I Just Tried to Watch a Streaming Movie, And…

[BrokenGlass41]

Ouch, it looked terrible. Everything was blocky, the audio was out of sync, the image would freeze every few seconds. It’s a horrible way to watch something.

Does anyone else have truly terrible streaming experiences? Share them here.

If you don’t like the thread, please leave. It’s not that hard.

[Vesper33]

I wanted to watch a noir movie called Pickup on South Street and the only place it was streaming was on a service called Plex. Ok, so I downloaded the app, found the movie, and clicked play. Of course, it's a FAST streamer, so I know there's ads. I'm Ok with Tubi's ads, not too many ads, not too many breaks. But Plex was so terrible. 7 or 8 ads per break and way too many breaks. That was the worst streaming experience I've ever had. I didn't finish the movie and couldn't delete that app fast enough. I finally bought the movie on disc recently.

[ctujackbauer]

Originally Posted by jt839

I downloaded PlutoTV a couple weeks back and it would start freezing after about 20 minutes of being in the app. Ended up deleting it the next day. And all they played was the same 3 movies on every channel.

PlutoTV has a large on-demand library, in addition the movies played on channels.

I don't have issues with freezing or out of sync audio, possibly because of eARC dialogue/audio matching. If the audio is still off I can delay it on the soundbar, but that is a rare occurrence.

[BobbyMcGee]

I've noticed that new original content seems to look pretty good on streaming services, but older catalog films rarely, if ever, look good.

[thebox]

To begin with, the best initial approach is to use a wired/Ethernet connection (100+ Mbps) anyway...

[CatBus]

I've been streaming for a while, and it's been better than the OP, but not great. Here's what I find:

- Audio is sometimes so badly out of sync it's irritating. This may not be a function of streaming in general, so much as this particular app on this particular streamer on this particular service (Amazon Prime via Roku Ultra). Other services are generally fine in my experience. It may also be that the titles I choose to watch on Amazon are different in some way (age/studio/etc).
- Subtitles are wildly hit and miss. Sometimes they're timed so badly they don't do any good, sometimes the subtitles themselves don't even approximate what people are saying. Usually they're okay, but they're rarely great and sometimes godawful.
- Macroblocking is bad, mostly in dark scenes. If it's not a "dark" movie, it's much better. Also, 4K streams tend to be better in this regard than 1080p streams when you have the option (less bit-starved).
- End credits are chopped immediately. Admittedly I don't always sit through the complete credits, especially for the things I stream, but jeeze, they don't even give you so much as a millisecond of credits before they start advertising new titles for you to stream.

I don't ever expect streaming to be as good as watching a disc. For my purposes, streaming is like the rental market way back when -- you try something out, and if you think you'll watch it again, you buy it. Unless the audio's out of sync, all of the combined quirks of streaming video never make it seem worse than a rented VHS tape from that era, and in fact it's usually better, so it does the job.

[un4gvn94538]

Paramount plus has to be the absolute worst. I got so sick of it losing my place in an episode of a tv series. Trying to find my place in an episode means fast forwarding, no scene skipping. So while fast forwarding it would stop and play commercials. I'm watching 2x the commercials I'd normally watch when it loses my place. I think they do this on purpose since they had years of people complaining about their app. I was so fed up one day I got my lazy ass up and popped the bluray in the player.

[Shawn1968]

Without knowing the make/model of one’s equipment, Internet speed and streaming service used, this thread will just become ‘here’s why streaming sucks’.

[BrokenGlass41]

Originally Posted by Shawn1968

Without knowing the make/model of one’s equipment, Internet speed and streaming service used, this thread will just become ‘here’s why streaming sucks’.

I mean… it does…

[kannibaliztik]

Originally Posted by BrokenGlass41

I mean… it does…

oh you're one of those people. Streaming is perfectly fine.

[BrokenGlass41]

Originally Posted by kannibaliztik

oh you're one of those people. Streaming is perfectly fine.

Yes, one of those people.

[kannibaliztik]

Originally Posted by BrokenGlass41

Yes, one of those people.

again, streaming is perfectly fine. Sounds like your internet sucks, or the content you're trying to watch just isn't great quality to begin with.

[master gandhi]

I have good internet, a wired connection and an Apple TV 4K, so no, I don’t have any recent terrible experiences to share here. It’s too bad that all you’re looking for is negativity.

[CatBus]

I only have gigabit fiber and a wired connection to my streaming box. What sort of Internet speed tier should I aim for if I don't want end credits to get minimized/skipped/otherwise mangled on various streaming services? I can get up to 8Gbps. Would a new TV help? Would I need more gear in any way to get subtitles that reliably reflect what people are saying in various streaming services? Thanks in advance.

[Texan26]

Originally Posted by CatBus

I only have gigabit fiber and a wired connection to my streaming box. What sort of Internet speed tier should I aim for if I don't want end credits to get minimized/skipped/otherwise mangled on various streaming services? I can get up to 8Gbps. Would a new TV help? Would I need more gear in any way to get subtitles that reliably reflect what people are saying in various streaming services? Thanks in advance.

I don't have that issue when I watch movies on Vudu/Fandango. Sounds like your internet sucks.

[CatBus]

Originally Posted by Texan26

I don't have that issue when I watch movies on Vudu/Fandango. Sounds like your internet sucks.

So, for Netflix, HBO Max, Amazon, and Disney Plus, as well as some minor players like Paramount Plus, all I need is faster Internet and I'll be able to watch movies straight through to the end of the credits on all of these services? That is fantastic news, thank you so much! At which speed will it stop trying to exit the film or show ads for other streaming titles during the credits? Again, I'm on gigabit fiber now and I can go up to 8Gbps if needed. I was watching a stream the other day where all the swear words were substituted with non-swear words in the subtitles, not at all like the Blu-ray. I'm so glad this is all just an Internet speed problem, and not the fault of the streaming service. So easy to fix, and cheaper than a new TV!

[Texan26]

Originally Posted by CatBus

So, for Netflix, HBO Max, Amazon, and Disney Plus, as well as some minor players like Paramount Plus, all I need is faster Internet and this will stop on all of these services? That is fantastic news, thank you so much! At which speed will it stop? Again, I can go up to 8Gbps.

Those are subscription services. You have to buy your movies on Vudu. Or just stick to finding your movies in a Walmart dump bin cause Target and Best Buy don't sell them.

[CatBus]

Originally Posted by Texan26

Those are subscription services.

Oh, sure. My bad. I was focused on them just because this thread was about streaming, and because subscription services are streaming. Rookie mistake, won't repeat.

So -- to be clear -- are you saying faster Internet speeds won't fix ANY of my subscription services? That would be awfully disappointing. I'd happily upgrade my Internet if it would fix just one.

[Texan26]

Originally Posted by CatBus

Oh, sure. My bad. I was focused on them just because this thread was about streaming, and because subscription services are streaming. Rookie mistake, won't repeat.

So -- to be clear -- are you saying faster Internet speeds won't fix ANY of my subscription services? That would be awfully disappointing. I'd happily upgrade my Internet if it would fix just one.

Everything will be fixed when you upgrade to America Online.

[CatBus]

Originally Posted by Texan26

Everything will be fixed when you upgrade to America Online.

Oh, thank goodness. I was afraid "those people" like BrokenGlass41 were correct, and that I was sort of stuck with the crappy streaming experience from these subscription services that I was currently seeing. I knew something was wrong with my Internet! I just knew it!

Looking at AOL's plans, I see "AOL Live Support Plus", "ID Protection", "Data Secure by AOL", "Complete by AOL", and "Tech Plus by AOL".

None of them specify in their details, but which one(s) lets me watch the full credits of a movie, and which one(s) fix broken subtitles*? Should I mention anything else to the sales rep? After I sign up, I'll report back with my experience so that people know this is what they need to do. You've been a huge help so far. Thanks.

* Keep in mind, the cleaned up subtitles were funny. For example, in Ed Wood, Bela Lugosi kept calling Boris Karloff a "hambone", which was funny in its own way, but really wasn't the high fidelity movie experience I was hoping for.