I’m going to begin this post by discussing the differences between cable television in the 2000s and the emergence of streaming services from the 2010s to the present day. Cable television had its unique characteristics, including numerous commercials, but I’ll delve deeper into that topic later on. With streaming services, you have the flexibility to watch the shows you desire whenever you want.
In many ways, cable television and streaming services share similarities. The presence of commercials was a notable aspect, especially during the early to late 2010s. Back then, you could subscribe to a service like Netflix (which was one of the few streaming options at the time) for around $10 a month. However, streaming services have evolved to offer an extensive library of 2K movies and TV shows to millions of users, which can become costly. To offset the expenses, some streaming platforms have started including advertisements, resembling the cable TV experience, although not to the same extent. To access all the shows you desire, you might find yourself subscribing to multiple services, and these costs can accumulate rapidly. If I recall correctly, it’s currently around $120 for the main streaming services, which is roughly the amount my parents used to pay for cable. At this point, one might question the value proposition.
Another significant issue with streaming services is that they occasionally remove shows or movies. For instance, suppose you were in the middle of watching “The Office” on Netflix, and suddenly it disappeared due to licensing issues or other reasons. If no other streaming service offers the show, you’re out of luck. Additionally, a crucial point to consider is that when you use streaming services, you don’t actually own the media; they can remove it even if you’ve purchased it from a provider like Amazon or Sony. Another big issue is that most TV Shows are now made with maybe 10 ep max and this get rid of sicom like Friends or How I met Your Mother when you can just watch any ep and get what is going on. You have to start with ep one or you will not get what is going on. With sicom you can just throw it on and do some chores or something. With this show you have to sit down and acutlly watch the show. This could be a bad or good thing depending on how you like to watch shows.
The Solution
Now, you might be wondering, “What’s the solution to this dilemma?” Surprisingly, DVDs still offer a viable option for many people. Here’s what you can do: head to eBay and purchase a pack of DVDs or individual movies and then rip them to a NAS (Network Attached Storage) or a computer. The reason for this approach is that when you own physical DVDs, you genuinely possess the media. If Sony or Amazon decides to stop selling a particular movie or TV show, it doesn’t affect you because you still have it. You can use media server applications like Jellyfin, Plex, or Emby to watch your collection on most of your devices. One of the benefits of this method is that even if you encounter internet issues due to problems with your Internet Service Provider (ISP), you can still enjoy your favorite content as long as you have power. Plus you can create your own Netflix with the shows you want to watch and not the other junk streaming services have, so you don’t have to scroll for 10 minutes to find something to watch.