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posted by martyb on Monday January 07 2019, @01:15AM   Printer-friendly
from the Whatever-happened-to-Blockbuster? dept.

If you watch streaming aggregators such as Netflix and Hulu you've likely noticed a decrease in the scope of their catalogs, with items of interest being added less frequently over time, and entire catalogs of content disappearing. New shows come out and don't ever make it to the service, or perhaps are only available through some add on service.

My favorite of all time was the "You need a cable subscription to watch this content, please log in with your cable provider", why even show us those?

This trend has been ramping up as providers try to build and market their own streaming services and restrict competition via content (or via adjustments to bandwidth for their streams)

And it is getting worse - "Netflix and chill no more—streaming is getting complicated" explores the trend.

Disney Plus is set to launch late next year with new Marvel and Star Wars programming, along with its library of animated and live-action movies and shows. It hasn't announced pricing yet, but Disney CEO Bob Iger said in an August call with analysts that it will likely be less than Netflix, which runs $8 to $14 a month, since its library will be smaller.

AT&T plans a three-tier offering from WarnerMedia, with a slate of new and library content centered around the existing HBO streaming app. No word on pricing yet.

Individual channels, such as Fox, ESPN, CBS and Showtime, are also getting into the act. Research group TDG predicts that every major TV network will launch a direct-to-consumer streaming service in the next five years.

Subscribing to service after service will quickly cost more than a cable bill, choice will be limited, finding shows more difficult, and multiple terrible interfaces (instead of one well known crummy interface). Much of the point of cord cutting will be dismantled.

One thing I am sure of, companies that I despise for their past actions (e.g. Disney for copyright terms) are never going to get a direct subscription from me. If their content is not on an aggregator they won't see my money at all. (My little contributions to karma here and there make me happy.)

Families will have to decide between paying more each month or losing access to some of their favorite dramas, comedies, musicals and action flicks.

So fellow cordcutters, will you drop $10/month on half a dozen different subscription services or stick with the aggregators and hope this trend dies out? Maybe add one or two more? Could just dropping them all and picking up shows individually as needed on things like Google and Amazon be the best option soon?

Is the era of binge watch at risk?


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  • (Score: 2, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Monday January 07 2019, @01:25AM (16 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday January 07 2019, @01:25AM (#782956)

    I was just lazy and paid amazon $3 for a movie, I would maybe do $5 before finding another way or not watch it.

    • (Score: 1) by Ethanol-fueled on Monday January 07 2019, @01:45AM (2 children)

      by Ethanol-fueled (2792) on Monday January 07 2019, @01:45AM (#782962) Homepage

      Was it a DRM free movie, or do you at least have the option of watching it unlimited times on multiple computers provided you supply account credentials?

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday January 07 2019, @01:54AM

        by Anonymous Coward on Monday January 07 2019, @01:54AM (#782967)

        No, only good for 2 days.

      • (Score: 2) by RandomFactor on Monday January 07 2019, @01:54AM

        by RandomFactor (3682) Subscriber Badge on Monday January 07 2019, @01:54AM (#782969) Journal

        $3 on Amazon? I'm guessing a 'rental'

        --
        В «Правде» нет известий, в «Известиях» нет правды
    • (Score: 3, Interesting) by takyon on Monday January 07 2019, @02:28AM (11 children)

      by takyon (881) <reversethis-{gro ... s} {ta} {noykat}> on Monday January 07 2019, @02:28AM (#782978) Journal

      Kodi 17.6 [kodi.tv]
      Install guide (Amazon Fire stick) [firesticktricks.com]

      Yoda
      Repo: Supremacy [supremacy.org.uk]

      Exodus Redux
      Repo: IAC [github.io]

      tvOne
      Repo: Skymashi [skymashi.eu]

      Chronos
      Repo: Skydarks [skydarks.com]

      --
      [SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
      • (Score: 2) by takyon on Monday January 07 2019, @02:33AM (6 children)

        by takyon (881) <reversethis-{gro ... s} {ta} {noykat}> on Monday January 07 2019, @02:33AM (#782981) Journal

        Extras:

        Apple iTunes Podcasts [kodi.wiki]
        Icecast [kodi.wiki]
        Radio [kodi.wiki]

        Gismeteo [kodi.wiki] (weather plugin for Kodi)

        (all 4 are on Kodi's official repo)

        See also:

        Pluto TV (free app on Amazon Fire TV)

        --
        [SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
        • (Score: 3, Informative) by The Mighty Buzzard on Monday January 07 2019, @02:39AM (5 children)

          by The Mighty Buzzard (18) Subscriber Badge <themightybuzzard@proton.me> on Monday January 07 2019, @02:39AM (#782982) Homepage Journal

          Extra extra:
          emerge -av net-p2p/deluge
          or
          emerge -av net-p2p/transmission

          --
          My rights don't end where your fear begins.
          • (Score: 2) by takyon on Monday January 07 2019, @03:39AM

            by takyon (881) <reversethis-{gro ... s} {ta} {noykat}> on Monday January 07 2019, @03:39AM (#783002) Journal

            My solution gets you:

            1. live streaming TV
            2. no need for external storage
            3. no copystrikes

            And you can get torrent-based addons for Kodi if you want.

            --
            [SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
          • (Score: 2) by Gaaark on Monday January 07 2019, @03:53AM (3 children)

            by Gaaark (41) on Monday January 07 2019, @03:53AM (#783005) Journal

            Do you have a consistent pirate site or proxy site?

            It seems piratebay.org is on and off, I read pirate bay.cr may be compromised.....

            --
            --- Please remind me if I haven't been civil to you: I'm channeling MDC. ---Gaaark 2.0 ---
            • (Score: 3, Informative) by bzipitidoo on Monday January 07 2019, @04:24AM (1 child)

              by bzipitidoo (4388) on Monday January 07 2019, @04:24AM (#783021) Journal

              No, but TorrentFreak frequently names torrent sites. Their lead story right now is their annual list of the best torrent sites: https://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-popular-torrent-sites-of-2019/ [torrentfreak.com]

              And if all else fails, there is the humble public library. They're not bad for old classics, the very thing on which Netflix is so weak any more.

              • (Score: 2) by Gaaark on Monday January 07 2019, @11:39AM

                by Gaaark (41) on Monday January 07 2019, @11:39AM (#783121) Journal

                THANKS!
                :)

                --
                --- Please remind me if I haven't been civil to you: I'm channeling MDC. ---Gaaark 2.0 ---
            • (Score: 2) by Pslytely Psycho on Monday January 07 2019, @03:44PM

              by Pslytely Psycho (1218) on Monday January 07 2019, @03:44PM (#783212)

              www.popcorn-time.to

              Been using it with separate VPN (in case theirs gets compromised)
              Available in Windows, MAC, Android, IOS and LINUX varieties.
              Netflix like interface. Avoid popular movies that aren't at the top of the list, usually say you need to go to a special site to download codec. Obvious Honeypot. A week later it will be a proper download and near the top.
              Watch the first few minutes to avoid the occasional cam download, especially for very new downloads.
              TV shows and Movies.

              I figure everything is compromised, that's why I don't use the built in VPN.

              --
              Alex Jones lawyer inspires new TV series: CSI Moron Division.
      • (Score: 5, Insightful) by Gaaark on Monday January 07 2019, @04:03AM (3 children)

        by Gaaark (41) on Monday January 07 2019, @04:03AM (#783009) Journal

        My daughter subscribes to Netflix and enjoys watching Bob's Burgers. She went to watch it the other day and the season she was going to watch had been pulled.

        I had it on my hard drive and so gave it to her.

        They wonder why people get pissed off at their shit and go piratey.

        --
        --- Please remind me if I haven't been civil to you: I'm channeling MDC. ---Gaaark 2.0 ---
        • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday January 07 2019, @05:35AM (2 children)

          by Anonymous Coward on Monday January 07 2019, @05:35AM (#783051)

          I wouldn't have Netflix at all if I wasn't being given it by T-Mobile. The catalog sucks and the interface is so terrible that even if there are things that I'd like to watch, it's incredibly hard to find them.

          They do have some nice originals, but the service's catalog is tiny and getting smaller by the month. It used to have a great selection, but they keep raising prices for less content and using the extra money to expand overseas.

          • (Score: 2) by Phoenix666 on Monday January 07 2019, @02:46PM (1 child)

            by Phoenix666 (552) on Monday January 07 2019, @02:46PM (#783187) Journal

            We dropped Netflix three years ago for that reason. The kids occasionally access it on the Roku, leaching off a relative's account, but 9 times out of 10 they'd rather watch youtube or play video games. I try to get them to watch classic films like Star Wars and the Matrix, so that they'll know the cultural touchstones, but it feels pretty clear they only do it to humor us old people.

            I don't know if that's something that's more widely shared in their generation, but if it is it bodes ill for traditional narrative structures.

            --
            Washington DC delenda est.
            • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday January 07 2019, @03:00PM

              by Anonymous Coward on Monday January 07 2019, @03:00PM (#783193)

              well when i bought my new home, i couldn't afford cable and it was a new community and so I didnt know if there was a local cable pirate guy--the typical cable installer gone rogue. usually a neighborhood has a guy servicing a local area.

              i decided to ditch the tv entirely.

              i still have a vcr, dvd player, and even a blu ray player in a few pcs, but... even as I approach middle age, i find that girls and video games are still way cooler to play with than watching tv. usually of breasts or explosions, which I was getting without the TV.

              it is not that the kids are young and that you are old. its that you haven't tried finding something to do without the tv. pretend you wont be an arrogant snot if you give up television and force yourself, out of boredom or desire or interest or just because I said so, to do something besides watch tv or optimize your free time around when shows are on or when you can watch recorded or streamed shows.

              i couldnt 'make' time. but i found i had a lot of it after the tv got moved into the basement and got turned into a shelf for junk. it is an old tubed one that clips off a lot of the bottom of the picture, where on TV shows you wouldnt notice it much, but in video games it could render some unplayable. so it wasnt even useful for an old gaming system/console or 8 bit computer for the most part--and besides, even an old 800x600 vga monitor looks really sharp on an old system with a $20 adapter.

              so yeah go ahead. stop watching tv for a few days and see if you can adjust. its a lot easier when the cable is out and there is no recourse, but if you can couple giving up facebook at the same time, maybe you can pick up a new vice like ecigs and have something in common with the kids so y ou can hang out with them and share narratives.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday January 07 2019, @04:21AM

      by Anonymous Coward on Monday January 07 2019, @04:21AM (#783017)

      Yep, Is the era of the bittorrent is back... Woohoo!

      These assholes better learn that we are going to set pricing policy from now on. The box office did better than ever last year, so fuck 'em!

  • (Score: 3, Insightful) by stormreaver on Monday January 07 2019, @01:36AM (5 children)

    by stormreaver (5101) on Monday January 07 2019, @01:36AM (#782960)

    For me, the whole point of cord cutting was the outrageous cable bill and the indignities of paying to watch commercials. Netflix hit the right balance between price and availability. While streaming is nice and convenient, I still maintain the DVD subscription to get shows and movies that aren't available for streaming. There is NOTHING that an explosion of subscription services will do to change this balance for me. I won't have more than two streaming services. Period. I will happily cut back my streaming subscription in favor of DVD-in-the-mail if Netflix's streaming options get too paltry (it's bumping up against that now).

    The only reason I have Prime Video is because it comes free with the shipping service, and so I don't yet count it as my second streaming service. Of course, with Prime Shipping's usefulness declining, and the streaming options complementing those of Netflix, I may consider my Prime subscription to be for streaming. That will be my second streaming service. Beyond that, I'm done paying for streaming. Whatever I can't get between Netflix and Amazon (which may be interchangeable with YouTube if it's catalog gets more interesting), just doesn't exist. Disney's service is a non-starter for me, and the whole notion of subscribing to CBS, NBC, ABC, etc. is laughable.

    • (Score: 2) by RandomFactor on Monday January 07 2019, @01:52AM (1 child)

      by RandomFactor (3682) Subscriber Badge on Monday January 07 2019, @01:52AM (#782965) Journal

      Both are certainly factors here as well. So

      Cost - Much WORSE
      On Demand - WORSE (varies by service)
      1 stop shop - Much WORSE
      Selection - WORSE
      Commercials - WORSE (varies by service)

      From a consumer perspective the above will either get worse, or at best be only slightly degraded.

      The argument will predictably be that we will get more/better content because the studios will be able to make more due to the increased revenue. I actually credit this slightly, but think that it will be a case where we add a billion and they make 100million more worth of content.

      --
      В «Правде» нет известий, в «Известиях» нет правды
      • (Score: 4, Informative) by Phoenix666 on Monday January 07 2019, @02:52PM

        by Phoenix666 (552) on Monday January 07 2019, @02:52PM (#783192) Journal

        With the existence of P2P/torrents, there's a definite limit to how much they can make something suck and still make money. People will pay a little bit for more convenience, but drop the convenience in that ratio too much and the studios will make nothing because customers will decide to flip them the bird and get what they want for free from torrents.

        Meanwhile their ultimate nightmare approaches, in the form of widespread competence at quality video production. The fanfic Star Trek that ran last year was excellent. I've seen other things online, too, that are close enough to what Hollywood produces. Thanks to YouTube and services like it people are teaching themselves how to produce quality content. It means we're on the cusp of an explosion of new content and perspectives that have never made it through the studio filters.

        --
        Washington DC delenda est.
    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday January 07 2019, @01:53AM (2 children)

      by Anonymous Coward on Monday January 07 2019, @01:53AM (#782966)

      >> "Of course, with Prime Shipping's usefulness declining..."
      Would you explain that? I don't notice any change.

      • (Score: 1) by nitehawk214 on Monday January 07 2019, @05:18AM

        by nitehawk214 (1304) on Monday January 07 2019, @05:18AM (#783048)

        Ever since Amazon started doing local contractors for shipping instead of UPS and FedEx the quality went straight to shit. No attempt to even walk up to my door, instead just throwing it at my garage or leaving it in a random spot nowhere near the door out in full view of the street.

        Not everyone has experienced this however, some people I have talked to say they prefer Amazon.

        --
        "Don't you ever miss the days when you used to be nostalgic?" -Loiosh
      • (Score: 2) by stormreaver on Monday January 07 2019, @01:24PM

        by stormreaver (5101) on Monday January 07 2019, @01:24PM (#783152)

        2-day shipping has increasingly become three or four day shipping. When I logged into Amazon using my work computer, I found that the base prices of some products I bought from home were lower by the exact cost of shipping. So I started entertaining the notion that free 2-day shipping is an outright fraudulent statement by Amazon. I haven't done enough price comparing to say how prevalent this is, but it certainly made me think.

  • (Score: 2, Insightful) by Skwearl on Monday January 07 2019, @01:38AM (1 child)

    by Skwearl (4314) Subscriber Badge on Monday January 07 2019, @01:38AM (#782961)

    Back to old habits i guess. I have a netflix, prime, and crave account. Now I need another 3 accounts?

    Anyone want to trade invites to private trackers?

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday January 07 2019, @06:07AM

      by Anonymous Coward on Monday January 07 2019, @06:07AM (#783057)

      I've got an invite to SoylentBay.com for you.

  • (Score: 5, Insightful) by Snotnose on Monday January 07 2019, @01:54AM (1 child)

    by Snotnose (1623) on Monday January 07 2019, @01:54AM (#782968)

    Pirate Bay

    And friends. Look, I'll pay for shit, we're cool with that. But $40 for this, then $40 for that where 90% overlaps with this, then another $40 for that one channel with those 2 shows you like? Yeah.

    Fuck y'all. Seriously, go piss on an electric fence in the rain. You blew it with cable. You're blowing it with streaming. Here, let me hand you a few beers before you have to piss.

    --
    Why shouldn't we judge a book by it's cover? It's got the author, title, and a summary of what the book's about.
    • (Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Monday January 07 2019, @05:39AM

      by Anonymous Coward on Monday January 07 2019, @05:39AM (#783052)

      I came just to post this. Streaming is bullshit these days, especially with everyone and their brother cranking out "originals" that most people don't want. If I type "Star Trek II" I'd better get a Wrath of Khan movie poster, not your stupid original series.

      You know what's not complicated? Piracy. Piracy, excluding the annoying complexity added by BitTorrent, is the ultimate in customer service when it comes to media distribution. The media has no DRM, the quality is way better than streaming services, there are no shitty unskippable movie trailers anywhere, downloads are often as fast as your connection can handle, and you get to keep the media forever if you want.

      And then there's Disney Fucking Plus, Amazon Prime services, and the iTunes Store.

  • (Score: 2) by The Mighty Buzzard on Monday January 07 2019, @02:50AM (14 children)

    by The Mighty Buzzard (18) Subscriber Badge <themightybuzzard@proton.me> on Monday January 07 2019, @02:50AM (#782985) Homepage Journal

    Disney has some good stuff but the delay between instances of Good Disney Stuff being released is way too long for a monthly fee. And after seeing what they've released from them so far, I also don't trust them to produce any small screen stuff from the Star Wars or Marvel franchises worth watching. They couldn't get a buck fifty a month out of me even with their entire back catalog online. Maybe if I had small children in the house. Maybe.

    If I were a betting man, I'd put money on their subscription-based streaming service being dead in less than six years. Individual rentals or individual purchases would work a lot better for them.

    --
    My rights don't end where your fear begins.
    • (Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Monday January 07 2019, @03:41AM (13 children)

      by Anonymous Coward on Monday January 07 2019, @03:41AM (#783004)

      Disney has a problem with greed and control. They've shown over and over again that when they see somebody else making money they have to try to move in to get some of that lucrative cash. The problem is they often don't understand why somebody else is making money and end up doing a cheap money grab and then wonder why it fails. For example, disney comics and video games. Disney has repeatedly gone between producing their own comics and video games and having someone else produce them. Someone else licenses a disney property, often one disney couldn't care less about, starts producing quality work and starts making money. Disney gets jealous, pulls the license and tries to do it themselves. They end up doing a poor to mediocre job of it and lose money or at the very least not make enough that they realize they would make more by licensing it out instead of doing it themselves and taking all the risk. They go back to licensing things out and then someone starts making quality work and making decent money and Disney gets jealous and pulls the license, repeat over and over again. Disney does not learn.

      • (Score: 2) by Gaaark on Monday January 07 2019, @03:58AM (4 children)

        by Gaaark (41) on Monday January 07 2019, @03:58AM (#783007) Journal

        My son loves Jigsaw puzzles: Disney consistently has the crappiest made puzzles. More expensive but cheaply made, so we don't buy them for him anymore.

        --
        --- Please remind me if I haven't been civil to you: I'm channeling MDC. ---Gaaark 2.0 ---
        • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday January 07 2019, @04:13AM (3 children)

          by Anonymous Coward on Monday January 07 2019, @04:13AM (#783015)

          You can pirate jigsaws too. All you need is a laser cutter and a large format printer.

          • (Score: 4, Touché) by The Mighty Buzzard on Monday January 07 2019, @04:31AM (2 children)

            by The Mighty Buzzard (18) Subscriber Badge <themightybuzzard@proton.me> on Monday January 07 2019, @04:31AM (#783023) Homepage Journal

            Or, you know, a jigsaw...

            --
            My rights don't end where your fear begins.
            • (Score: 2) by deimtee on Monday January 07 2019, @06:13AM (1 child)

              by deimtee (3272) on Monday January 07 2019, @06:13AM (#783058) Journal

              Nah, you need something finer than that. A jigsaw has way too much kerf. I think most of them are forme cut.

              --
              If you cough while drinking cheap red wine it really cleans out your sinuses.
              • (Score: 2) by The Mighty Buzzard on Monday January 07 2019, @12:02PM

                by The Mighty Buzzard (18) Subscriber Badge <themightybuzzard@proton.me> on Monday January 07 2019, @12:02PM (#783124) Homepage Journal

                Depends on your medium and your blade. They make jigsaw blades thin and agile enough to work quite well on quarter or eighth inch thick sheets of wood, plywood, or luan . If you go below that you do probably want a saber saw with one of the blades so thin that it breaks if you look at it wrong though.

                --
                My rights don't end where your fear begins.
      • (Score: 1) by nitehawk214 on Monday January 07 2019, @05:20AM (7 children)

        by nitehawk214 (1304) on Monday January 07 2019, @05:20AM (#783049)

        When people will buy up direct-to-video effortless "sequels" to popular franchises; why bother putting effort into anything at all. This has been Disney's m-o for decades.

        I foresee nothing changing in the digital age. Their streaming service will be a shit-show, I guarantee it. But people will still shell out even more than they paid for Netflix alone.

        --
        "Don't you ever miss the days when you used to be nostalgic?" -Loiosh
        • (Score: 2) by The Mighty Buzzard on Monday January 07 2019, @12:05PM (6 children)

          by The Mighty Buzzard (18) Subscriber Badge <themightybuzzard@proton.me> on Monday January 07 2019, @12:05PM (#783126) Homepage Journal

          Some will, sure. I don't think they will be enough for the House of Mouse to keep the service's doors open very long though. They produce a niche commodity rather than serving up a more broadly appealing catalog.

          --
          My rights don't end where your fear begins.
          • (Score: 2, Insightful) by nitehawk214 on Monday January 07 2019, @02:09PM (5 children)

            by nitehawk214 (1304) on Monday January 07 2019, @02:09PM (#783168)

            I agree. I assume their goal was to do their normal "lock up their classics in a vault", therefore families would be forced to subscribe so their kids can watch the same dumb Disney movie over and over.

            I think they greatly overestimate their own value. With media more available than ever before, families don't need to keep with a small collection of VHS tapes to entertain kids.

            --
            "Don't you ever miss the days when you used to be nostalgic?" -Loiosh
            • (Score: 3, Insightful) by The Mighty Buzzard on Monday January 07 2019, @02:48PM (4 children)

              by The Mighty Buzzard (18) Subscriber Badge <themightybuzzard@proton.me> on Monday January 07 2019, @02:48PM (#783189) Homepage Journal

              Bingo. As soon as they're allowed on YouTube, television largely loses their attention anyway in my experience. As near as I can tell, it's mostly for us old farts nowadays.

              --
              My rights don't end where your fear begins.
              • (Score: 2) by Phoenix666 on Monday January 07 2019, @03:32PM (3 children)

                by Phoenix666 (552) on Monday January 07 2019, @03:32PM (#783201) Journal

                Most of us old farts have seen everything they have many more times than we cared to, but it was the only thing on at the time.

                Content has changed, and we've changed with it. I don't know if anyone out there has experienced this, but I can barely get through movies I love. The other day I loaded up Brazil, my all-time favorite movie, and stopped watching it after the opening scene.

                When it comes to TV series, as soon as something starts to annoy me in the story arc, I drop it and never go back. I still never finished Lost because they abused the viewers in Season 2 or 3's opening with 45 minutes of commercials in the first hour. There remain six episodes of Breaking Bad I haven't seen because they thought they'd get cute by putting everything on hiatus for a year so they could milk re-runs.

                --
                Washington DC delenda est.
                • (Score: 2) by The Mighty Buzzard on Monday January 07 2019, @04:56PM (2 children)

                  by The Mighty Buzzard (18) Subscriber Badge <themightybuzzard@proton.me> on Monday January 07 2019, @04:56PM (#783240) Homepage Journal

                  Sounds more like you're getting to be a grouchy old bastard than losing your attention span. Good for you! Personally, the more movies I watch that don't have John Wayne in them, the less I want to watch movies at all. Over the past four years I've also nearly completely lost the ability to watch any television series that I don't already like too. The exception being most of Netflix's Marvel shows, so of course Disney has to fuck that up as well.

                  --
                  My rights don't end where your fear begins.
  • (Score: 1, Offtopic) by MichaelDavidCrawford on Monday January 07 2019, @07:01AM (5 children)

    by MichaelDavidCrawford (2339) Subscriber Badge <mdcrawford@gmail.com> on Monday January 07 2019, @07:01AM (#783073) Homepage Journal

    I really do. Not so much to avoid lawsuits as that some of my best friends are professional musicians.

    The previous tenant of my apartment left two Jesus Big TV sets when he moved out. I've never turned either of them on.

    A while back I realized my piano improvisation was stagnated, so I decided I'd start buying a lot of music that I knew in advance I would dislike. That fixed by improvisation and led to me liking _every_ kind of music.

    Even David Bowie did not like every genre: "I don't understand Country", whereas I do.

    --
    Yes I Have No Bananas. [gofundme.com]
  • (Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Monday January 07 2019, @08:06AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday January 07 2019, @08:06AM (#783084)

    Why do people show you advertisements? Because they want your MONEY!

    What I don't understand how some people pay to be abused in such way...

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday January 07 2019, @10:42AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday January 07 2019, @10:42AM (#783109)

    I mainly watch anime and the streaming services for those are terrible. I support the industry with merchandise and Manga sales. If I think someone I know would like the show I get the Blu-rays. From what I understand this supports the industry waaay more then services like Crunchyroll. As for live action I just pirate as most of the movies I watch are old. But really I prefer to spend my free time with other more productive aims or the occasional videogame.

  • (Score: 2) by Pino P on Monday January 07 2019, @02:41PM (4 children)

    by Pino P (4721) on Monday January 07 2019, @02:41PM (#783185) Journal

    If their content is not on an aggregator they won't see my money at all.

    Do you make an exception for independent video producers who haven't yet grown large enough that the big aggregators are interested in syndicating their works? If not, what steps should such a producer take?

    • (Score: 2) by Phoenix666 on Monday January 07 2019, @03:39PM (3 children)

      by Phoenix666 (552) on Monday January 07 2019, @03:39PM (#783204) Journal

      I find I don't mind buying a t-shirt or some such to support producers of that sort. We took the kids to see Jonathan Coulton [wikipedia.org] at the Prospect Park Bandshell in Brooklyn and we bought a couple of his albums and items; his songs are almost all about geek culture and much different from the RIAA pablum and we want to support that.

      My wife does the same for a band called Girly Man. Not a blockbuster act, but they have developed a fan following and do a good job nurturing it with just the right level of interaction (not too much to cheapen the experience, but not so little that people forget about them).

      --
      Washington DC delenda est.
      • (Score: 2) by The Mighty Buzzard on Monday January 07 2019, @05:06PM (2 children)

        by The Mighty Buzzard (18) Subscriber Badge <themightybuzzard@proton.me> on Monday January 07 2019, @05:06PM (#783243) Homepage Journal

        Coulton does musical humor damned well. I just wish he'd STFU about politics. He doesn't have the knack for being politically funny without being a dick like good political comedians do.

        --
        My rights don't end where your fear begins.
        • (Score: 2) by Phoenix666 on Monday January 07 2019, @11:19PM (1 child)

          by Phoenix666 (552) on Monday January 07 2019, @11:19PM (#783448) Journal

          I wasn't aware he had tried to be political. They all feel they need to jump on the #resistance bandwagon, it seems.

          "Chiron Beta Prime" and "Re: Your Brains" and his other songs have earned him latitude, though, in my book. Anybody who can write a good song about the Mandelbrot Set has stored up good geek karma in heaven.

          --
          Washington DC delenda est.
  • (Score: 1) by khallow on Monday January 07 2019, @05:24PM (2 children)

    by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Monday January 07 2019, @05:24PM (#783247) Journal
    I haven't figured out what the Cambrian Explosion has to do with this article. But on the plus side, I learned that the greatest era of continental crust building [wikipedia.org] happened between the time that "Snowball Earth" and massive erosion [soylentnews.org] was supposed to happen and the Cambrian. Seems to be more circumstantial support for that theory.
    • (Score: 2) by Phoenix666 on Monday January 07 2019, @11:27PM

      by Phoenix666 (552) on Monday January 07 2019, @11:27PM (#783458) Journal

      It's a strange metaphor, to choose an epoch with dramatic diversification and speciation to describe the arrival of new streaming services, but well within acceptable nerd parameters.

      --
      Washington DC delenda est.
    • (Score: 2) by RandomFactor on Monday January 07 2019, @11:46PM

      by RandomFactor (3682) Subscriber Badge on Monday January 07 2019, @11:46PM (#783468) Journal

      The inspiration for the title is about 2/3 of the way through the article:

      Forrester analyst Jim Nail compares this moment to the "Cambrian explosion," a historic era when plant and animal species rapidly multiplied after Ice Age glaciers receded.

      --
      В «Правде» нет известий, в «Известиях» нет правды
  • (Score: 2) by Apparition on Tuesday January 08 2019, @02:21AM (1 child)

    by Apparition (6835) on Tuesday January 08 2019, @02:21AM (#783525) Journal

    I currently subscribe to Amazon Prime Video, CBS All Access (for Star Trek of course), CuriosityStream, Philo, WWE Network, and YouTube Premium for a combined $68 per month. That's more than enough. No more video streaming services for me, thanks.

    • (Score: 1, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday January 08 2019, @08:57PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday January 08 2019, @08:57PM (#783851)

      If you had added WWE Network earlier on that list, I could have stopped reading sooner.

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