Roku, Plex, & other streaming solutions

[maxwelldeux]

have given up on FilmStruck - no way to watch it on my smart TV and they don't seem to care, so phooey on them.

Yes agreed. FilmStruck may have a wonderful movie selection but they still haven't got their act together in enabling people to watch them.

Especially after I found that I am able to watch Criterion and other films for free via Kanopy, which has better support all around for smart TVs, phones, etc.

I just checked out Kanopy, and I'm jealous - my library has Hoopla, which pales in comparison. So much better stuff on Kanopy...

[joachimt]

have given up on FilmStruck - no way to watch it on my smart TV and they don't seem to care, so phooey on them.

Yes agreed. FilmStruck may have a wonderful movie selection but they still haven't got their act together in enabling people to watch them.

Especially after I found that I am able to watch Criterion and other films for free via Kanopy, which has better support all around for smart TVs, phones, etc.

I just checked out Kanopy, and I'm jealous - my library has Hoopla, which pales in comparison. So much better stuff on Kanopy...

At least you guys have a free library.

[xianjiro]

have given up on FilmStruck - no way to watch it on my smart TV and they don't seem to care, so phooey on them.

Yes agreed. FilmStruck may have a wonderful movie selection but they still haven't got their act together in enabling people to watch them.

Especially after I found that I am able to watch Criterion and other films for free via Kanopy, which has better support all around for smart TVs, phones, etc.

That's disappointing to read.

[maxwelldeux]

Holy hell. Our smart blue ray player finally stopped being smart, and my wife just bought a tiny little Roku. It's SOOOOOOOO much better than what I was doing before. And and and, it's the first player I've had that actually has Hoopla on it, so I can finally watch films on Hoopla (free through library) on a real TV. I'm wicked excited.

[xianjiro]

cool! I know I'll have to think about replacing the bluray player sometime in the next few months - it's getting very picky about what it will play and how it will play things

[Knaldskalle]

Holy hell. Our smart blue ray player finally stopped being smart, and my wife just bought a tiny little Roku. It's SOOOOOOOO much better than what I was doing before. And and and, it's the first player I've had that actually has Hoopla on it, so I can finally watch films on Hoopla (free through library) on a real TV. I'm wicked excited.

These little boxes really are impressive. Forget "smart TV's" and "smart players" of various kinds.

[weirdboy]

They make TVs with Roku built in.

[3eyes]

Netflix just gets worse and worse, so I gave in and signed up for FilmStruck. Can't watch it on my SmartTV, can't watch it on my laptop (Adobe Flash causes it to crash). CAN watch it on my iPad, which at least is more easily portable than either of the above, though the tiny subs are hard on my aging eyes. Anyway, I'm quite pleased with the selection, but the navigation and help leave a lot to be desired.

[xianjiro]

Netflix just gets worse and worse

How so?

[3eyes]

Netflix just gets worse and worse

How so?

They have zilch in the way of 20th-century movies streaming, 3/4 of new additions are Bollywood, they're ditching all their 20th-century DVDs as well.

[maxwelldeux]

Netflix just gets worse and worse

How so?

They have zilch in the way of 20th-century movies streaming, 3/4 of new additions are Bollywood, they're ditching all their 20th-century DVDs as well.

They're pouring so much money into original content and TV series that they're spending less on older movies and/or movies they didn't make. Save for a few high profile ones, there's relatively little for this ICM hobby we have. I would ditch it, if my parents and grandparents weren't also using my account.

[joachimt]

Netflix just gets worse and worse

How so?

They have zilch in the way of 20th-century movies streaming, 3/4 of new additions are Bollywood, they're ditching all their 20th-century DVDs as well.

I still find enough likable movies (although the main reason for our subscription are my wife and kids), but I'm surprised by the amount of Bollywood movies they add. Why is that? It's fine if they offer some of that, but it's beyond normal proportions in my opinion.

[PeacefulAnarchy]

Because it's cheap and increases the numbers.

[Nopros]

Ditched Netflix a couple of years ago, and haven’t looked back since.

[weirdboy]

Netflix just gets worse and worse, so I gave in and signed up for FilmStruck. Can't watch it on my SmartTV, can't watch it on my laptop (Adobe Flash causes it to crash). CAN watch it on my iPad, which at least is more easily portable than either of the above, though the tiny subs are hard on my aging eyes. Anyway, I'm quite pleased with the selection, but the navigation and help leave a lot to be desired.

Yes, FilmStruck has a great catalog, but they make it so difficult to watch the movies that I ended up canceling. Also, I found that I had access to a large amount of the same stuff via my library's free access to Kanopy, which has much better support for Smart TVs, Chromecast, etc.


It is embarrassing how bad the FilmStruck software is in this day and age. I don't know what company they are paying to do that, but they clearly need to ditch them and work with someone else who can actually implement something that works.

[Cocoa]

FilmStruck can be annoying, but I prefer it over Netflix (and Amazon Prime - the only other paying stream site for me besides FilmStruck and Netflix)

I would have cancelled Netflix by now if it wasn't for the fact that my mom is connected to my account. (My email is our account. Originally I paid for it through yearly card payment purchases starting around six years ago and was the only one to use it. Then they ditched that option to pay and it was before I had my own personal debit card with only my name on the bank account, so then my mom offered to pay for it monthly. A year or two later, my mom bought a player for her house that plays Netflix on the tv in her house). My #1 frustration with Netflix at the moment is that they only show 48 films in My List (which is the only part on Netflix that lets me easily see the expiration dates on titles). They used to let me see 500 films at once in My List until a few months ago I tried to grab urls for titles and then add it to My List to see if it's expiring or not and then delete it... but if I do this too many times then Netflix decides to crash and not work for me for several hours or even days So moving forward I'm just going to check potentially inaccurate sites to see what's expiring soon.

[3eyes]

A week or so ago I did get a Roku streaming stick (installed it All By Myself) and I can get

FILMSTRUCK!
KANOPY!
HOOPLA!

plus pretty much anything else I might want, but let's not go overboard.
I'm content to switch back and forth between AV and the Roku outlet thingy on the Smart TV. Have Amazon Prime on both, but the downside to the Roku is that there doesn't seem to be any way to control the volume, so some things are way too loud at night. (I think there's a newer fancier version, not streaming stick, that has volume control, but oh well.)

I got one thing from Hoopla that turned out to be a VHS rip without subs and a barely audible soundtrack. Couldn't get it any louder on my laptop either - asked Hoopla how to control the volume and they said they guessed they might have to delete the title.

[Minkin]

A week or so ago I did get a Roku streaming stick (installed it All By Myself) and I can get

FILMSTRUCK!
KANOPY!
HOOPLA!

We bought a Roku a few weeks ago, and it has been a great purchase.

I discovered that there's a ton of random channels you can add - and many "private channels" where you need a code to add it to your Roku.

So, I was wondering what all everybody has been adding - and especially if anyone has any recommended channels (private or not) that they've found?

I've discovered some of the following:

Pluto.tv - has a 24 hour a day live broadcast for both MST3K + Rifftrax!
NHK's live broadcast (private channel)
Every Huell Howser episode (private) - this only makes sense to California members - but everyone should see Huell
Internet Archive (private) - but seems to only be a random selection of stuff curated by one person, not the full archive...

So, what have others found?

[xianjiro]

Just found out today my library is now offering Kanopy! I've got less than three days to get my ten movies in for the month.

I'm pretty happy

[maxwelldeux]

Just found out today my library is now offering Kanopy! I've got less than three days to get my ten movies in for the month.

I'm pretty happy

Kanopy is pretty awesome. Sucks you're limited to 10, but hey - 10 is better than zero. Yay for you!

[Knaldskalle]

I'ma have to talk to my library about maybe getting Kanopy.

[xianjiro]

I'ma have to talk to my library about maybe getting Kanopy.

thought your library closed after someone stole the book

[3eyes]

Congrats! My library only allows 4/mo.

If you want you can get in a couple of flicks for next month's challenges now. (At least my library says 72-hr borrowings).

[xianjiro]

yes, I can rewatch anything during the three days after first watching without using one of my 10 viewings for the month.

Do you have a limit @maxwelldeux?

Since they're only just rolling it out in our system, I expect things will change as they see how it goes. They experimented with the e-book and e-audiobook options quite a bit the first few years, but that's 'settled' down now. I know they struggled to find a streaming solution but it took a while.

I have access to another library's streaming service - can't remember the name of the service - but never found any official checks on it. So Kanopy works for me by expanding the collection.

[maxwelldeux]

yes, I can rewatch anything during the three days after first watching without using one of my 10 viewings for the month.

Do you have a limit @maxwelldeux?

Since they're only just rolling it out in our system, I expect things will change as they see how it goes. They experimented with the e-book and e-audiobook options quite a bit the first few years, but that's 'settled' down now. I know they struggled to find a streaming solution but it took a while.

I have access to another library's streaming service - can't remember the name of the service - but never found any official checks on it. So Kanopy works for me by expanding the collection.

I don't have a limit, no. I have Kanopy access through my old university (they let alumni keep their login), and they aren't capped. So lucky me...

And is the other one you're thinking of Hoopla?

[xianjiro]

I don't have a limit, no. I have Kanopy access through my old university (they let alumni keep their login), and they aren't capped. So lucky me...

And is the other one you're thinking of Hoopla?

Yeah, that was it!

I could see us ending up going to unlimited if 1) the streaming service catches on anything like the e-books/e-audio did and 2) if it is cheaper than buying the physical materials. I know they are trying to free up funds to buy extra copies of superhero movies and 50 Shades of Garbage - popular is the current rage

[Knaldskalle]

I'ma have to talk to my library about maybe getting Kanopy.

thought your library closed after someone stole the book

I think they may have gotten it back, I'll go check tomorrow.

[maxwelldeux]

I don't have a limit, no. I have Kanopy access through my old university (they let alumni keep their login), and they aren't capped. So lucky me...

And is the other one you're thinking of Hoopla?

Yeah, that was it!

I could see us ending up going to unlimited if 1) the streaming service catches on anything like the e-books/e-audio did and 2) if it is cheaper than buying the physical materials. I know they are trying to free up funds to buy extra copies of superhero movies and 50 Shades of Garbage - popular is the current rage

Hoopla is OK - there are some official checks, but you have to work hard to find them. Their World cinema is decent, and actually legit organized by country/region. But Kanopy is so much better organized with a lot more features.

[3eyes]

www.justwatch.com/ Has multicountry platforms and shows availability (stream, rent or buy) on many different streaming sites, including things like kanopy. Click your country flag to see what's available where you are.

Justwatch is a fairly new kid on the block, and they're still working out bugs, but in the 2 months or so that I've had it, its handling of foreign films has vastly improved; they say they hope to add a country filter. They also make it easy to report errors for individual film listings. For all its warts, I recommend it highly.

[Knaldskalle]

www.justwatch.com/ Has multicountry platforms and shows availability (stream, rent or buy) on many different streaming sites, including things like kanopy. Click your country flag to see what's available where you are.

Justwatch is a fairly new kid on the block, and they're still working out bugs, but in the 2 months or so that I've had it, its handling of foreign films has vastly improved; they say they hope to add a country filter. They also make it easy to report errors for individual film listings. For all its warts, I recommend it highly.

I'm not saying that you shouldn't use this, but I do think it's good if people know what they're signing up for:

We collect user profiles of millions of cinema goers and learn their individual movie taste. JustWatch uses this data to run highly efficient trailer campaigns for movie studios, distributors and VOD services. We retarget people on YouTube, Facebook and other platforms where they spend their time discovering new content. Our campaigns are twice as effective as the industry benchmarks.

"Collecting user profiles" means they're tracking your activity on their site. "retarget people on YouTube, Facebook and other platforms" means they're tracking you elsewhere too. "Twice as effective" means that they think they're good at it.

The main functions of our app are showing users what’s playing at the cinema or where to legally watch movies and TV shows online. It is when users are interacting with these features that we anonymously collect most of our data.

We do not require user accounts or login information to collect our data. Every time somebody visits our website, or opens our app we anonymously track their behaviour via cookies or the mobile advertiser ID in order to build a ‘MovieGraph’ user profile:

(source)

So they use tracking cookies that assign you a random identity ("anonymous" like XNK9413) and then they track what you do on the Internet in order to sell targeted advertising to the movie industry. I suppose it's possible to block their cookies, but is it really worth it?

[joachimt]

But you can use the site-search without registering, right?

[Knaldskalle]

But you can use the site-search without registering, right?

Yes, but they still put a cookie in your browser. I never registered, just looked around a bit and found 2 cookies from them in my browser afterwards.

[3eyes]

Thanks, Knalds, for the info. I didn't know all that but it doesn't worry me as I don't do Facebook or Twitter etc and have 60+ years practice at tuning out ads of all sorts (they have to be VERY intrusive for me to even notice them).

[Timec]

For those in the US, FilmStruck just announced it will be shutting down next month.

Though it got off to a shaky start and never felt as polished as other streaming services, it was still a great concept and I’m kind of shocked to see it go. I was hoping the support of Turner/Warner would allow it to stay around for a long time.

We have some sad news to share: earlier this morning, Turner and Warner Bros. Digital Networks announced plans to shut down FilmStruck, the streaming service that has been our happy home for the last two years. Like many of you, we are disappointed by this decision. When we launched the Criterion Channel in 2016, we had two goals: to ensure that our entire streaming library remained available, and to address our audience in our own voice. We’re proud of the work we’ve done, bringing curated programming and the full range of supplemental features to the streaming space, championing a diverse array of filmmakers from beyond our collection and creating original content that invites you into exciting conversations about cinema culture.

All this is very new, and we’ll be sure to keep you updated as we learn more details. But rest assured that we are still committed to restoring and preserving the best of world cinema and bringing it to you in any medium we can. In the weeks ahead, we’ll keep you informed about the great programming you can watch on the Channel before it shuts down on November 29, and we’ll be trying to find ways we can bring our library and original content back to the digital space as soon as possible. Thanks to everyone who enjoyed FilmStruck, and we hope you’ll join us as we look forward to what the future brings.

[3eyes]

Well, at least it'll be around for most of the Criterion challenge next month.

[mondovertigo]

Filmstruck is amazing and I'm so sad to see it go. Almost all the movies I've been watching in the past 3 or so months have been off FS. They had/have tons of hard to find films that would never be on the usual netflix, hulu etc

Somebody in the comments of the FS announcement on facebook mentioned kanopy, I connected to it using my college library info and it seems to offer a lot of Critieron fims, silents, documentaries, indies, etc. So, there's an alternative when FS finally goes.

[3eyes]

Fandor is a pretty decent subscription choice for non-mainstream stuff. Started out arthouse, broadened its focus later. Available in the US and Canada (not sure about other countries). Good for foreign films, avant-garde, silents, LBGT and lots else. No Criterion, of course.

[GruesomeTwosome]

Maybe Hulu will get the Criterion catalog back, as they once did prior to FilmStruck? Hmm.

[Mysterious Dude]

I did not think Fandor was going to outlast Filmstruck. I cancelled my subscription to Fandor earlier this year because their library kept shrinking. Filmstruck just added a bunch of movies today!

[weirdboy]

I tried really hard to like Filmstruck, and subscribed as soon as they started up, but I had a never ending series of technical issues trying to watch movies with it. The mobile app sucked and kept losing my login. They did not support any of the myriad ways to watch films on my TV that literally every other streaming service supports, until after several months they finally added Chromecast support, except it only worked with particular Chromecast versions and even then it often randomly stopped working. When I tried to use their web page it kept showing movies either in the wrong aspect ratio, or wrapped in both horizontal and vertical black bars so that the image ended up being tiny but took up my entire computer screen in empty & unused black space. After several months of paying them in the hopes that they would get their act together, I gave up and cancelled the service. Looks like maybe I wasn't the only one.