Netflix has managed to annoy a good number of its users with an announcement about an upcoming update to its Windows 11 (and Windows 10) app: support for adverts and live events will be added, but the ability to download content is being taken away.
Netflix must realize that it’s a huge frustration for people who relied on offline downloads to watch content without internet access: on planes, trains, and campsites, and anywhere else where Wi-Fi is unavailable or unreliable.
There’s a small chance that Netflix will change its mind if it gets enough complaints, but the streaming service seems determined to add as many money-making features as possible, while taking away genuinely useful ones.
My wife and I unsubscribed a few months back. I’ve not noticed.
Better late than never, fuck Netflix!
I use a Netflix download app or a video capture app to store Netflix videos for offline viewing. They are charging a lot and not meeting my needs so I take matter into my own hands.
They’ve gone full circle at this point: it’s like paying for TV channels and piracy is looking really attractive again, even though Netflix was the reason many people stopped doing that initially (I assume)
To be honest, I like watching SciFi and superhero movies yet cinemas are too expensive in my country. So, my fiance (Netflix) and I (Amazon Prime) bought thsse services and using together.
But guess what:
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No HBO in my country, so no DC for me. Yet they are not selling DC to Turkey neither. So no DC movie for me after 2018(?)
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Both Netflix and Prime just puts their content, and forget the rest for Turkey. For example I couldn’t watch Mad Max: Fury Road one month ago
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They are doing some kind of censorship? You cannot watch too bloody, too sexual, too whatever content while there is no legal censorship on internet content. For example I can watch “Barda” (“at pub”) on Youtube but not on Prime.
So yes, why I am paying for TV channels wtih ads?
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Back then, when I wanted to watch a film, I checked Netflix first, then amazon video. I only reached for other sources if it was unavailable at both. Now there are way too many platforms to pay for, and they are getting way too shitty to pay at all.
There was a time when I was even feeling good going “clean”. Now everything is dirtier than I ever imagined.
Totally agree!
Yeah, not only are there a dozen platforms that you need to search but they all suck. I have seen so many instances where people download videos for a vacation and then they can’t be played. I can’t even share screenshots to advertise the shows that you are selling to my friends for free!
Funny enough when I have a video file sitting on my computer it just works, all of the time, super fast. And instead of using services that tell me what streaming platform a given show is on it is easier to use a service that tell me the infohash of the file.
I’m laughing in Plex
Install an android emulator. Problem solved.
Start pirating again. Problem solved.
Make your own movies and shows. Problem solved.
Start a company, get rich, buy Netflix, problem solved.
Stop watching stuff, do something else. Problem solved.
Found a secret society, infiltrate politics worldwide, stir chaos and destruction, let the world burn and built a new Netflix from the world’s ashes where you still can download stuff. Problem solved.
See? It’s not that hard!
(In case it wasn’t clear, I am joking.)
Best comment so far
Guess it’s time to use the other download feature.
Y’all just need to cancel your Netflix, they are too expensive for far too little
It’s included with my tv subscription. I’m already on the cheapest plan
Sounds too expensive. You should cancel it
I cant, i share an account with my mom :(
No sad face friend, it’s not your fault or responsibility, you are already not supporting them!
I am, im the one paying for my mom ;)
Well hell. 😂
I spun up a Plex server for myself, built a NAS, then started inviting friends and family. If I can get multiple users to drop their subs, I’ll be making a larger impact. Fuck streaming subscriptions, I’m pirating content until I die. Now I can pirate for multiple users 🏴☠️
I share my jellyfin with my mom
Must go through a lot of batteries.
I used to as well until I canceled it, I and my brother both setup plex servers so now they have more content without having to pay extra for sharing an account to a different address
Sure, but im not gonna be constantly trying to find stuff for her or get a constant messages of “can you get this for me?”
You can make it all automated with overseerr, they just search on plex and if you don’t have it they add it to their watch list in the plex app, overseerr will auto add it to radarr or sonarr and start searching for it automagically
But they’re actually producing good stuff lately. I’ve watched more Netflix originals this year than I have in the past 10.
You can pirate, or if you want to do it the “right” way, you can sign up when there’s something you want to watch and cancel when there isn’t.
I’m going to try doing that. My wife watches it a bit though, and my kids watch it occasionally. I’m thinking I’ll set aside $200 to buy whatever series they want, and if that lasts us the year, we’ve come out ahead.
I need to do the same for Disney+. We really don’t watch either enough…
The one value streaming services provide is subtitles in languages other than English. Unfortunately there aren’t enough pirates in a lot of countries to make foreign media viable.
How does it find subs if no one’s created the sub file? Does it auto translate them from the original language?
No*. You can add providers which will automatically check for and download (all of) the available subtitles and it can automatically check for new and updated ones so that you don’t need to. It can also do synchronization and modifications like fixing uppercase and OCR. It greatly reduces the amount of work that you have to do.
*I just checked the OpenSubtitles.com provider and it has an option for AI translated subtitles in search results.
My small ass original country with 9m pop has its own subtitle pages for pirated content. You just need to search by title + release group (+episode, if a TV show).
I’m guessing most of them are created by some auto-subtitling services, because most are pretty horrible quality. But still better than nothing.
Is the release group the name of the people who usually upload subs? How would I find that?
For example, I’ve been trying to find Japanese subs for the show American Horror Story, but the only way I know to look is to search for the title plus subs. But the only result that even comes close is the opensubs site, which doesn’t have much Japanese content.
The release group or person is usually a tag at the end of the file name before the extension.
You could try auto-translating the subtitle files content, see how well a job some of the translation services do.
Oh yeah, good point. I didn’t think about translating the srt files myself-- I’ll see if I can make that work
Not sure if this is helpful but I’ve used this site for my srt for rough translations
Oh, that looks promising, thanks. Free translators like google and such have a character limit so I couldn’t just copy paste the whole file.
That’s hilarious, I used to have trouble finding the stuff I wanted in subbed English, could only find dubbed that was changed in significant ways usually.
Yes I was an anime nerd in the late 90’s and 2000’s
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If I could figure out an easy way for my partner to download content to my Plex library, I’d dump Netflix and Hulu in a heartbeat. I’m picturing an app where they can search for any show or movie, hit download, and it will grab it from my private tracker and toss it on my server. AFAIK something like this just doesn’t exist.
I’ll second Ombi. It has a slick interface to search for any movie/tv show and when the user presses a download button the backend interfaces with other apps to download the media and provide it to Plex. Having your partner interface directly with Radarr or Sonarr just isn’t as user friendly
I setup overseerr to auto add users added to my plex server and auto approve anything they request or add to their watch list, they just need to login once to my overseerr for their plex account to be linked after that as long as they have the online media thing enabled that is enabled by default they can just search for anything through plex and add it to their watch list and overseerr will auto add it to the arrs and begin the search and download. I have to get in there from time to time to manually do shows that are low quality or in a different language some times but other than that it’s all automated, you can even setup another tool that auto deletes things after a certain time so you can manage your storage easier
Very slow reply, but do you have a guide for setting this up?
You need to buy blurays for that
There are several.
I use Tailscale for it. Install it on your server, give partner access and she can add stuff to your .arr’s from anywhere. Simple and free.
One of those -arrs can be setup to download automatically when someone adds a movie or show to their watchlist.
You can use the plex watchlist feature to do this. Add the plex watchlist to the arrs and then when anything is added to the watchlist on plex the arrs will see it and add it to the queue. Works great.
Ombi and Overseerr will do this.
Yup.
They told me I could choose between ads and a 35% price rise.
I replied “I have a better idea”
Can honestly say I’ve not missed out watching anything I wanted to watch
Canceled mine.
Sailing the high seas works just fine.
And start sailing the seven seas
Enshittification follows its course.
🏴☠️ 🏴☠️ 🏴☠️
There is a windows software for Netflix? I have been using my browser on all platforms tbh
Downloads on my Surface for the sake of my vacation were the reason I resubscribed. Seems fitting it should be the reason I unsubscribe. I only worry about finding a good point of communication to let them know about this reason.
How is this not considered false advertising? They literally market offline viewing as a feature
They just have to stop marketing it, I guess
What’s the point of the windows app if you can’t download stuff with it? Might as well use the browser at that point
Depending on the browser, you won’t get 4k. IIRC only works with Edge cause of DRM.
You know what doesn’t have shitty DRM? Torrents.
Well that’s mighty selfish of you isn’t it, won’t you think of the Microsoft shareholder who want to make more money from harvesting your data and Netflix for wanting to serve you ads to increase profits.
Microsoft doesn’t care if you use the app or the browser
You’re still on the same OS
I’m certainly no desktop developer, but I would imagine a native application gives you access to more intrusive data than a browser, especially considering modern browser protections. Just a theory though
You mean you’re not Edging?
They could keylog everything or screenshot every x seconds and send it to them if they wanted
Log all network requests
The app is most likely electron which is just Chromium
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You’d never know it the way they try to make every Microsoft branded app the default
I think the only way to get surround sound is in the desktop program. I don’t know if that’s a limitation of browsers or if the Netflix guys are just assholes.
Makes sense, I don’t think it’s them being assholes, probably easier to interact with the hardware in a native app than through the browser.
I’m a desktop application programmer, and glad I don’t have to deal with web browsers.
I could imagine a technical limitation if they use some proprietary audio codec to send compressed surround sound that the browser somehow doesn’t support, but on the other hand why the fuck am I giving a big tech corporation any benefit of the doubt?
In my limited understanding, they almost certainly do not because if they did client devices would struggle to decode some non-standard format.
It’s probably a DRM limitation.
The people on your man o’ war
Are treated worse than scum
I’m no flogging captain
And by God I’ve sailed with some
Come with me to Barbary
We’ll ply there up and down
Not quite exactly
In the service of the Crown🏴☠️
And I am set to remove Netflix subscription, while introducing torrents.
Ads are the one thing I won’t tolerate on a paid service.
Title might be misleading, they’ll only add support for ad tiers, not introduce ads in all tiers
At this time…
But when they do, you’ll get the optional add-on to remove ads for just 2.99 more a month!
I refuse to pay to watch ads.
Which is exactly why I want to get rid of cable
