TCM and Criterion to Offer Streaming Service, FilmStruck

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/27/movies/tcm-and-criterion-to-offerstreaming-service-filmstruck.html

It will be interesting to see whether this venture lives up to its potential. Here's hoping.

 

Great, another streaming service to subscribe to and then scroll endlessly through because we can't agree on what to watch.

 

I'll likely cancel my Hulu Plus subscription if the Criterion titles are leaving.

 

They will be leaving in November.

 

Pre-cord-cutting monthly price of loaded satellite/cable service: $250
Post-cord-cutting monthly price of dozens of a la carte streaming services: $73,000

Take that monopolistic satellite/cable services!

 

I'm interested.

 

I'm interested as well, but I've got so many unwatched Criterion titles already that I'd probably only stream 1-2 things a month. I wouldn't mind the option, but it would have to be around $10 a month for me to go for it.

There just isn't enough time in the day for all of the media that I have to consume.

 

$10 would be too much for me. $7.99 for Hulu gives me more than enough Criterion titles to choose from, plus the value-add of original programming and various "low-brow" programming to also choose from.

I'd say $4.99 a month is the most I would pay for this new service, but I know they'd never price it that low. So I guess I'm out. I'm on the fence about Hulu. Maybe I'll see if I can cobble together what I need that Hulu provides, from other services (we also subscribe to Amazon Prime Video and Netflix). I'm leaning toward canceling Hulu in November, at this point, when Criterion leaves them.

Craig.

 

I'm willing to pay 10 if the quality is better than hulu. Hulu's streaming quality is awful.

 

And the Balkanization of streaming content continues...

 

Not for me. Netflix streaming we have for the kids, I never find anything on there to watch. We do Netflix disc for criterion sampling, and my dvr is loaded with TCM showings. For me this sounds like a dream. I'd pay $15 a month and drop Netflix discs and maybe even drop down to a more basic cable plan

 

This is why I still buy my favorite Criterion films on DVD, and only buy music on vinyl. Streaming is just too unpredictable, and I don't like being at the mercy of archaic distribution rights deals all the time. If I can't put something in my queue and watch it a year later, I'm wasting money. One of the reasons I went with Hulu is because of their extensive Criterion library. I feel like I'll be getting about $3 of value out of my $8 a month now.

That said, I think it totally makes sense for Criterion to have their own streaming service. Kudos to them. They'll do a better job than all the competition, and they'll probably make more money. I'm just done with streaming. I'm cancelling Netflix this week because I only ever watch House of Cards and Orange Is The New Black. Everything else I want to watch is on Hulu or Amazon Prime.

 

I'm all in if they make an AppleTV app.. I'd drop Hulu and not think twice.

 

I guess all these tittles will be pulled from any chance of them showing on TCM.

 

I wouldn't say that. Many of the Criterion titles are licensed from their owners, who have the broadcast rights. It would depend on the deal Criterion struck with the rights owner.

Derek

 

Has anyone heard if there will be an app to stream through an Xbox? I do all of my streaming through it and would prefer to keep it that way.

 

I know the answer will be something like "Hahahahahahahahahahahaha" but I'll ask anyway: Any chance of this being available in Australia?

 

I only do Netflix for Orange is the New Black, Daredevil, Jessica Jones and the upcoming Marvel stuff. There's also the benefit of some of the BBC partnerships with them as well.

 

I won't laugh at you.

I'll be direct.

Not bloody likely IMHO.

 

It sounds like a great streaming option to go with our Netflix. With no cable, and about $10 a month for N, there is room in our entertainment budget

Still, one wonders what their pricing strategy will be, between what the film rights cost them and the fact that they are known for their "we cost more because we are better" image...
Is there room for "premium streaming" just yet? We'll see, but definitely a good development for classic films.
C.

 

I watched 11/22/63 on Hulu, and the bitrate was over 20Mbps, which is very close to Blu-ray. We have a 300Mbps connection to Crime-Warner.

 

I forgot I made that comment. At this point, I think the hulu quality issue I was having might be related to the issue I am having with my service provider (AT&T). Been having all sorts of weird issues with my connection randomly dropping and speeds going slow every now and then. I have had about 7 technicians come to my house, and they still aren't able to figure out the issue.

 

Will be canceling Hulu and already have the TCM app on Amazon Fire TV. Pretty much all the other stuff on Hulu besides Criterion I can find somewhere else. Just hope it looks as good on Amazon/ TCM.

 

Sometimes those guys are utterly clueless. In the analog cable days, there'd be issues with distribution amps and impedance and co-channel interference and all that other stuff. Once fiber-optic became widespread, I think the reliability and speed picked up quite a bit with ISPs in general. All this stuff hinges on getting good bandwidth, and without that, we get crap pictures and crappy connectivity. There are reasons why we hang on to satellite as well as the internet. Once everybody has 1Gbps speeds, we could literally have 4K video without compromise everywhere. But for now, it's gonna be dicey.

 

Sometimes those guys are utterly clueless. In the analog cable days, there'd be issues with distribution amps and impedance and co-channel interference and all that other stuff. Once fiber-optic became widespread, I think the reliability and speed picked up quite a bit with ISPs in general. All this stuff hinges on getting good bandwidth, and without that, we get crap pictures and crappy connectivity. There are reasons why we hang on to satellite as well as the internet. Once everybody has 1Gbps speeds, we could literally have 4K video without compromise everywhere. But for now, it's gonna be dicey.