There Goes My Watchlist As Dark Times Are Ahead
I shouldn’t put so much faith in a single source to watch TV and movies on my list, but I just miss the days when everything was on cable, and Netflix was the only streaming service available that had nearly everything, too.
Crave is also good because it comes with HBO, so that also bundles things together. But now, there are so many platforms that it can be overwhelming for you and your bank account.
A few years ago, when I discovered Microsoft had an app where I could grow a digital collection of movies and TV, I started building it. I bought movies I know I would re-watch, and only I would watch them. I did the same thing with shows, including new ones.
MS had some great deals on films every week, so I always kept an eye out for anything I wanted to add. On occasion, I would sometimes watch movies from my collection on the old Xbox One instead of my computer. Plus, I loved their weekly $4.99 deals on films.
It was nice to have a digital collection on my computer as well as physical DVDs/Blu-Rays of films/shows that I loved even more.
Don’t get me wrong, physical will always reign supreme, but when storage space is limited, I don’t want my collection of those to get too large until I have more space.
Then, I found out last weekend that Microsoft was discontinuing offering movies and TV in its store.
I did not learn about this until Monday, as I was working all weekend when the news broke.
Squidward gravestone meme made by me with imgflip.com
My first question once again was “Why? Why would they do this?” A lot of companies that make game consoles seem to be moving away from being able to watch movies on them. Sony did a few years ago, too.
I read the FAQ, and MS didn’t seem to really explain the reason behind this; they were basically saying, “Too bad, so sad”. No refunds either. While they do say that you can still watch the stuff you’ve already acquired, I don’t think I can trust them on that one. Who knows how long I’ll be able to do that before they remove that feature too?
Plus, what’s the point now? Several shows I had on there will forever remain incomplete.
I was pretty laid back about movie/TV streaming years ago, and that was when Netflix had everything. But aside from now having too many platform options, I also grew protective of my watch time, living in a shared household, or constantly being asked “whatcha watching?” So I turned to watching things on my computer. MS Movies & TV I thought was the most convenient option, as you know, I am not a fan of subscriptions.
It felt like a good place I could watch things with more privacy and without subscribing. Now it seems that it has been taken from us.
Even if this is frustrating, the truth is that it isn’t a much of an inconvenience as I thought. Many of the movies I have I have already seen. Most of my shows, I am caught up on or am rewatching. So far, there’s only one that’s new to me, but I should be able to find it somewhere else. I’ll just need to be more tolerant of sometimes being disturbed.
I really should finish what I was watching on Netflix, and another show I started, I should be able to watch on Amazon. So perhaps losing access to one thing will encourage me to finish those shows and also make it more comfortable with pizza and popcorn on the couch instead of my chair!
It also makes me reflect on where I consume media. For example, I’ve started exploring CBC Gem and found favourites that I discovered a while ago, some other shows on my watch list like Downton Abbey (the one with Maggie Smith), and it’s a Canadian platform.
I appear to be handling this situation rather well, but I still hate this capitalism and licensing shit. First, Nintendo is doing the usual, then Lego did the unforgivable, and now this. At least I have a plan to soldier on despite it.
👽Emily
#capitalism #CBC #CBCGem #Disney #HBO #Microsoft #Movies #rambles #rants #streaming #technology #TV #TVSeries #updates #watchlist
