Best devise for downloading movies to?

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davismills said:
I have a Jellyfin server running on a small Raspberry PI that allows playing of movies/TV shows on my home setup. All the media is stored in a 5TB hard drive hanging off the Raspberry Pi. I simply remove the hard drive and plug it into the usb port of the RV salon TV.

I record the movies/TV shows using Keepstreams.

KeepStreams | Keep Your Streams Offline

KeepStreams is your best choice to download movies and shows from OTT services including Netflix, HBO, Hulu, Disney+, and Amazon Prime and more sites.
keepstreams.com keepstreams.com
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That thing might be the thing for me but I'll never know. I wanted to pop in and look at features, how it works etc.

I was bombarded with 3 pop-up ads before I could even so the home page. Their pricing plan is a "slide in" ad from the right that takes up at least 1/3 of the screen space and slides out like every 10 seconds.

Also I pay like $8 a month for Hulu. Why would I pay another $23 a month to store it?

#1 rule of entertainment eCommerce. Get them hooked, have a proprietary format and lock them in for life.

I bought in to Apple TV. I had a box (3 actually) and I owned 200+ titles. The box couldn't hold them all but that's OK we'll keep them on our server for you. Then Apple realized they are gonna have to commit to streaming or become Blockbuster.

For a few years I could "easily" get to the movies I already owned. Then it got harder. The (apple TV) library feature was buried deeper and deeper. The last time I checked (few years ago) it took me 10 minutes to figure out how to access my library.

Today I don't even know if I can...
 
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Ex-Calif said:
That thing might be the thing for me but I'll never know. I wanted to pop in and look at features, how it works etc.

I was bombarded with 3 pop-up ads before I could even so the home page. Their pricing plan is a "slide in" ad from the right that takes up at least 1/3 of the screen space and slides out like every 10 seconds.

Also I pay like $8 a month for Hulu. Why would I pay another $23 a month to store it?

#1 rule of entertainment eCommerce. Get them hooked, have a proprietary format and lock them in for life.

I bought in to Apple TV. I had a box (3 actually) and I owned 200+ titles. The box couldn't hold them all but that's OK we'll keep them on our server for you. Then Apple realized they are gonna have to commit to streaming or become Blockbuster.

For a few years I could "easily" get to the movies I already owned. Then it got harder. The (apple TV) library feature was buried deeper and deeper. The last time I checked (few years ago) it took me 10 minutes to figure out how to access my library.

Today I don't even know if I can...
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Sorry you had a bad experience with them. I'm "collecting" a movie database and had used Playon for years to do the same thing but didn't like the direction they were headed. Keepstreams was the only other game in town that I found. I use an old, dedicated laptop to download the movies and I guess my "pop up" blockers keep the experience tolerable. Everything these days seems to be a subscription-based plan and I don't like it either. At some point, we'll probably not be able to watch a football game without a subscription. Oh wait, that just happened.
 
davismills said:
Everything these days seems to be a subscription-based plan and I don't like it either.
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I really pushed back on subscription models for a long time but they actually do make sense. I have a video editing subscription. I never have to worry about having the latest version of the software.

The (current) issue I have with subscriptions is the casual user. I have a couple of things I only use once or twice a year. Somehow the have to figure out a "by the drink" pricing.

So instead of a flat $120 a year I'd pay some smaller amount "per access" or "per hour" or something.

As for "sports" subscriptions I think when they figure out pricing it will be a good deal. I subscribe to F1TV. My buddy watches on cable. We watch together while facetiming. My internet feed is about 10 seconds ahead of his TV broadcast so I have to delay (pause) my feed at the beginning of the race.

But I also get all the replays, all the practice rounds, car telemetry live (I can choose any helmet/car cam I want which also gets 100% of the in-car comms) and the support races - Totally worth it at like $8 a month.
 
When I did extensive business travel, it was the golden age of Netflix. That is, the original pre-streaming DVD mail out service. I found some software to rip them down to digital format and store on a stick. I'd use a Sony PSP on the plane to watch them, or enjoy some gaming when I got bored with movie watching.

After several trips I realized a few things:
1. I'm not a movie collector. I watch them once and done. There's a very short list of movies I've watched more than once, even with prolific streaming availability.
2. Ripping DVD's is a tedious and time consuming process. See #1 why I decided it wasn't worth the trouble.
3. I'm not an avid gamer either.

Turns out sleeping was a better use of time while on the airborne bus.

A few remarking about storing/archiving programming. I gave up on it* due to #1. When I seek something out, there's a 50/50 chance it's included on one of my subs. If not, I'll pay a few bucks if I want to see it bad enough. The only way to capture these for later viewing is some sort of transcoder app, and that falls under #2. They never universally just work. Always some sort of intermediate conversion or the like that complicates things and increases the odds of a fail after waiting hours for the process to run out.

* not entirely. I decided to build a Plex server on a WD network storage device with a built in app capability. You can set it up on a retired desktop or other disposable computer system just as well. If you can manage to convert something to digital, it can be stored and played with the Plex app like any other stream. You own it, so even if it goes out of support some day, you still possess and can watch the content you've stored. I still don't grab movies, but time to time I run across long-play videos I want to see later on my big TV, not on my phone. Apps for converting/downloading from u-tube and the like tend to work as expected. I can throw those on the Plex server and they appear on the menu like other shows. I also equipped it with a tuner, so have DVR functionality for broadcast tv as well.

I have been able to view recorded content on my laptop. Whatever the Plex file format is, my Macs see it as a mpeg-2 and they will play using the VLC media player. So, if I wanted a travel solution, I could shift a selection of content from the Plex library on network storage to my Macbook Pro, then just double click to watch it.

So in a roundabout way, this could be a travel solution. Just not for subscription streams loaded with security countermeasures to prevent downloading and storing. I use Plex at home mostly, but do connect to it from the road from time to time when I want local broadcast tv content and I'm parked in an area with no or weak tv service but good internet.
 
RedForeman said:
After several trips I realized a few things:
1. I'm not a movie collector. I watch them once and done. There's a very short list of movies I've watched more than once, even with prolific streaming availability.
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We used to be the same way but as we get older my wife and I can re-watch movies now because we can't remember the story line anymore. Who says memory loss is a bad thing? :)
 
I don't collect movies either, but I find DVDs a great opition. $1 each and they work without internet, wifi, clear view of a satellite, etc. We also have forgotten enough to warrant rewatching old movies (not to mention there's very little new stuff worth watching).
We leave them/trade them in at laundry rooms in campgrounds across the land.
 
Turns out a daughter has an older but good HP Spectre laptop that she gave me. Also seems xFinity does not play nicely downloading movies to a pc, you need a mobile devise with an app. Mr Google pointed out that I could install an Android emulator on my new to me laptop and then download movies through the xFinity app. That will be my project upcoming. Any suggestions?
 
TheBar said:
We used to be the same way but as we get older my wife and I can re-watch movies now because we can't remember the story line anymore. Who says memory loss is a bad thing? :)
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There are some movies I watch every couple of years.

And periodically some classics. Couple months ago I watch the French Connection.

My problem is watching TV and movies is like drinking a beer. Tastes good at the time but 5 minutes later I can probably tell you some plot points but don't even ask me the title of the movie - I wouldn't have a clue...

" Mr Google pointed out that I could install an Android emulator on my new to me laptop and then download movies through the xFinity app"

Don't know what service you are using but Hulu, Netflix and Amazon Video all work fine on my Dell directly from the website. I also have Peacock (Xfinity) and that also works directly from the Peacock website with no app.
 
SpencerPJ said:
Turns out a daughter has an older but good HP Spectre laptop that she gave me. Also seems xFinity does not play nicely downloading movies to a pc, you need a mobile devise with an app. Mr Google pointed out that I could install an Android emulator on my new to me laptop and then download movies through the xFinity app. That will be my project upcoming. Any suggestions?
Click to expand...
I tried an android emulator a few years ago. It was more complicated than I expected because I had to create a virtual machine on the laptop first. That caused some problems so I never got beyond that. You could download movies from your phone to the laptop which is way less complicated.
 
SpencerPJ said:
Mr Google pointed out that I could install an Android emulator on my new to me laptop and then download movies through the xFinity app. That will be my project upcoming. Any suggestions?
Click to expand...
Xfinity has crippled their app to only make content available by watching content on your phone. I faced a similar issue trying to use SmartView on my Samsung phone to cast content onto a Roku TV. I wasn't even trying to download content, I just prefer to watch on a bigger screen.

If you're going to try an emulator, make sure it is an emulator and not just a screen mirror. Again, wasn't trying to download, but that's what I ran into when trying that angle. I tried Samsung DeX and another non-Samsung app like it, only to discover it's purpose is to remote control your phone from a computer.

Ex-Calif said:
Don't know what service you are using but Hulu, Netflix and Amazon Video all work fine on my Dell directly from the website.
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Last time I tried, Hulu is IP locked. If not accessing from your home network, you get blocked unless you update your home location. Then you only get to do that so many times per billing period if I recall. This wasn't a reason why I canceled Hulu, but it's on the list LOL
 
RedForeman said:
Last time I tried, Hulu is IP locked. If not accessing from your home network, you get blocked unless you update your home location. Then you only get to do that so many times per billing period if I recall. This wasn't a reason why I canceled Hulu, but it's on the list LOL
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Hmmm... I know Hulu started blocking international I/Ps years and years ago due to copyright.

I rarely download these days but I have changed I/P locations at least 3 times in the last 18 months and never had an issue. My changes were due to moving house which to Hulu should appear exactly like a roamed I/P address, at first. I can't ever recall giving Hulu my home address or updating it.

Also people routinely go on road trips and vacation. I have used Hulu in a lot of motel rooms and one time even in the hospital during a stay.

Not saying you are wrong, just saying my memory of it all is cloudy - LOL.
 
Ex-Calif said:
Not saying you are wrong, just saying my memory of it all is cloudy - LOL.
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And I canceled them several months ago, so anything could have changed.

Maybe it was just the Roku app that was doing it, now that I'm thinking about it. When I have a TV right there, I'm not watching anything on a phone or laptop screen.

It was confounding that I could watch from anywhere using the phone app, but they network blocked me when I tried to use my Roku TV on the truck (connected to a Verizon hotspot). Hulu also hobbled their app same as Xfinity did theirs, so it will not work in screen cast mode. That is, by sending my phone screen to display on the TV.

With more time to screw with it, I would get my hotspot to VPN into my home network and circumvent the block. I barely have time for any meaningful TV watching when out on the truck, so I never pursued it. At least the Plex server has a remote access option so no VPN is required to reach it. If I'm somewhere with zero TV reception, at least I can beam the local channels from home.
 
Ex-Calif said:
Hulu was first and NF followed but they both ended up also blocking any streams using VPN. I went through all these hoops when I lived overseas.
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The difference is with the VPN you're using.

You were using some sort of commercial VPN that uses a USA based gateway to make it appear you're in the correct region. Hulu, NF, and probably others, know the address range of these commercial gateways and block them.

I'm using an open source VPN to connect to a firewall appliance running at home. If I were able to get the hotspot to link, my internet traffic out to the streaming services would appear to be coming from my home network (because it is) and pass any VPN gateway blocking.
 
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