[joshstrange]

It's unfortunate that each streaming silo will probably never allow their content to be streamed to a client like Plex. Amazon Channels seems to have not had a great run from what I've heard (IIRC some services left after initially being part of it) so I have little hope of Plex being able to swing something similar. Apple TV (The app, not the device or the service, terrible naming) is just a launch board to kick you into other apps which is slightly better than having to navigate multiple apps but only slightly. I understand it's because the streaming services want to "own" the experience (and all that data you generate while moving around and using the app) but I hate it.

Personally I watch all of my content through Plex because I refuse to switch between multiple streaming services. I'll gladly pay (and I do) for access to the platforms but I still only watch through Plex because I prefer having 1 UI/UX to deal with. I never have to ask "How do I get the subtitle selector up?", "Does left/right skip forward 10/15/30/60sec or does it start RR/FF?", "Where does this streaming provider let you configure X?", and the list goes on.

Spotify effectively killed piracy for the vast majority of my social circle but TV/Movie piracy is still the best viewing experience by a long shot especially with *arr-type apps to automate it all for you.

Money isn't the issue, experience is. It's just like years ago (or it's probably just as bad now but I haven't had to deal with it) when it was better to pirate a movie than get it via Redbox/Blockbuster because you weren't forced to watch ads/FBI warnings/etc.

[thedanbob]

If I want a movie, I’ll generally wait for it to go on sale on iTunes, buy it there, and then strip the DRM so I can put it in Plex. That worked for everything except Dune; Apple improved their DRM for recent movies and nothing I’ve found can remove it. So, I pirated it. And I plan to do the same in the future (buy then pirate).

I’m happy to spend money, but no one is selling what I want: DRM-free digital movies/TV shows. We got there with music but now that streaming has taken over I doubt we’ll ever get there with video.

[joshstrange]

100% this. I pay for all the streaming services and I would happily pay for shows/movies on a per-title basis but getting a DRM free version (or sometimes even a high quality version, some stuff doesn't get released on Blu-ray) is like pulling teeth. I've said more times than I can count "I'd pay 200+/mo for a fully legal version of Plex" (in this case referencing a platform that had all my shows, one UI/UX, ability to watch offline/cache locally, etc), it just doesn't exist.

[powerslacker]

I don't know about $200/month but I am 100% on board with paying for DRM free entertainment.

[accidentalthief]

> buy then pirate

I used to do this.

I stopped because too much of a % of what I pay goes to various forms of overhead (distributors/apple/amazon/studio/production company/etc/etc) vs what is going to the actual creatives involved.

I take the money I would have spent instead on streaming services and donate it via patreon to a few creators I enjoy, mostly youtube channels.

Legally? I know I'm doing something completely illegal (but so is buy-then-pirate!)

Morally? I'll live. I don't think what I'm doing is wrong.

I still buy when I know (enough of) the money is going to the people who actually created the content and not some MBAs.

[tambeb]

Bought this little guy[1] back in 2015 to get around DRM and rip, with the exact same philosophy as you. I'm happy to buy, but if I buy it I'm gonna own it forever, regardless of account changes or ["AI" based auto-]shutdowns.

[1] https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0089DSLMY/ref=cm_sw_r_apan_i_B3R9...

[rektide]

It's crazy how cable was getting regulated: we realized how shitty lock in was, there were upcoming OCUR standards to allow freedom of device accessibility, dvrs & media pc's wanted a Carterphone like.in & the FCC was in agreement, pushing for compatibility & consumer rights.

Then streaming came along, reinvented expectations. And has seemingly no market regulation at all, absolutely no one looking out for consumers or thinking of what fair competition might entail.

[Mountain_Skies]

Which will probably work fine until there is consolidation, which ironically is what many people are asking for even though it's unlikely to lead to the results they desire.

[watermelon0]

> "How do I get the subtitle selector up?", "Does left/right skip forward 10/15/30/60sec or does it start RR/FF?"

Streaming apps (with some exceptions) on Apple TV (the device) actually use the same video player, so this is the same everywhere. Even navigation throughout the library is quite standardized.

Exceptions here are Youtube app, which has a custom video player implementation, and it's just terrible to use, and Netflix app, which has terrible custom navigation.