Anyone have FilmStruck ?

Ok, I have FilmStruck, the streaming site that contains the Criterion Collection and many classic Hollywood titles and Indie films. It has probably the best library of any streaming site if you are a film fanatic, often in themed collections devoted to directors, stars, or subject matter...

That said, it's probably the buggiest service I have ever used. I'm streaming on my Roku, which is abot 4 years old, and while I have no issues on any other site- Netflix, HBO Go, Showtime, etc...- FilmStruck constantly buffers, making it a very frustrating experience. I searched the web, and I'm not alone- I've found numerous other complaints about the technical side of the site. Which is a shame, because it has such a great catalog of films .

 

Been waiting for years for it to become available in Canada. I fully expect that, by the time it finally does, I'll have already bought every movie they have to offer on BluRay already.

 

I've been curious about the service as I like a lot of the films shown on TCM etc. I've not tried it yet, but I can't stand buffering. I may try their freebie and see how it goes. Maybe they can work thru all this as time goes on. I wish Netflix would buy TCM or be able to use their movies.

 

Just subscribed. The film inventory is outstanding.
I have a 5 year old Roku and it would not stream anything from the site without buffering almost every minute.
This forced my hand to get the 4k stick. Works fine with that. No buffering problems.

 

Will the 4k stick work with an Oppo BDP 103 blu ray player?

 

I switched to Filmstruck from Netflix about a month ago and find I'm watching more. No bugs so far. Netflix does have a better overall interface but I found myself tiring of a lot of their original content and wanted to go on a more of a classic movie binge.

 

Sorry, I do not know.

 

Thank you for this review. I have a recent basic stick and was considering Filmstruck. Guess I will wait until the bugs are worked out.

 

FWIW, I have a 3 or 4 year old Roku and have no problems streaming Filmstruck.

I do have it connected via Ethernet rather than WiFi.

 

I'm going to try the free trial and see how it goes - 2 weeks is kinda chintzy though

 

Yeah, it buffers even on a Roku 4K hooked via Cat5e to a Google Fiber router which is a gigabit up and down.



In short, it's NOT my connection.

 

I once thought about subscribing to it but changed my mind. Criterion produces some of the best reissues of classic films that make me want to own the physical copy. I love the library I've built of Criterion titles & intend to keep it growing.

 

I was having the same problem at first - buffering literally every minute . Then I had a new router and modem put in, and it buffers like every 10 minutes. I may have to get a new Roku, but I read of several people who got the latest model, and still had problems with FilmStruck. It must be something on their end that causes so many problems. I have no issues with any other channel.

 

I use it on an older Roku and a Roku stick purchased new in May. When it first started Filmstruck buffered on me every minute, and the selection sucked. Once TCM joined up with it I tried again and have kept it since, it has never buffered on me. I just watched a Cary Grant movie last night and it streamed just fine.

 

I’ve been streaming FilmStruck for about two months on an Apple TV 4K and haven’t had an issue with buffering at all. I can’t say enough about the content- I’ve rewatched old favorites and found so many new, wonderful movies. I love it.

 

It’s a great service and has really improved over the past year in terms of movies offered. I had a problem with it buffering over my Apple TV to the point where it was difficult to watch, but it has improved of late. I also recommend adding the Watch TCM app if you have cable and also stream- I have FiOS and they only offer TCM in standard def- the app had a good selection of films and they are mostly HD.

 

Never had any problems with the app on my iPad. I think it's great.

 

Are you using Watch TCM on your computer ?

 

Subscribed this week and love it thus far. I wonder how often they rotate.

 

no on my Apple TV

 

I took the trial earlier this year. Had to use a PC to get it to my TV, and had buffering issues. If they put a stable app for it on Tivo I would definitely subscribe.

It seems odd that a company would invest in buying rights and creating a front end, but not put it on every available platform. Perhaps a dispute with Tivo over a split of the revenue? It is not on Panasonic vierra either.

 

Just got an e mail from Criterion, saying FilmStruck was being shut down.

 

I just signed up again the other day and now they’re signing off...

From their public Facebook post:

“We regret to inform you that FilmStruck will be shutting down on November 29th, 2018.

We would like to thank our many fans and loyal customers who supported us. FilmStruck was truly a labor of love, and in a world with an abundance of entertainment options – THANK YOU for choosing us

All current FilmStruck subscribers will receive an email with details about your account and the refund process as applicable. Information is also available on FilmStruck.com.”

 

I tried Filmstruck and loved the movies and wished it could work. Problem was it was slow and clunky and always re-buffering, to the point where I could not enjoy it. So I cancelled pretty quick. Hopefully they will try a similar thing with a better platform!!

 

They can probably thank the lack of Xbox app for a good chunk of income that could have been rolling in. That's what prevented myslef and many others from joining.