Op-ed: Apps promised to free us from ad-supported subscription bundles. Oops!

cross-posted from: https://yiffit.net/post/1072752

For a moment, it seemed like the streaming apps were the things that could save us from the hegemony of cable TV—a system where you had to pay for a ton of stuff you didn’t want to watch so you could see the handful of things you were actually interested in.

Archived version: https://archive.ph/K4EIh

  • rich@feddit.ukEnglish
    5·
    1 year ago

    I cancelled all my subscriptions and just pay for a seedbox instead.

    Only two subscriptions I have now are Spotify and Game Pass…because they are actually worth it.

      • rich@feddit.ukEnglish
        2·
        1 year ago

        It’s, in layman’s terms, server space you rent out and can use for your downloads. torrent clients like transmission are usually built in. I pay £5 a month for 2tb space and enough bandwidth to keep a good ratio.

        So instead of downloading to my pc, I download torrents to the seedbox (at a blazing fast speed) and then download files from there to my pc whenever I feel like it, again at stupid good speeds.

        I have FTP access, so I’ve just added it as a folder/mounted drive on my windows and Linux mint file explorers. Works great. Also have it on my smart TV as a web address for quick streaming of whatever I downloaded.

        Edit: this also eliminates the risk of downloading Torrents locally.

    • anemoia_one@lemmynsfw.comEnglish
      1·
      1 year ago

      Even Spotify though continues to Jack their prices with no extra benefit. I’ve hoped for lossless audio from them for so long, but instead they just charge more for a bad UI driven by engagement instead of user experience

    • Appoxo@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
      0·
      1 year ago

      Same for me. Had Netflix and Prime.
      Cancelled Prime. Student plan ran out and wanted to spend less (on Amazon and buying random stuff.
      Cancelled Netflix. Didn’t use it, convinced my mother to let it go (only after saying how much it costs).

      Renting a seedbox for 15€ per month, Spotify for music and since this month I burried my life long hate for YT premium and now also have that (and wish for a plan without yt music for 3-4€ less).
      Reason why I did YT premium was, because I already watched more YT than Netflix anyway. And it’s near daily for about 2-3h. Well worth it (for way too much money).