Hoopla: a free streaming service from your local library?

[p w]

Hoopla allows you to stream 10 different films free a month. You're allowed to play your film anytime over a three day period. You will need a library card from a participating library system. They offer thousands of films free to rent each month for those living in North America. They offer audiobooks, comics, EBooks, and, of course, streaming movies at no cost.

Current Movies available
https://www.hoopladigital.com/browse/movie#featured

iOS devices and android are supported. along with kindle and some chromebooks. They have a roku app in the works and have talked about chromecast support in the future. (I've been meaning to try and sideload this on my amazon fire tv.)

Their backstory: https://www.hoopladigital.com/support

Wiki Page:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoopla..._media_service)

Instantly borrow free digital movies, music, eBooks and more, 24/7 with your library card.

FREEDOM STARTS HERE, NOW.
Bringing you hundreds of thousands of movies, full music albums, audiobooks and more, hoopla is a revolutionary digital service made possible by your local library.

From Hollywood blockbusters to best selling artists and authors – not just the hits, but the niche and hard-to-find as well – you’ll soon discover that hoopla provides you the freedom you've been searching for to experience, explore and enjoy what you want, when you want, and where you want.

Simple to access and use, without the hassle of having to return the items you’ve borrowed, all you need is your library card, a web browser, smart phone or tablet to get started. The freedom you want is here, now. Sign up today!

Source:https://www.hoopladigital.com/home

[Jett Rink]

This is not really worth it with the amount of hoops you have to jump through to use the service.

[p w]

Originally Posted by Jett Rink

This is not really worth it with the amount of hoops you have to jump through to use the service.

have you tried it? provided you have a library card, all you do is sign up like any other service. the selection of films is less than netflix but better than hulu. no ads either. nor is there a subscription fee. i've been rather surprised by the quality and quantity of films available.

[Jett Rink]

Originally Posted by p w

have you tried it? provided you have a library card, all you do is sign up like any other service. the selection of films is less than netflix but better than hulu. no ads either. nor is there a subscription fee. i've been rather surprised by the quality and quantity of films available.

No I have not tried it, but it seems as there is not way so stream this to a TV over Wi-fi. That is a deal breaker for me.

[p w]

Originally Posted by Jett Rink

No I have not tried it, but it seems as there is not way so stream this to a TV over Wi-fi. That is a deal breaker for me.

same way you stream/mirror anything else from a tablet or a phone. or if you have a htpc android box, you dont even need to mirror it. the service only came out of beta in 2015. once they add roku and chromecast, it will be easier for anyone that lacks the abilities i mentioned above.

[Jett Rink]

Originally Posted by p w

same way you stream/mirror anything else from a tablet or a phone. or if you have a htpc android box, you dont even need to mirror it. the service only came out of beta in 2015. once they add roku and chromecast, it will be easier for anyone that lacks the abilities i mentioned above.

I have an Android smartphone, would that work? Can you send me a link to a tutorial?

[p w]

Originally Posted by Jett Rink

I have an Android smartphone, would that work? Can you send me a link to a tutorial?

https://www.google.com/#q=mirror+android+to+tv

[TBDave]

I'll definitely use it when they get a Roku app. But who knows when that's coming. A news article from last year said the Roku app was expected in Fall 2014.

Looks like the iOS app might be Airplay compatible. I'll have to check it out on my AppleTV.

[BaerGriggs]

I've used it for audio books a few times. The app is pretty bad but for being free I just dealt with it.

[format916]

ive used hoopla for like over a year already. the music has a great up to date selection, and they have lots of classic cartoons like garfield, inspector gadget , ghostbuters, etc....lots of old movies, but i havent paid for netflix or spotify for a while now.

[AZBrowncoat]

I just checked my local library website and although they don't offer Hoopla I did find that they have added to streaming video services to their digital services - Freegal & IndieFlix.

[hanshotfirst1138]

I borrowed my friend's library card number, if you don't live in an area that has it, it's a pain. I'm trying to use it for audiobooks because MELCAT doesn't let me rent physical copies of all kinds of stuff that I want . I shall see if I can get it to work.

[sleepydumbdude]

Its pretty bad. My librarian told me that it sucks for tv shows because the limit applies.

[socal9]

I checked out Hoopla when my library first got it and the selections were abysmal. I just checked it out again now and they seem to have a much better selection but obviously still not as good as a pay service (but hey, its free). Hopefully they'll get some type of app going for Roku because without that, its just too much of a hassle to get it to your TV (at least for a lazy person like me).

[hanshotfirst1138]

Well, at least they work with Chromecast. GET WITH THE PROGRAM CINEMAX!! And you too, FUNimation.

I was lucky enough to have a friend who lived in an enabled area, so he lets me use his library card for this, but it's a little too region-specific to be that useful otherwise. I just got lucky. Needs to expand. And the audiobooks are cool, but they don't download, so they cut into your data plan if you're not on wifi.

[socal9]

Originally Posted by hanshotfirst1138

Well, at least they work with Chromecast. GET WITH THE PROGRAM CINEMAX!! And you too, FUNimation.

I was lucky enough to have a friend who lived in an enabled area, so he lets me use his library card for this, but it's a little too region-specific to be that useful otherwise. I just got lucky. Needs to expand. And the audiobooks are cool, but they don't download, so they cut into your data plan if you're not on wifi.

Audiobooks that don't download? That doesn't sound good. If your library is a member of Overdrive, check that out instead. They allow you to download audiobooks to your devices.

[hanshotfirst1138]

Originally Posted by socal9

Audiobooks that don't download? That doesn't sound good. If your library is a member of Overdrive, check that out instead. They allow you to download audiobooks to your devices.

My local library uses Overdrive, by unfortunately their selection is very limited. Hoopla's is surprisingly good, and I just got an e-mail from them today that they'd added Chromecast support! Hear that Cinemax?! Seriously, HBO has it! I want to watch Banshee and Strike Back on my HDTV! What the hell gives?!

They allow for 10 rentals of whatever media in a one-month period. All kinds of stuff, audiobooks, music and scores, movies. Have a great selection of comics too, thought only having an iPhone means that's rather limited in its usefulness to me.