rating of streaming services
There are so many streaming services around, so which ones are better? Lets break it down (*please note these are the only ones I use regularly)
7. APPLE+
There is such little content on this platform that I am actually interested in, hence being rated last. I have only watched Ted Lasso, and so far that is the only thing of interest for me. That obviously might change over the years but as of now? They have work to do to really compete with the rest of the platforms. Apple+ is new though so hopefully in the next few years we will see more content that is intriguing.
However I do like the autoplay feature and that I can download episodes and movies on to my laptop. It makes watching them without wifi much easier. I don’t have to just watch on iPad. It is also very convinent since I use all apple products. Hopefully I will get more use out of this service more and have more thoughts on it!
6. Amazon Prime
I want to have a conversation with Amazon’s UX team because what are they doing? This is the most unhelpful, least intuative, least user friendly streaming service yet. Do they have a lot of great shows and movies? Somewhat, but it is overshadowed by how difficult it is to use they platform. It is chaotic and messy. For example, when going to search for Teen Wolf, it pops up by season. Instead of popping up as the whole show and then displaying each season once you click into it. It is also confusing of being able to buy shows like the iTunes store vs what is included on the streaming service.
I do like that when you press pause, it shows who is in the scene. (hopefully it doesn’t spoil anything for you!) And there is some decent content on it. It is also somewhat easy to navigate episodes if you want to jump around throughout the season. To be honest, so far those are the only pro’s that I can come up with . It has been the absolute most frustrating service yet. I do everything to not have to use it.
5. Paramount Plus
This streaming service is not much better, especially on a smart TV. Often times the captions are wrong, if they aren’t just random characters. When watching on the TV app (I haven’t had this issue when using an iOS app or on a laptop) the show will freeze on the opening Paramount+ logo. There is no way to close out, you just have to wait for it to refresh on its own which gets very annoying when binging a show. Another major con is the way that some shows are ordered. When you click into certain shows (*cough cough* Criminal Minds), it shows the most recent season first with the last episode first. So if you want to start the series from the start? You have to scroll to the VERY end. Finally, when it comes to binging, it isn’t very user friendly. When watching an episode, there is no way to skip to the next episode or an easy way to navigate through the episodes if there are certain episodes you don’t want to watch.
The pros: the only ads that you experience are right at the beginning of the show which is fantastic. Most of the content is from CBS and Nickelodeon, they also have had some decent originals. If you are a fan of Survivor/action related reality shows, NCIS/cop shows, crime and thriller shows. There are also a good handful of comedies, especially considering they own Nickelodeon properties. I don’t try to actively avoid this service like I do with Prime. But if I can find the show anywhere else, I watch it there. (or don’t watch past season 15 of NCIS so I don’t have to switch platforms and can stay on Netflix)
4. Max
Max is very mid. It has good content. There is a good range of previous shows and movies we all love to originals. There doesn’t seem to be many originals released but when they do, it delivers. However it almost seems like there isn’t a lot offered (outside of Harry Potter, DC and some teen dramas). I know there is, just for me and the shows I gravitate towards. There are also no ads which is ALWAYS a pro.
Cons: this is one of the difficult services to binge on. Or to resume binging. It doesn’t always automatically play the next episode, its hard to skip around if there is an episode you don’t want to watch again or if you fell asleep to a show - you can’t access the list of episodes without searching the show and finding it that way.
2. Hulu
I have Hulu tied for 2nd with Disney+ mainly because they are now connected but also are tied in my opinion, even before they joined together. Hulu has some of the best content available. From our favorites, to episodes of shows currently on that you can watch the next day, to originals. It is one of my first go to’s when looking for a show I used to watch or new ones that I want to start. It is also so easy to navigate. Your favorites are split up by TV shows and Movies. You can watch sports, it really has everything. And it is easy to binge on this platform with how it is laid out, being able to access the episodes in a season when the show is paused, etc.
HOWEVER - there are freaking ads. I was stuck on the student plan for so long and couldn’t upgrade, even if I had wanted to. That part was annoying, if you bundle with anything you are essentially stuck. And the price to pay without ads is absolutely annoying. But at least there is the option, it definitely could be worse if we didn’t have those.
2. Disney+
I am bias about the content available. I love how it is more than just classic old Disney stuff, even as an adult I can find things I like. I also think that Disney+ has some of the best originals. Which makes complete sense since it functioned as a whole channel on cable for years. I would expect nothing less from them. Plus there are no ads! (however I hear that they might be coming which would suck) I also love how they have their interface set up with collections already established. Another pro is just how easy it is to download episodes or movies to watch without wifi and how often it actually works!
Alright, time for the cons. The only one that really stands out for me is the fact that shows don’t automatically stop so you can’t really fall asleep to it and have it turn off. They also randomly take things off or don’t have older Disney things. I wish they would keep everything up but maybe that is something that I don’t know enough about but its still a con for me.
1. Netflix
And finally, my number one streaming service! Biggest pro? No ads! It is so user friendly and intuitive. It is easy to navigate, save your favorites, pick up where you left off, etc. It was made for the user in mind. Also, the content on it? Very expansive, diverse, and ever expanding. At first I didn’t like how things like Twilight or Hunger Games would only be available for a limited time but I have come to actually really like. It helps keep the content fresh (and helps me decide what to watch). And their originals are so well done, Netflix has some of the best originals. It is also the only streaming service that pauses after awhile of no activity so you can fall asleep to it. It is the most binge-able platform. Plus it tells you how many episodes you have left in the season before the next one which is a fun little feature. Last pro? It is easy to download and watch off of wifi!
Now, it isn’t without it’s faults. The no sharing and price are two huge cons. Plus, they have had multiple contracts end and lost some of the entities that really drew me to Netflix in the first place. I miss having everything in one place. The last con is how often they cancel their original series. But for me, the pros outweigh the cons, making it my #1!