To be tired of streaming services

[hannahbananananaa]

We subscribe to Netflix, Disney+, Amazon Prime Video (and now dh wants to add paramount+). I'm finding that they (especially Disney+) buffer lots and are really slow to load. Also the thing you want to watch is never on any of them! My sister came over yesterday and we had the day just the two of us and we were talking about The Shining and reminisced about watching it together when we were teenagers, so we thought we'd sit and rewatch it- but I had to pay to buy it off Amazon because it wasn't streaming on any services. I've had a few things like this with my kids as well and I've ended up having to buy them the dvds (whilst still paying for the streaming services). A while back I wanted to watch Breakfast At Tiffany's but it wasn't on any of the services so I bought the dvd and the other day I was flicking through Amazon Prime and now it's on there, so I bought the dvd when all I needed to do was wait! I know this is a minor problem in life but with the amount things are costing at the moment it feels irritating when you're paying for this entertainment and then what you want isn't on there and I'm just tired of them but dh thinks the kids will be missing out if we don't have them! I'm thinking about cancelling the subscriptions to save money and was just wondering if anyone else has cancelled theirs and if so if they've struggled to find things to watch.

It doesn’t really matter if others have them or not - you’ve said you aren’t enjoying them. So cancel them then see which ones you miss. If you find you can’t live without Netflix sign back up.

As for the kids I suppose it depends on their age - but they can be told surely oh we don’t have x anymore, would you like it on dvd for your birthday?

I feel we are just overwhelmed with choice with all the things on Netflix and Disney plus
the past few days I’ve been just putting the tv on and watching whatever random thing is on there. Got quite engrossed in the athletics the other day and today I watched a garden makeover program and enjoyed it as much as some random ‘must watch ‘ show on Netflix , enjoyed in a different way of course but it was nice not having. To engage my brain too much and commit hours and hours to finishing a series

Put it to a family vote. You vote cancel and see what DH and the DC vote, and go by majority. I’d vote on each streaming channel though as opposed to all at once.

I find there's a lot of tosh on Netflix and they don't tell you much at all about the film to help choose.

If I could only have one it would be Prime, precisely because they charge for some things, which means you can usually find what you're look for for a small fee.

I’m sick of Netflix advertising shows to me like they’re the hot new thing, I get invested and then find out they’ve already bloody cancelled it!

There is something nice and communal about live tv. I think it’s part of why I get so invested in the mumsnet love island and strictly threads, it’s nice to be watching something at the same time as everyone else

Just cancel them, or atleast some of them. And then maybe take a look at your internet? I never have buffering problems on mine, it’s probably your connection rather than the services.

@Blueeyedgirl21 I think you're right that we're completely overwhelmed with choice! I still watch quite a lot of live tv (especially when I'm the only one in)- I always find there's something quite comforting about it

@Kanaloa It doesn't really bother me if other people have them- it's more for the kids if that's all the others at school talk about. I try and think of it as being similar to when I watched Saturday morning telly as a child and then talked about it with my friends at school on the Monday

Maybe in that case choose one? Check where they watch stuff most often and keep that while deleting the others. We have Disney plus as we’re all big marvel fans in this house but we probably wouldn’t bother with paramount plus. They don’t need to have access to every single streaming service realistically. Or if you find you do suddenly actually want it you can usually have it put back on really easily.

You don't need to have all of the memberships all of the time. Dh and I like Netflix so we have that all the time, the others we just pay for a month here and there to watch something specific.

Keep an eye on BBC iPlayer for films, they don't have a huge choice but what they do have is very good - no dross. Plus just renting the specific films you want to watch on Amazon or Google Play can work out quite cheaply.

Special offers come up every now and then, we got Disney+ for 6 months using Tesco club card points. Now TV gives free trials every now and then plus reduced cost subscription if they think you're a wavering customer they can reel back in.

However I do find Disney plus buffers a lot sometimes. I presume it isn’t my internet as I don’t have an issue with YouTube or Netflix or anything else online. Just Disney plus. Also seems to take a long time for a film/episode of something to load. But I don’t know why!

YABU, I love the amount of choice on there, always something to watch!
Is annoying if you want to see something and it's on a service you're not subscribed to though.
If that happens then I'll cancel one of them to make room until I've watched the thing I want to watch. 😁
We've got Netflix, Britbox and Disney plus, something for every mood covered

Disney+ does tend to buffer quite a lot, they haven't upgraded their capacity to match demand. The other services are all fine.

I barely watch live TV, I just watch Disney+, Netflix and Prime. I tend to watch series rather than films though. If there's a film I particularly like, I make sure I have the DVD.

I think it's a bit ridiculous that you're buying the dvd rather than finding something else to watch. You have a huge amount of choice, choose something instead of spending more money.

I like Disney+ but could live without prime and Netflix - they are quite cheap so at the moment I am keeping them, but if things got tight I wouldn’t be too worried about getting rid. Prime is a funny one, as I think it makes me spend more on amazon when it would be better to support the small, local book and music shops (main things I buy).

I only have free view so I troll through catch up tv and you tube if I’m bored
I always manage to find something to watch

Ahh so other people also experience this? I wasn’t sure why (not a tech-y person!) but it drives me nuts.

Video piracy and illegal streaming and downloads dropped dramatically when Netflix first started streaming services. But now there’s so many platforms and it’s hard to find exactly
what you want they’ve gone back up again. It’s not even that people don’t want to pay for content - it’s been shown that they will - but if it’s actually easier to find an illegal download than a legitimate one, piracy will go up.

I don't have a problem with buffering but I do find it annoying that so few of the services tell you anything about the potential film to help you decide if you want to watch it though. Disney is awful for that.
I can recommend the free app called "Just watch" which tells you what service is showing what film/programme and if its not streaming, where the cheapest place to rent it is. It saves searching through each service if you are looking for a particular film.

I primarily buy what we want and then we have it to keep. It annoys me when something I like, eg Clarksons Farm” is only released on streaming without the option to keep it. The whole rentier economy was a very deliberate choice by the super-rich to force us to pay again and again for the same content, making themselves richer at our expense (Clarkson, for all his whining, being a case in point. Most of us will never own one acre in an expensive part of the country, let alone hundreds).

I prefer dvds, especially for Disney films - extra content, behind the scenes etc

The only reason you’re having buffering issues is because your internet connection is poor.

Perhaps pay to upgrade that instead?

I like my streaming services and don’t find any of it slow to buffer

What I don’t like is how conning Prime is. You pay for Disney+ you get everything. You pay for Netflix. You get everything.

You pay for Prime..you get some and still expected to pay on top for more. Most of it doesn’t come with subtitles either

I use Disney+ near constantly and have had no buffering issues at all and my internet is shit.

I recently ditched Now TV and I'd ditch Prime too but only have it because I buy a lot from Amazon so use it for the postage aspect. I'd never part with Netflix!