. I mean, as long as we're going to be spewing content-free sentences I might as well get mine in. "Woke" isn't a useful term because today in 2022 it basically means "anything a conservative doesn't like". "Woke mind virus" is particularly egregious -that's pure hyperbole without even a pretense of meaning. The problem with Netflix in the main isn't…

The "woke" all have the same opinions and aggressively attack any deviation. It acts like a parasite or virus that contains a payload of dogma replicating itself from host to host. It turns rational people into zombies, so mind virus describes it very well. Challenges to the dogma are considered dangerous as it threatens the ability for the virus to spread. You're right that the virus could be a different variant, li…

What are those opinions, please; if there is no variation then that ought to be easy enough for you to detail.

>It turns rational people into zombies, so mind virus describes it very well.

If you believe in literal zombies, I'd gently suggest to you that your own grip on rationality may not be as firm as you believe.

Re: The bottom is dropping out of Netflix

#385

Post by andrew_ » Fri, Apr 22, 2022, 4:26 PM UTC

danans wrote: post #322

I doubt most of the subscription loss is attributable to reasons that most HN types go on about (the rants about wokeness, not enough scifi, carousel UI, pirating etc...). What's probably going on is after after a few years of pandemic isolation and Netflix binging, the arrival of pandemic triggered inflation, and overall higher employment rates, people just have less interest, time, and money to binge watch longer f…

I had been a Netflix for customer for 10 years. For me personally, it's a combination of several of the reasons you cast doubt on. While I may not be in the majority, I am real and those reasons (which I shall not list, to avoid HN wrath) were attributed to my cancellation.

Re: The bottom is dropping out of Netflix

#386

Post by the_other » Fri, Apr 22, 2022, 4:26 PM UTC

bin_bash wrote: post #333

rhino369 wrote: post #323

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's not easier. I've got a BS in EE and am old enough to have downloaded episodes of the TV show 24 over 56k using early BitTorrent. I've successfully set up plex (which requires an in house server/spare pc), sonarr, radarr, usenet, etc. I'm probably the 99% percentile in ability to pirate. And its not easier than netflix. 90% of people I know probably couldn't set this up. And the other 10% would spend more time di…

I didn't understand the GabeN reference but looked it up: > "Piracy is a service problem." Valve's Gabe Newell said that years ago, touting the success of Steam, his online video game distribution service.

Am I the only person that hates Steam?

The UX is crap; the info architecture is obscure; it doesn't work well on macOS (or at all if I use the wrong file system); it uses confusing labels for the stash of stuff I've already bought. I don't use it often enough to know if my usr/pwd is still valid (it is, fortunately). It had some slightly odd 2FA type thing the last time I logged in. It just gives me the impression that it wants to hide games from me that I've already bought and to make new ones hard to find. I'd rather have discs in boxes taking up space (tbf I also collect vinyl so maybe I'm just anachronistic?)

The only good thing going for it is that it doesn't ever email me junk.

Re: The bottom is dropping out of Netflix

#387

Post by CodeMage » Fri, Apr 22, 2022, 4:26 PM UTC

californical wrote: post #314

Stunting wrote: post #291

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You're stealing income, specifically from me and all of my coworkers. Perhaps you think that you're only stealing from Producers and A list actors, but there are entire departments that receive residuals on a production. - On screen performers, stunt performers like myself and actors who grind out a comfortable living. Those residuals also go to qualifying for health insurance through earnings. You are directly steal…

Is it really stealing if they wouldn’t have ever paid for it in the first place? If it’s not easy to find and use on a subscription service that I already have, I’m just not gonna try to search for it or pay for it. What difference would it make if I pirated it and watched it anyways? (FWIW I personally don’t pirate anything, I just really don’t see the merit to the “stealing” argument)

Yes, it is. But even though you didn't manage to communicate your point correctly, it still stands: the only reason streaming replaced piracy was because people could afford it and it was easier to use.

Even the ease of use has declined, and the affordability is down the toilet. And as usual, we have people at the top reaping record profits and making victims of their greed blame each other at the same time.

EDIT: Fixed a grammar error.

Re: The bottom is dropping out of Netflix

#388

Post by andrew_ » Fri, Apr 22, 2022, 4:26 PM UTC

ilrwbwrkhv wrote: post #92

Honestly for me I just do not know all the content Netflix has because the browsing is so bad. I wish instead of pushing shows to me best on algorithms, it would just let me browse categories and recent additions etc in a simpler way. Maybe categorised by year.

They started losing me when they took away the ratings. Just got worse from there.

Re: The bottom is dropping out of Netflix

#389

Post by ohyoutravel » Fri, Apr 22, 2022, 4:27 PM UTC

tomc1985 wrote: post #367

hardwaregeek wrote: post #268

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't know how to phrase this nicely, but this is precisely the type of Hacker News nerd-blindness that I find amazing. It's "easier"? Is it? For young children who want to watch their kids shows and don't know what 4k means? For grandparents who want to see some k-dramas and have no clue about DRM or geo-locked? Sure, Netflix has issues and it's made some bad decisions, but let's not delude ourselves here. The gro…

The thing that all these everyman-boosters that have invaded and gentrified tech seem to forget is that people are capable of learning, and with the right motivation, they will. Can piracy be the bridge to tech literacy? Sure.

The comment was:

“It's easier just to pirate than keep up with all these streaming services.”

Which seems false on its face. Every TV has access to all these streaming services built in. Or Roku devices, which take moments to set up. This is unrelated to whether people are capable of learning, but I am even bearish on that when it comes to the average person in the current piracy environment.

Re: The bottom is dropping out of Netflix

#390

Post by hackernewds » Fri, Apr 22, 2022, 4:27 PM UTC

andrew_ wrote: post #385

danans wrote: post #322

I doubt most of the subscription loss is attributable to reasons that most HN types go on about (the rants about wokeness, not enough scifi, carousel UI, pirating etc...). What's probably going on is after after a few years of pandemic isolation and Netflix binging, the arrival of pandemic triggered inflation, and overall higher employment rates, people just have less interest, time, and money to binge watch longer f…

I had been a Netflix for customer for 10 years. For me personally, it's a combination of several of the reasons you cast doubt on. While I may not be in the majority, I am real and those reasons (which I shall not list, to avoid HN wrath) were attributed to my cancellation.

Same