Netflix, Amazon and Hulu No Longer Find Themselves Upstarts in Online Streaming
1–10 of 48 posts
Re: Netflix, Amazon and Hulu No Longer Find Themselves Upstarts in Online Streaming
#2As a consumer, I don't like the direction where streaming services are headed - many small services with limited content (original or not).
I've been a Netflix customer for years now (I also had Hulu Plus, cancelled it due to their then-horrendous interface). While in the past I was very impressed with Netflix's selection, I now find it... meh, despite all the original content. When I pay Netflix, it's not for one, two or ten specific shows, no matter how much I liked House Of Cards or Orange Is The New Black. It's for a big, diverse, easy-to-explore library, in which I can discover new content and I always have something to watch.
And as much as I like HBO programs, there is no chance I'll pay 15$/m for their streaming service, especially after I've already watched most of the content! I understand everybody wants a piece of that streaming revenue pie, but as a consumer, I can't but feel that this situation is bad for me.
Re: Netflix, Amazon and Hulu No Longer Find Themselves Upstarts in Online Streaming
#3As a consumer, I don't like the direction where streaming services are headed - many small services with limited content (original or not). I've been a Netflix customer for years now (I also had Hulu Plus, cancelled it due to their then-horrendous interface). While in the past I was very impressed with Netflix's selection, I now find it... meh, despite all the original content. When I pay Netflix, it's not for one, t…
Netflix seems to be very forward-looking at least with 4K already available. Still, I'd rather have a larger library of 720p content than fund a bunch of new mediocre shows. It's no surprise that everything is fragmenting into the new services proving that piracy will continue be the best option for the consumer.
Re: Netflix, Amazon and Hulu No Longer Find Themselves Upstarts in Online Streaming
#4As a consumer, I don't like the direction where streaming services are headed - many small services with limited content (original or not). I've been a Netflix customer for years now (I also had Hulu Plus, cancelled it due to their then-horrendous interface). While in the past I was very impressed with Netflix's selection, I now find it... meh, despite all the original content. When I pay Netflix, it's not for one, t…
Netflix seems to be very forward-looking at least with 4K already available. Still, I'd rather have a larger library of 720p content than fund a bunch of new mediocre shows. It's no surprise that everything is fragmenting into the new services proving that piracy will continue be the best option for the consumer.
In my area at least, I can sub to Netflix, Prime and HBO and still be paying far less than I would for cable. This is saying a lot considering it is on demand content with no commercials. On top of that, if I find Netflix lacking at some point, I can stop the sub for x months and come back later where most cable packages lock you for a year or more.
I have the same concern, but I think ultimately I will be able to subscribe to exactly what I want and still come out cheaper and more convenient than cable will ever be.
Re: Netflix, Amazon and Hulu No Longer Find Themselves Upstarts in Online Streaming
#5As a consumer, I don't like the direction where streaming services are headed - many small services with limited content (original or not). I've been a Netflix customer for years now (I also had Hulu Plus, cancelled it due to their then-horrendous interface). While in the past I was very impressed with Netflix's selection, I now find it... meh, despite all the original content. When I pay Netflix, it's not for one, t…
That's exactly why the cable guys have been saying that bundling is the most economic option for consumers that want a large content catalog. As content creators stand up their own streaming services they'll begin to pull their content from third party streaming services (see Starz/Netflix). Consumers will eventually have two choices: purchase a very small subset of services directly from providers or go back to the big bundle.
Netflix and Amazon realize this, which is why they're scrambling to become content creators. Without original content, they're doomed to be nothing more than the Internet version of Nick at Nite.
Re: Netflix, Amazon and Hulu No Longer Find Themselves Upstarts in Online Streaming
#6As a consumer, I don't like the direction where streaming services are headed - many small services with limited content (original or not). I've been a Netflix customer for years now (I also had Hulu Plus, cancelled it due to their then-horrendous interface). While in the past I was very impressed with Netflix's selection, I now find it... meh, despite all the original content. When I pay Netflix, it's not for one, t…
> many small services with limited content (original or not)
UK customer here, totally agree.
Add to that the frustration of time limits on how long content is available for. I'm dawdling my way through Alias, just started s03, but Amazon emailed me today to say it's going away on April 12th.
Multiple devices, or device lock-in - I have a Roku 3, it'll do Netflix, BBC iPlayer, NowTV and Google Play. But I need to buy separate device to watch Amazon because Roku is a competing h/w platform. Fortunately I discovered my old Sony BDP BluRay player works with Amazon, but it's still a friction point and the UI is clunky.
No One Provider - you need to have subscriptions with at least two or more streamers to get a semi-decent range of content and even then I find 75% of it fairly mediocre.
I could go on.
> It's for a big, diverse, easy-to-explore library, in which I can discover new content and I always have something to watch.
I'm happy to and want to pay for content, but I still seem to end up torrenting stuff because these services are so infuriatingly patchy and limited.
Re: Netflix, Amazon and Hulu No Longer Find Themselves Upstarts in Online Streaming
#7As a consumer, I don't like the direction where streaming services are headed - many small services with limited content (original or not). I've been a Netflix customer for years now (I also had Hulu Plus, cancelled it due to their then-horrendous interface). While in the past I was very impressed with Netflix's selection, I now find it... meh, despite all the original content. When I pay Netflix, it's not for one, t…
Netflix seems to be very forward-looking at least with 4K already available. Still, I'd rather have a larger library of 720p content than fund a bunch of new mediocre shows. It's no surprise that everything is fragmenting into the new services proving that piracy will continue be the best option for the consumer.
I don't understand why anyone cares about Netflix 4K. Their regular HD video bitrate maxes out at 3.9Kbps, apparently.[1] Their "Super HD" takes you up to 6mpbs. OTA television signals are at 18mbps.[2] And Blu-Ray can go up to 40mbps.[3] Increasing the number of pixels without increasing the bitrate doesn't really fit any more actual picture info into the stream.
1) http://blog.streamingmedia.com/2013/09/netflix-doubles-video... 2) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_Television_Systems_Com... 3) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blu-ray_Disc#Bit_rate
Re: Netflix, Amazon and Hulu No Longer Find Themselves Upstarts in Online Streaming
#8Can you read the article without subscribing/logging in? There are more and more posts like that. Damn
Re: Netflix, Amazon and Hulu No Longer Find Themselves Upstarts in Online Streaming
#9Earlier quoted context omitted.
Netflix seems to be very forward-looking at least with 4K already available. Still, I'd rather have a larger library of 720p content than fund a bunch of new mediocre shows. It's no surprise that everything is fragmenting into the new services proving that piracy will continue be the best option for the consumer.
I don't understand why anyone cares about Netflix 4K. Their regular HD video bitrate maxes out at 3.9Kbps, apparently.[1] Their "Super HD" takes you up to 6mpbs. OTA television signals are at 18mbps.[2] And Blu-Ray can go up to 40mbps.[3] Increasing the number of pixels without increasing the bitrate doesn't really fit any more actual picture info into the stream. 1) http://blog.streamingmedia.com/2013/09/netflix-dou…
The 18Mbps OTA signals you mention are MPEG2. Netflix is AVC. Anything above 6Mbps AVC is pointless because the quality differences become indiscernible. You need to start tuning things like frame rate and filters at that point.
Re: Netflix, Amazon and Hulu No Longer Find Themselves Upstarts in Online Streaming
#10Earlier quoted context omitted.
Netflix seems to be very forward-looking at least with 4K already available. Still, I'd rather have a larger library of 720p content than fund a bunch of new mediocre shows. It's no surprise that everything is fragmenting into the new services proving that piracy will continue be the best option for the consumer.
I don't understand why anyone cares about Netflix 4K. Their regular HD video bitrate maxes out at 3.9Kbps, apparently.[1] Their "Super HD" takes you up to 6mpbs. OTA television signals are at 18mbps.[2] And Blu-Ray can go up to 40mbps.[3] Increasing the number of pixels without increasing the bitrate doesn't really fit any more actual picture info into the stream. 1) http://blog.streamingmedia.com/2013/09/netflix-dou…
Keep in mind that OTA television is using MPEG-2 instead of the more advanced H.264 video codec - roughly double the bitrate for the same quality.
As well, OTA is somewhat inefficient with duplicated frames, as all 1080i content is broadcast at 1080i60, whereas Netflix can encode content to the original frame rate (i.e. 1080p24).