A Guide to Streaming Services

Streaming has become big in recent years and at a time when we are mostly self-isolating to protect ourselves from the coronavirus, we need these services as well as TV in general now more than ever. I have looked online myself and could never really find a guide to them that was good. So today I'm doing my own. The guide will only be a list of those that are widely available to most parts of the world and I and/or a friend have had personal experience in using. If you are after a guide for those services that only your country and possibly a couple of others uses, this is not the guide for you. Some will be paid, a few will be free and others will have both options. Only those that stream the likes of TV, film and radio will be counted (though some will also have user created videos too). And obviously I can't tell you which one to go for as it has to be your decision, but I hope this guide can help you decide which ones to go for if any. So let's get to it:

Netflix

We start this list by looking at what was the king of streaming services for a number of years. Netflix originally started out as a simple DVD rental service in the USA. But in just a year it quickly turned into a streaming service that today now serves almost every country in the world. Its library of content includes a number of films and TV shows from across a number of different companies and studios (except for Disney and very soon BBC and ITV for reasons which we will talk about later) and in 2011, they started to acquire and create their own original content. Now you may hear me say this a lot, but what is considered original content can vary from country to country. For example in the USA and Canada, Titans is a show exclusive to DC Universe which is DC's very own dedicated streaming service that currently only serves those countries. Whereas in other areas, its a Netflix Original as it's not being shown anywhere else. But some original content is only on Netflix everywhere like House of Cards, Orange is the New Black and Stranger Things along with a number of stand up specials and original films as well. With a number of TV shows and films coming from the likes of Paramount, Universal, Lionsgate, Warner Bros. and others, Netflix has plenty of variety both from the archives of many different companies and studios as well as their own original stuff too. Here in the UK, we have to pay in order to use it. Three plans are available with each one offering the same among of content, but the quality and the amount of content you can watch at any one time varies. For example if you went for the most expensive plan, you would get everything that can be shown in Ultra HD to be able to be shown in that on compatible devices and Full HD everywhere else and be able to watch content on four devices at the same time which would be perfect for families and friends who live together. Also Netflix is one of the few services to offer a download service should you be travelling a lot and don't want to use up too much data on your phone or use a public Wi-Fi hotspot that others may be using as well. So that is Netflix. Its got a good variety of content with lots of programming and films from across many companies and studios as well as their own stuff too. It doesn't have the best amount of Disney content and anime, but if you are not too bothered by that, then this is the one for you.

YouTube

YouTube has been around since 2005 and has quickly become a streaming platform that has been the home to many Internet personalities like PewDiePie, Markipler, Nostalgia Critic, Game Theory, Black Nerd Comedy, Dorkly, HISHE, CinemaSins and so many others. Its not a perfect service by any means due to its strict ruling of using copyright content and how it pays people. But lots of us use it to either watch our favourite YouTubers in action or to create videos for others to watch. While it remains free, there are some optional paid options that allow its users to watch videos without the ads and access YouTube Premium which is for YouTubers that want to create their own series, but users have to pay something in order to access it. Plus with YouTube being part of Google, users are able to access their digital libraries of film and TV shows that they have purchased through Google Play which is now considered the successor platform for any digital library platform that uses UltraViolet codes. So if you want something that's for the most part free and don't mind that most of the videos are user created with some original series being there (though companies like the BBC also put stuff on there too), then YouTube is the one for you. Also bear in mind that while services like YouTube and Netflix are available in most devices, there will be some on this list that are only available on selected devices and not necessarily all.

BritBox

Britbox basically says what it is just by the name alone. Its home to a number of British TV shows and films, but that may not be the most appealing of USPs for people living in the UK considering that much of what we watch while living in the UK can be seen for free on local on demand players like BBC iPlayer and ITV Hub. But I guess the idea is that when the shows and films expire on those players, then those shows and films will find a home on BritBox where it will stay. Although primarily a joint venture between BBC and ITV, there have been reports that selected content from Channel 4 and ViacomCBS (who operate Channel 5 and the UK version of Comedy Central) will be on the service at some point with other potential channels also offering up their content. But I think as far as trying to advertise it, it probably won't win many of us Brits over. But for the rest of the world, you will no doubt get a kick out of it. A difficult one really considering that its basically saying that content you were able to watch for free for a limited time you will have to pay for on one service to watch it again or if you missed out. But despite that setback, it does show stuff from a large archive of old but great British content and if you like British shows and films, then BritBox is the one for you provided that you can afford its seemingly reasonable cost per month. But like with Netflix, the content it has will vary depending on where you live. This is also a service that I haven't used personally, but friends and family have used and told me how good it is

Crunchyroll

So if you like anime, manga and Japanese drama (also known as dorama), then Crunchyroll would be a good fit for you. Its library is a big one and in total, it has over 900 anime shows, 200 dorama shows and at least 50 different series of manga. That's probably enough for you to be occupied with well after the lockdown and although it is free, Crunchyroll do offer some paid options if you want no ads and want to watch things in HD where possible. Depending on the anime in question, most will be in their original Japanese audio with English subtitles while a select few will have English dubs. Not necessarily a problem if you are ok with that, but can be annoying if there is that one show you really like and its not in your local language. Still, though for a service to have that amount of Japanese content and some Asian content too, Crunchyroll is there for fans of that kind of stuff and is widely available on most devices.

StarzPlay

So for those of you not too familiar with what StarzPlay can offer, they offer almost what Netflix can offer. But if you were to find any original content, there is a huge lack of it. But on the positive side, it has a library filled with a lot of films, TV shows (some of which are exclusive to the service in some areas) and here in the UK, its home to some DC Universe Originals like Doom Patrol. You would probably get more of a kick from Netflix than you would here, but StarzPlay is a good and cheaper alternative despite a lack of support for a number of devices. This one you have to pay for, but its pretty cheap as already mentioned.

Prime Video

Being a member of Amazon Prime has a lot of perks. Free next day delivery on most things and access to Twitch are just some of those perks. Prime Video is another one of those perks which offers up both a digital library to purchase films and TV from as well as a lot of stuff that you can watch for free as long as Prime is written all over it. They also have original content that includes favourites like Mr. Robot, Vikings, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel and The Tick. They are also the new home for the old Top Gear hosts as well so you got them doing stuff as well and its not just motoring shows. On top of all of that, Prime Video also offers up some add on subcriptions. These give Prime Video more content to show for an extra price which does include some of the services listed here most likely because of a lack of devices support or to make people feel comfortable in managing subscriptions from one place. With all of that and the other perks that come with Amazon Prime, Prime Video is a good one to have if you want a streaming service that offers up both a digital library and free content to stream along with some add-ons to enhance it.

Funimation Now

Funimation Now is basically a condensed version of Crunchyroll. While it doesn't have any manga or dorama, it has a lot of anime that the majority of which can be heard both in Japanese and English. The company themselves were responsible for the Dragon Ball Z dub on Cartoon Network's Toonami block many years ago and its largely thanks to them that most anime released to western audiences got an English dub. So I guess in a way, you can thank Funimation for doing the dubs and Toonami for going out of their way to show them (along with some other channels as well of course) along with their other action orientated content. So If you are wanting just anime with a better chance of finding English dubs, then Funimation Now is the one for you. Only consider Crunchyroll if you are wanting more from Japan than just anime and don't mind the lack of English dubs. Like Crunchyroll, Funimation Now is also free to use, but does have a paid option or two as well that can remove ads and has other perks too like a monthly free gift (though only applicable to some areas).

Disney+

Finishing up the list is Disney+ which is also the newest streaming services out there. However Disney had already their own streaming platform before Disney+ came. This was known as DisneyLife which served some selected countries and I guess it only existed as a prototype to Disney+ that would allow Disney to see how popular it could be. Not doubt it paid off and here we are. While DisneyLife was largely focused on content from Disney, Pixar and a minimal amount coming from Marvel and Star Wars, Disney+ takes it all to the next level with a focus on content from themselves, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars and the assets acquired from what was known as Fox. However due to the service being family orientated, anything that is considered for anyone ages 15 or 18 and above is not counted which means no Deadpool and no Family Guy. But there is 30 seasons of The Simpsons on there as well as the movie which is probably because despite having lots of adult jokes and occasional sexual innuendos, they have only gone as far as getting a 12 rating here in the UK (though why any of the Treehouse of Horror specials are on there I just don't know). Anyway so if you are a Disney fan and enjoy everything that they have at their disposal (and believe me, what they have is huge), then Disney+ is the one for you. Also even though Disney will still release films into cinemas and TV shows on the channels they now own, Disney+ will also be having some of that as part of their original programming. Its also not a free service as you do have to pay for it, but at least its not too pricey.

So that's the list. Now as I have mentioned already, I cannot say which one you should go for as it has to be what you want. All of these services whether they are free or not or both, have a lot of variety in what they offer that should appeal to all or most of you. Most will be avaliable on many devices whereas others will only be on selected devices. Particularly games consoles, smart TVs, smart phones, media players like Google's Chromecast and PC's with internet browsers like Chrome and Firefox. So I hope this was helpful in choosing the one(s) you want and enjoy what they offer.