Shiroi Hane
Dragon Knight
Re: Anime streaming and simulcasts: what do they mean to you
Started this yesterday but due to inbound calls I didn’t finish by the time I left work. Taken me a couple of hours to finish now, since we’ve been busy. I haven't proofread.
1. Do you use any legal anime streaming services (e.g. Crunchyroll, Wakanim, Animax UK, Daisuki, Viewster, Netflix, Nico Nico, the occasional legal uploads on YouTube etc.)?
On a regular basis: Crunchyroll, Wakanim, Animax and Netflix. Wakanim
I have used Viewster a few times, I've used Daisuki when something I really want to watch is only available there (or there is a big delay; last show I watched was Monogatari). I last used NicoNico for Blood-C, and it was dire.
I have also watched stuff on YouTube (i.e. FUNimation's channel before they stopped using it) and the Manga app on my TV (which has the same content as Manga.com's YouTube channel, but laid out better)
2. Do you have a paid subscription to any of them? What are your thoughts on paid subscriptions versus ad-supported business models, and which subscription fee is the best value?
Paid subs to Crunchyroll, Animax and Netflix. Crunchyroll is the best value anime-wise; my Netflix subscription is mainly for other stuff like Top Gear and 24. I hate ads, especially when they're the same ones over and over again.
3. Crunchyroll uses a system which splits its revenue between the titles people actually watch, so if you sign up and only watch Gintama, all of the share of your subscription which goes to the creators will go to companies involved with Gintama. According to reports, the other services tend to split the funds differently depending on individual license contracts. What do you think about this? How do you think the payments should be split, most fairly?
Crunchyroll system works for me.
4. Which service(s) do you consider the best, and why?
Crunchyroll:
It has the biggest catalogue, with the largest selection being added every season too.
It has the best queue to keep track of what you're watching.
It has an app for my PS3 (although Netflix and Animax do also, and Netflix also has an app for my TV. The Animax app is the worse, having no queue system.)
5. In the UK, we have an unusual arrangement where most of our simulcasts are completely exclusive to one service; in Japan and the US the local distributors try to spread them out where possible. This obviously has advantages for the UK streaming companies as it provides a reason for people to (be forced to) visit their platform, but how do you feel about these arrangements, as a customer?
All the shows going on all the platforms would probably be best solution overall from a customer standpoint as you can choose the platform that suits you without having either multiple subscriptions or missing out on shows. The platforms would then have to compete on quality of service, rather than exclusive content - which would also hopefully mean less stagnation in terms of apps (they still haven't fixed the acknowledged memory leak in the Crunchyroll PS3 app for example...)
6. Do you find it easy to keep up with which series is airing on which site?
I add every new show (except ones that I obviously won't like) to my Crunchyroll queue and eventually watch them or remove them (although I have unwatched shows going back months...)
It's usually easy to find the latest shows in Animax, but mostly because there's less there to go through at the moment.
Since I do most of my streaming on my PS3, I keep forgetting about Wakanim and Daisuki and have to give myself an occasional kick to watch stuff on Wakanim before it gets locked up (which is why I never finished Samurai Flamenco..)
7. Have you ever missed out on a series because it's only available on a site you can't use (e.g. for technical reasons, as some only support certain platforms)?
Not so much can't, but there's stuff I haven't been fussed about enough to go through the hassle of having to watch on my PC, like Buddy Complex and M3 on Daisuki and Milky Holmes on NicoNico.
There was also Samurai Flamenco, which I put on the backburner after the first ep and which went behind the paywall before I got back to it; I wasn't about to pay to watch the one show I wasn't sure I actually wanted to see in the first place so...
8. If something isn't licensed for a simulcast in the UK, and you really want to watch it, what do you do? Miss out until the DVD/BD release, 'take a flight' to another region like the US, or resort to illegal distribution channels?
Before I stopped fansubs althogether, I was downloading fansubs of stuff that wasn't streaming and rips of stuff that was legally streamed only in the US. Since then I have watched some stuff on Hulu, but again it is a pain since I have to do that on my PC and then there's the ads..... I have a huge queue on Hulu, but then I also have a huge queue on Crunchroll and DVDs that have gone unwatched for years so...
I generally don't read up in advance on what shows are upcoming, which helps avoid disappointment.
9. What makes you resort to illegal methods even when a series is licensed and available in the UK?
Currently, nothing (unless you count using a DNS redirect for Hulu). Last show I remember downloading because it wasn't legally available is Hyouka, but I have never actually watched it.
10. How likely are you to buy the DVD/BD of a series if you saw it streaming? What if you never had the chance to see it streaming?
With the proviso that I have very little money for buying DVDs (one of the reasons I'm putting my money in the streaming bucket more these days): Depends on the show. Some shows, I watch online and never want to see again. Some shows I put off buying because I've never seen them. Some shows I've watched online and go straight on my Amazon wishlist as soon as they are listed.
11. If you saw a series online in HD and the home video version is only available on DVD, do you feel disappointed?
Yes.
12. Do you wish there were more multilingual streams available (including English dubs for catalogue titles and experiments such as Space Dandy)?
Yes. As long as Japanese is always one of the streams. I watched Dandy dubbed for the novelty. I switched back to the subs for Sidonia for reasons I forget.
13. How important is it to you that streaming services keep a schedule showing when content will be available?
I'm happy just opening it and being able to tell that new episodes are available. I rarely watch on a schedule.
14. How important is it to you that streaming services make content available without sudden delays?
It's annoying, but things happen.
15. How important is it to you that simulcasts are released on the same day that they go up in other regions (or at least in other English-speaking regions)?
Not vital since I've not had the time/inclination to take part in series discussion threads much for a while. Would be nice though.
16. A couple of the streaming services have large back catalogues of older titles on offer. When you're picking a service to subscribe to, how important is the size of their catalogue?
I started off Animax, due to the price being actually higher than Crunchyroll for less overall content, thinking I would watch a couple of titles in their catalogue I’d not seen/finished and go back to free after the trial, but I’ve stuck with it since the ads are annoying and I don’t have to jump to watch stuff within the one week window. That and I still haven’t finished Death Note...
17. Do you prefer streaming or download-to-own (e.g. Wakanim, iTunes)? Any particular reason?
Streaming currently suits my needs (only having a part time job), but I resisted it for some time when it was new and really wanted a viable DTO solution.
If Wakanim has a show I really, really wanted I might bite that bullet, but so far they haven’t.
I bought all of Strike Witches from BOST. THe quality is dire compared to modern streams, but this was one of the first shows that was legally streamed. I have one episode of Time of Eve I bought from Crunchyroll before they stopped doing DTO, but the quality was behind even their own streams at the time.
DRM and pricing are the main problem these days where DTO is even an option; I have bought a few episodes on iTunes but it is crippled by the prices being no cheaper than buying a show on disc, the quality being generally lower than it would be on disc, most videos being dub-only and being hobbled by DRM so it can only be watched on my PC, in iTunes or Quicktime which hate going fullscreen on a second display. Most of their content you can get elsewhere anyway. I bought a couple of episodes from the Sony Network on my PS3 and at least I can watch those on my PS3, but again they’re locked to that platform, expensive and lack audio options.
II would love to have an archived copy of the broadcast version of a show even if I was getting it on disc, especially in cases where the US licensor doesn’t included the Japanese credits (this is largely why for a long time I torrented raws of pretty much everything that was airing, until I just got fed up of the work involved in downloading and storing it all)
18. Do you use legal online manga services (e.g. Viz's SJ, Renta, Crunchyroll)? What do you think of them? As many aren't documented well, do you have any recommendations for other forum users who might not know about legal online manga?
I upgraded my Crunchyroll sub from monthly anime-only to a premium yearly account on Black Friday and have been using the Manga app. I’ve caught up to the latest chapters of around 6 titles now.
I’d not used a legal manga service before, I’ve never used any of the illegal ones. I did once try following the latest Negima issues via fanscan (I was importing the manga but couldn’t read it and Del Rey were way behind) but reading and navigating was a pain using a regular image browser on a PC.
I’ve tried using ComicWalker, but last I checked they weren’t updating anything.
I took a look at Manga Box, but they only have the latest chapters of anything.
19. If you had the chance to make a suggestion to improve the current streaming situation here, what would it be? You can suggest more than one thing if you want!
A neutral third party that all the physical licensors could (and did) host streams on would be best, like Hulu largely does in the US. But without adverts. Like Netflix, indeed. Then at least you would need at most two subscriptions. Or, if everyone could just play nice with Crunchyroll like Sentai and NISA do then you would need only one.
Started this yesterday but due to inbound calls I didn’t finish by the time I left work. Taken me a couple of hours to finish now, since we’ve been busy. I haven't proofread.
1. Do you use any legal anime streaming services (e.g. Crunchyroll, Wakanim, Animax UK, Daisuki, Viewster, Netflix, Nico Nico, the occasional legal uploads on YouTube etc.)?
On a regular basis: Crunchyroll, Wakanim, Animax and Netflix. Wakanim
I have used Viewster a few times, I've used Daisuki when something I really want to watch is only available there (or there is a big delay; last show I watched was Monogatari). I last used NicoNico for Blood-C, and it was dire.
I have also watched stuff on YouTube (i.e. FUNimation's channel before they stopped using it) and the Manga app on my TV (which has the same content as Manga.com's YouTube channel, but laid out better)
2. Do you have a paid subscription to any of them? What are your thoughts on paid subscriptions versus ad-supported business models, and which subscription fee is the best value?
Paid subs to Crunchyroll, Animax and Netflix. Crunchyroll is the best value anime-wise; my Netflix subscription is mainly for other stuff like Top Gear and 24. I hate ads, especially when they're the same ones over and over again.
3. Crunchyroll uses a system which splits its revenue between the titles people actually watch, so if you sign up and only watch Gintama, all of the share of your subscription which goes to the creators will go to companies involved with Gintama. According to reports, the other services tend to split the funds differently depending on individual license contracts. What do you think about this? How do you think the payments should be split, most fairly?
Crunchyroll system works for me.
4. Which service(s) do you consider the best, and why?
Crunchyroll:
It has the biggest catalogue, with the largest selection being added every season too.
It has the best queue to keep track of what you're watching.
It has an app for my PS3 (although Netflix and Animax do also, and Netflix also has an app for my TV. The Animax app is the worse, having no queue system.)
5. In the UK, we have an unusual arrangement where most of our simulcasts are completely exclusive to one service; in Japan and the US the local distributors try to spread them out where possible. This obviously has advantages for the UK streaming companies as it provides a reason for people to (be forced to) visit their platform, but how do you feel about these arrangements, as a customer?
All the shows going on all the platforms would probably be best solution overall from a customer standpoint as you can choose the platform that suits you without having either multiple subscriptions or missing out on shows. The platforms would then have to compete on quality of service, rather than exclusive content - which would also hopefully mean less stagnation in terms of apps (they still haven't fixed the acknowledged memory leak in the Crunchyroll PS3 app for example...)
6. Do you find it easy to keep up with which series is airing on which site?
I add every new show (except ones that I obviously won't like) to my Crunchyroll queue and eventually watch them or remove them (although I have unwatched shows going back months...)
It's usually easy to find the latest shows in Animax, but mostly because there's less there to go through at the moment.
Since I do most of my streaming on my PS3, I keep forgetting about Wakanim and Daisuki and have to give myself an occasional kick to watch stuff on Wakanim before it gets locked up (which is why I never finished Samurai Flamenco..)
7. Have you ever missed out on a series because it's only available on a site you can't use (e.g. for technical reasons, as some only support certain platforms)?
Not so much can't, but there's stuff I haven't been fussed about enough to go through the hassle of having to watch on my PC, like Buddy Complex and M3 on Daisuki and Milky Holmes on NicoNico.
There was also Samurai Flamenco, which I put on the backburner after the first ep and which went behind the paywall before I got back to it; I wasn't about to pay to watch the one show I wasn't sure I actually wanted to see in the first place so...
8. If something isn't licensed for a simulcast in the UK, and you really want to watch it, what do you do? Miss out until the DVD/BD release, 'take a flight' to another region like the US, or resort to illegal distribution channels?
Before I stopped fansubs althogether, I was downloading fansubs of stuff that wasn't streaming and rips of stuff that was legally streamed only in the US. Since then I have watched some stuff on Hulu, but again it is a pain since I have to do that on my PC and then there's the ads..... I have a huge queue on Hulu, but then I also have a huge queue on Crunchroll and DVDs that have gone unwatched for years so...
I generally don't read up in advance on what shows are upcoming, which helps avoid disappointment.
9. What makes you resort to illegal methods even when a series is licensed and available in the UK?
Currently, nothing (unless you count using a DNS redirect for Hulu). Last show I remember downloading because it wasn't legally available is Hyouka, but I have never actually watched it.
10. How likely are you to buy the DVD/BD of a series if you saw it streaming? What if you never had the chance to see it streaming?
With the proviso that I have very little money for buying DVDs (one of the reasons I'm putting my money in the streaming bucket more these days): Depends on the show. Some shows, I watch online and never want to see again. Some shows I put off buying because I've never seen them. Some shows I've watched online and go straight on my Amazon wishlist as soon as they are listed.
11. If you saw a series online in HD and the home video version is only available on DVD, do you feel disappointed?
Yes.
12. Do you wish there were more multilingual streams available (including English dubs for catalogue titles and experiments such as Space Dandy)?
Yes. As long as Japanese is always one of the streams. I watched Dandy dubbed for the novelty. I switched back to the subs for Sidonia for reasons I forget.
13. How important is it to you that streaming services keep a schedule showing when content will be available?
I'm happy just opening it and being able to tell that new episodes are available. I rarely watch on a schedule.
14. How important is it to you that streaming services make content available without sudden delays?
It's annoying, but things happen.
15. How important is it to you that simulcasts are released on the same day that they go up in other regions (or at least in other English-speaking regions)?
Not vital since I've not had the time/inclination to take part in series discussion threads much for a while. Would be nice though.
16. A couple of the streaming services have large back catalogues of older titles on offer. When you're picking a service to subscribe to, how important is the size of their catalogue?
I started off Animax, due to the price being actually higher than Crunchyroll for less overall content, thinking I would watch a couple of titles in their catalogue I’d not seen/finished and go back to free after the trial, but I’ve stuck with it since the ads are annoying and I don’t have to jump to watch stuff within the one week window. That and I still haven’t finished Death Note...
17. Do you prefer streaming or download-to-own (e.g. Wakanim, iTunes)? Any particular reason?
Streaming currently suits my needs (only having a part time job), but I resisted it for some time when it was new and really wanted a viable DTO solution.
If Wakanim has a show I really, really wanted I might bite that bullet, but so far they haven’t.
I bought all of Strike Witches from BOST. THe quality is dire compared to modern streams, but this was one of the first shows that was legally streamed. I have one episode of Time of Eve I bought from Crunchyroll before they stopped doing DTO, but the quality was behind even their own streams at the time.
DRM and pricing are the main problem these days where DTO is even an option; I have bought a few episodes on iTunes but it is crippled by the prices being no cheaper than buying a show on disc, the quality being generally lower than it would be on disc, most videos being dub-only and being hobbled by DRM so it can only be watched on my PC, in iTunes or Quicktime which hate going fullscreen on a second display. Most of their content you can get elsewhere anyway. I bought a couple of episodes from the Sony Network on my PS3 and at least I can watch those on my PS3, but again they’re locked to that platform, expensive and lack audio options.
II would love to have an archived copy of the broadcast version of a show even if I was getting it on disc, especially in cases where the US licensor doesn’t included the Japanese credits (this is largely why for a long time I torrented raws of pretty much everything that was airing, until I just got fed up of the work involved in downloading and storing it all)
18. Do you use legal online manga services (e.g. Viz's SJ, Renta, Crunchyroll)? What do you think of them? As many aren't documented well, do you have any recommendations for other forum users who might not know about legal online manga?
I upgraded my Crunchyroll sub from monthly anime-only to a premium yearly account on Black Friday and have been using the Manga app. I’ve caught up to the latest chapters of around 6 titles now.
I’d not used a legal manga service before, I’ve never used any of the illegal ones. I did once try following the latest Negima issues via fanscan (I was importing the manga but couldn’t read it and Del Rey were way behind) but reading and navigating was a pain using a regular image browser on a PC.
I’ve tried using ComicWalker, but last I checked they weren’t updating anything.
I took a look at Manga Box, but they only have the latest chapters of anything.
19. If you had the chance to make a suggestion to improve the current streaming situation here, what would it be? You can suggest more than one thing if you want!
A neutral third party that all the physical licensors could (and did) host streams on would be best, like Hulu largely does in the US. But without adverts. Like Netflix, indeed. Then at least you would need at most two subscriptions. Or, if everyone could just play nice with Crunchyroll like Sentai and NISA do then you would need only one.