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TV disappears, but HBO Max removing shows feels different

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Re: TV disappears, but HBO Max removing shows feels different

#41

Post by twoodfin »

rightbyte wrote: post #40
twoodfin wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’d disagree that S2 is where the show went wrong. It holds up quite well on rewatch, with probably 3-4 of the best overall episodes. Ironically, I think Nolan & Joy made the same kind of mistake Dr. Ford criticizes in the premiere: They forgot why people wanted to watch Westworld . Fundamentally, the show was about the park, with all its mystery and detail. They seemed to think it was actually about the ideas around…

Ye I agree with the later. People wanted a Western with cowboys. It also had this "Greec theater thing word" were the audience, the guests, knew the story but the actors, the hosts, didn't. Concerning the former I guess that is a matter of taste. I watched it with my wife and she was extremely dissatisfied with the change of genre and pace. Lets pretend you know her. You understand why she disliked it right? She love…

Yeah, I can imagine a version of that show that’s basically S1 but stretched out much longer. I can also imagine it being quite enjoyable, there was a lot of story space back and front to explore that they didn’t get to before things went to hell in the park. Some of the best parts of S1 were in this mode: “Ooh, Pariah… that’s new and different!”

On the other hand, I think it would have required robbing S1 of the coherent, two track, beginning-middle-end story that made it as compelling as any single season of any show.

Re: TV disappears, but HBO Max removing shows feels different

#43

Post by pmontra »

rthomas6 wrote: post #32
dave78 wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A decent portion of the article was devoted to the physical disc option and how it's increasingly uncommon for that to even be offered as a choice.

Like I said, if the company isn't selling the movie/show anymore, well, what choice do you have?

Some people buy (rent?) videos and books, then download a DRM free copy from bittorrent.

Re: TV disappears, but HBO Max removing shows feels different

#44

Post by jrm4 »

rthomas6 wrote: post #25

I really don't understand why people are surprised. If you don't have access to the file itself, you don't own it. "Buying" a movie on a platform or paying for a subscription service are both just paying for a revokable license to access a movie. You do not own it and access can be revoked at any time according to whatever platform's ToS. If you want to own an actual copy of a TV show or movie, buy the physical disc.…

The last paragraph wasn't necessary to me; while I'm glad we have "if you can't pay I understand" -- but I also think that "if you can pay you always should" isn't nuanced enough?

I imagine few of us want "cable all over again," but that's what it looks like we're headed toward? Offhand, I'd e.g. like to pay for individual shows. Let me pay $5 for Severance and I literally need nothing else from Apple TV.

Re: TV disappears, but HBO Max removing shows feels different

#45

Post by indigodaddy »

jrm4 wrote: post #44
rthomas6 wrote: post #25

I really don't understand why people are surprised. If you don't have access to the file itself, you don't own it. "Buying" a movie on a platform or paying for a subscription service are both just paying for a revokable license to access a movie. You do not own it and access can be revoked at any time according to whatever platform's ToS. If you want to own an actual copy of a TV show or movie, buy the physical disc.…

The last paragraph wasn't necessary to me; while I'm glad we have "if you can't pay I understand" -- but I also think that "if you can pay you always should" isn't nuanced enough? I imagine few of us want "cable all over again," but that's what it looks like we're headed toward? Offhand, I'd e.g. like to pay for individual shows. Let me pay $5 for Severance and I literally need nothing else from Apple TV.

You can already do that with Vudu/iTunes/Amazon (maybe not the $5 part but sales fire off frequently enough for tv shows if you keep your eye out on Slickdeals / CheapCharts etc)

Re: TV disappears, but HBO Max removing shows feels different

#46

Post by jsnell »

jrm4 wrote: post #44
rthomas6 wrote: post #25

I really don't understand why people are surprised. If you don't have access to the file itself, you don't own it. "Buying" a movie on a platform or paying for a subscription service are both just paying for a revokable license to access a movie. You do not own it and access can be revoked at any time according to whatever platform's ToS. If you want to own an actual copy of a TV show or movie, buy the physical disc.…

The last paragraph wasn't necessary to me; while I'm glad we have "if you can't pay I understand" -- but I also think that "if you can pay you always should" isn't nuanced enough? I imagine few of us want "cable all over again," but that's what it looks like we're headed toward? Offhand, I'd e.g. like to pay for individual shows. Let me pay $5 for Severance and I literally need nothing else from Apple TV.

That's unlikely to be a economically viable price point.

DVDs used to cost about $20 / season, right? And digital purchase of shows (rather than subscriptions) when it used to be more of a thing was typically $2 / episode. Are you still game at those prices?

Re: TV disappears, but HBO Max removing shows feels different

#47

Post by indigodaddy »

ProjectArcturis wrote: post #39

I'd still like to watch the old episodes of HBO's Real Sex. As far as I know, that was never available on their streaming platforms. I guess they were going for "Prestige TV", and Real Sex was too close to late-night smut. Even on torrents, I can only find a few episodes.

Also the excellent early 90s HBO show Dream On is a lost relic never likely to be resurrected.

Re: TV disappears, but HBO Max removing shows feels different

#48

Post by ezfe »

rthomas6 wrote: post #25

I really don't understand why people are surprised. If you don't have access to the file itself, you don't own it. "Buying" a movie on a platform or paying for a subscription service are both just paying for a revokable license to access a movie. You do not own it and access can be revoked at any time according to whatever platform's ToS. If you want to own an actual copy of a TV show or movie, buy the physical disc.…

Well, a subscription service is literally a subscription access, of course.

If you buy an iTunes movie and keep the downloaded file (there is a single file), it works so long as you retain an iTunes account (it is DRM protected, that DRM is account-specific, NOT media-specific)

Re: TV disappears, but HBO Max removing shows feels different

#49

Post by bgorman »

I am a pretty loyal HBO max customer, despite the troubles with the service. The content is just too good.

I thought this would be about B-tier content. But Westworld? Arguably HBOs biggest hit since game of thrones? What are the MBAs looking at? It was bad enough that Westworld was not in 4K.

Now that the White Lotus is over, maybe i should cancel

Re: TV disappears, but HBO Max removing shows feels different

#50

Post by indigodaddy »

DVD Netflix service (yes this service is still around, albeit the library a fleeting image of what it once was) has the first 3 seasons of Westworld on Bluray [1]. Hopefully they’ll have S4 soon as well.

[1] https://dvd.netflix.com/Movie/Westworld/80066897

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