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TV: Now What?

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Re: TV: Now What?

#61

Post by [deleted] »

nullindividual wrote: post #54
slovette wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

While perhaps a nominal iteration of improvement, cable was this way too. You didn’t have to have the $100 /month service package. There was always the $30 /mo basic cable (no guide box). The industry simply recycling its business model in new delivery methods is a valid complaint/perception.

But! With cable, if you didn't buy the upper tier packages, you may have missed out on some great shows/networks (e.g., HBO). And cable companies often use contracts to make downgrading expensive. With streaming services, cancelling after you've binge watch the shows you're interested in comes with no penalty.

[deleted]

Re: TV: Now What?

#62

Post by sanitycheck »

kolanos wrote: post #8

> Roku uses a proprietary language and UI toolkit I thought Roku was originally based on Silverlight, but I may be misremembering. I can't find any source to validate that. But Roku still quietly has the biggest market share in this space.

As someone who's used BS & Silverlight, I would say they are not alike except very superficially (XML for layout - but Android also has that).

I'd have to look quite hard to find a language I like less than BrightScript, it's horrible.

Re: TV: Now What?

#63

Post by lotsofpulp »

slovette wrote: post #33
bmy78 wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No one says you have to subscribe to ALL of the streaming platforms at once. If cost is an issue, pick 1 or 2 services, watch the shows you’re interested in, then cancel those and pick 1 or 2. Rince and repeat. You have choice with this approach and you don’t need every service offered.

While perhaps a nominal iteration of improvement, cable was this way too. You didn’t have to have the $100 /month service package. There was always the $30 /mo basic cable (no guide box). The industry simply recycling its business model in new delivery methods is a valid complaint/perception.

Mind boggling that someone can compare the utility to cost ratio of cable/satellite TV requiring contracts and installations to on demand libraries of near unlimited content with instant sign up and cancel abilities on every device.

Exact opposite of a “nominal iteration”.

Re: TV: Now What?

#64

Post by sanitycheck »

hotnfresh wrote: post #37
kolanos wrote: post #8

> Roku uses a proprietary language and UI toolkit I thought Roku was originally based on Silverlight, but I may be misremembering. I can't find any source to validate that. But Roku still quietly has the biggest market share in this space.

They use a language called BrigthScript that’s closest to Visual Basic. It was originally intended for digital signage. A few years back they “improved” it with XML crap that you have to use to describe public methods of your objects(!) and stuff. It was better before (docs and examples for old and new style exist). Notable quirks include the XML companion files for code interface descriptions (in the newer SDK, anyw…

With sufficient head-scratching and ingenuity it's possible to use BS to create a UI like the "big players" have. But yes, they get to do roughly what they want as I understand it - C and/or HTML/JS.

Quite annoying when, in this space, the most common requirement is "make it like Netflix".

Re: TV: Now What?

#65

Post by all2 »

h2odragon wrote: post #41
barbazoo wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Plex, Jellyfin, LibreELEC, Kodi... those are the best solutions for those wanting to manage their own destiny and TV experience. As long as one produces their own content, right?

Archive.org has vast amounts of video; from public domain through "that's not supposed to be here." There's lots of other sources too.

I'm curious now, can you give an example of one of the 'that's not supposed to be here' things?

Re: TV: Now What?

#66

Post by snvzz »

scarface_74 wrote: post #47
mindslight wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No, just pirate. I can kind of understand why people started giving Netflix money for the convenience, despite that supporting an industry desperately trying to destroy the Internet. But now with a thousand and five different "services", continually squeezing users for more revenue, digital restrictions management that makes perfectly good hardware stop working, and ever more surveillance telemetry in the various app…

So instead of just paying a few bucks a month I’m going to go through the trouble of trawling the internet to find a good torrent and then set up my own Plex server (been those done that) - alternative I can just open an app and not think about it.

These days you get a much worse service if you pay[0].

Can't make that shit up.

0. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o4GZUCwVRLs

Re: TV: Now What?

#67

Post by bawolff »

scarface_74 wrote: post #60
Eisenstein wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Do you really want to ban all producers from being able to distribute their own goods and depend on middlemen? Yes. > Whether you know it or not, since the 1930s things have changed, TVs are popular, there is this thing called the internet and websites. So? > Do you also want to ban software developers and song writers from being able to publish their own work on websites? Maybe. It doesn't appear to be a problem y…

You agree with the fact that iOS developers must go through the App Store? Would you want it to be illegal for you to distribute any content you produce and for you to have to go through a middle man? Does that also mean if that I wanted to create my own Indy movie I couldn’t sell it on my own website? How does it help the consumer for all content to have to go through a middle man where they get a cut? And it matter…

> You agree with the fact that iOS developers must go through the App Store? Would you want it to be illegal for you to distribute any content you produce and for you to have to go through a middle man?

I mean, honestly, having app stores be separate from the phone maker sounds like a great idea. The monopoly that apple has on the app store is harmful to both producers and consumers of apps.

> Would you want it to be illegal for you to distribute any content

Isn't this already effectively the case in the phobe market? Not illegal per se, but practically speaking impossible.

Re: TV: Now What?

#68

Post by 01100011 »

jmbwell wrote: post #15

The fragmentation is both a flaw and a feature. It means we have diversity in media vendors, at the cost of a pretty high cognitive load to just watch something… which app is it on? What’s the account login? Search the device main search, then go to each app and do its own individual search. All while dodging ads and autoplay and “what’s new” and “for you.” It sucks for users. But it also sucks for developers, who ha…

I'd love to see the feds step in and force content providers to make their content available to anyone willing to make a compliant (sorry, DRM likely required)frontend. I should be able to buy content from, say, Paramount using Hulu and not be forced to use Paramount's app.

Re: TV: Now What?

#69

Post by Tajnymag »

scarface_74 wrote: post #47
mindslight wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No, just pirate. I can kind of understand why people started giving Netflix money for the convenience, despite that supporting an industry desperately trying to destroy the Internet. But now with a thousand and five different "services", continually squeezing users for more revenue, digital restrictions management that makes perfectly good hardware stop working, and ever more surveillance telemetry in the various app…

So instead of just paying a few bucks a month I’m going to go through the trouble of trawling the internet to find a good torrent and then set up my own Plex server (been those done that) - alternative I can just open an app and not think about it.

This is, unfortunately, a point very much tied to the region you live in. In my region, even if I pay the same price as the users from US, not only do I pay much more in terms of percentage of my income, but I also get just a fraction of the content available.

Imagine, I'd want to watch some Doctor Who for example, there's exactly zero streaming services offering the show in my country.

Re: TV: Now What?

#70

Post by adamomada »

scarface_74 wrote: post #47
mindslight wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No, just pirate. I can kind of understand why people started giving Netflix money for the convenience, despite that supporting an industry desperately trying to destroy the Internet. But now with a thousand and five different "services", continually squeezing users for more revenue, digital restrictions management that makes perfectly good hardware stop working, and ever more surveillance telemetry in the various app…

So instead of just paying a few bucks a month I’m going to go through the trouble of trawling the internet to find a good torrent and then set up my own Plex server (been those done that) - alternative I can just open an app and not think about it.

For a while now there are services out there (usually on discord) who will rent you a plex container hooked up to a ridiculous size media library (I’ve seen multiple in the 1.5 PB+ range) with basically everything from every streaming service , Bluray, or DVD in the original bit for bit download, just sans-DRM

This is probably going to catch on more and more - it’s not free, you have to pay, but! - it’s $10 a month for everything like Spotify

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