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The selection was great but the simple fact is the streaming was just of such awful quality--compared to Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, HBO Go, etc--I never watched it.

Are you referring to the streaming quality, or the actual interface?

connor wrote: Fri Nov 09, 2018 8:57 pm The selection was great but the simple fact is the streaming was just of such awful quality--compared to Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, HBO Go, etc--I never watched it.

Hear, hear. And the lack of a download feature (for later viewing) ultimately made me cancel my subscription.

I had problems with the streaming quality as well. In my experience, Filmstruck's catalog was unwatchable on Wifi, and even when my computer was connected to my router with an Ethernet cable I would occasionally have issues.

HinkyDinkyTruesmith wrote: Fri Nov 09, 2018 8:58 pm Are you referring to the streaming quality, or the actual interface?

The streaming quality. It was like sub-DVD level.

ando wrote: Fri Nov 09, 2018 9:01 pm Hear, hear. And the lack of a download feature (for later viewing) ultimately made me cancel my subscription.

I received a survey from Filmstruck about offering downloads of the films, so it was in the works...

connor wrote: Fri Nov 09, 2018 9:15 pm

HinkyDinkyTruesmith wrote: Fri Nov 09, 2018 8:58 pm Are you referring to the streaming quality, or the actual interface?

The streaming quality. It was like sub-DVD level.

I had a better experience with it than other sites, but at least the films were from HD sources. I’ve seen too many older films (20+ years) in equally old transfers float around Netflix/Hulu/HBO over the years. In the other direction, STARZ has a good selection of older films from good sources but often unwatchably pixelated.

Filmstruck streaming quality is good for me. No noticeable pixels, no interruptions.

Conversely, I got *very* pixelated streams from Netflix, as well as occasional pauses, regardless of what I was watching or which device I was watching it on. I canceled my subscription after a month or two. (In fact, it’s the only streaming service I’ve abandoned. The others have all worked fine.)

Sooo, is this an ISP thing?

Webpass is my ISP, and I've have never had any problems when streaming stuff from Netflix or Amazon Prime, so beats me...

I have Spectrum here in Montana and it's a notoriously bad service in a State with such poor internet it took legislative action to improve it. I certainly had different quality streams but the quality was always the result of the print/materials. I never once had any of the previously described issues with blocky images and so forth. Netflix for me is the exact same way.

Filmstruck streaming quality varied wildly for me, though I think it could often be tied to where the master came from. The Criterion and main WB films tended to be good, while other sources could be a crapshoot given to pixelation. For example Sylvia Scarlett was was a soft master and given to frequent pixelation but Morning Glory looked pretty good; the William Wellman films released on DVD (i.e. Heroes for Sale, Midnight Mary, A Star Is Born) were pretty good, but some rarer films (Safe in Hell) were really soft though free of pixels.

But considering the crapshoot of transfers you find on Amazon Prime the lack of any classic films on Netflix or Hulu, Filmstruck was a definite advance.

Those of you complaining about the streaming quality should blame their ISP, not Filmstruck, with the exception of the Roku streaming quality, which for whatever reason, was very problematic. Several friends (and myself) came to the conclusion that multiple models of Roku devices only delivered SD quality for Filmstruck. Don’t know why. Being a streaming device junkie, I can confirm that Apple TV, Fire TV (stick) and Chromecast were never substandard (and I compared the same film in several cases with Amazon Prime video just for kicks), and if they were a quick speed test revealed it was a blip in my internet speed that was the culprit. I’d be curious if those complaining above were Roku users.


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I also never had any issues with streaming quality on Filmstruck (aside from issues stemming from the source material) and have always been really curious about others who said it was so terrible. In my apartment I watch everything on my computer monitor (I have a tiny studio and don't really have room for anything else) and at least when using Chrome, Filmstruck has always looked very comparable to Netflix, Amazon and Hulu. In fact, of the three I've only ever really had consistent complaints with Netflix, where I frequently see macroblocking in scenes with lots of shadow.

At my girlfriend's apartment we've watched Filmstruck by hooking her laptop up to her Samsung TV via HDMI and that has also always looked great (again, depending on the source material of the transfer).

unclehulot wrote: Fri Nov 09, 2018 11:34 pm Several friends (and myself) came to the conclusion that multiple models of Roku devices only delivered SD quality for Filmstruck. Don’t know why.

Looking up the Roku really quick, it appears that there are seven generations of the player released over the past ten years, with more recent models having better tech specs (resolution support, wireless/ethernet standards, RAM, etc.).
If you and your friends still have those test results at hand, make a note of the actual Roku models and see if it's those older ones that could only get SD quality.

My old Roku 3 gave me a perfect FilmStruck stream most of the time (though it helps to restart it each day before watching anything). The Roku 4K and Apple TV 4K just about always had some playback issue, but I'm pretty sure it's the FilmStruck software, as Prime works fine on them. Maybe if I had a 4K tv it would be a different story, but I don't.

Edit: And seeing the previous post, Roku 3 gives a pretty great HD picture. (I'm guessing I got it around 2010, though it mostly sat unused for several years until my "new" ISP gave me some usable bandwidth a few years back.)

My experience with FilmStruck film quality are also very positive. Of course you can't blame the service for poor source material or bad internet connections.
My only issue is the different design on different devices. For example, I can see the expiring date of a film only on the desktop interface, not on Apple TV of iPad. But I can live with that. Less annoying than Netflix starting automatically the next film/episode if you don't jump up and grab the remote immediately ....

Still on the FilmStruck marathon to see as many films as possible before Nov 29.

I was watching episode 4 or 5 of The Man in the High Castle on prime a couple weeks ago, and I thought I'd stopped it for the night, but a couple days later when I got back to the roku to watch another episode, prime was still happily streaming away something or other after playing who knows what in between non-stop.

(It bugs me when anything pops up during credits... which prime likes to do at every opportunity.)

Dead or Deader wrote:Industry leaders fighting back against the closure of Filmstruck

It’s not the best drafted letter but sincere. If all those filmmakers were pledging to produce intros and curate selections that might actually move the needle.

Nolan, being so big at WB might actually do that. I'm hopeful his involvement might make them reconsider.

Not to be cynical but this will be a tough nut to crack. Where they need to take this is the board of directors of AT&T and hope they can find some allies there.

If they truly are planning to incorporate the Warner back catalog into their new service (and I’m not certain they are) I can’t imagine they are interested in a paltry 1 million in revenue a month to keep Filmstruck alive another year. I have no idea what licensing costs are for the non-Warner/Janus films but that plus maintenance and supplement production costs has to be putting this in the red already. All these petitions seem futile

FrauBlucher wrote: Thu Nov 15, 2018 1:44 pm Not to be cynical but this will be a tough nut to crack. Where they need to take this is the board of directors of AT&T and hope they can find some allies there.

And I think that the roadblock there is that the AT&t overlords are not steeped in film culture the way that Warner would be. The suits that come up in Hollywood legacy are probably more sentimental and more persuadable than the guys who've come up laying fiber optic cable.

Dead or Deader wrote: Thu Nov 15, 2018 12:30 am Industry leaders fighting back against the closure of Filmstruck

Whether this works or not, it is awesome

jedgeco wrote:

FrauBlucher wrote: Thu Nov 15, 2018 1:44 pm Not to be cynical but this will be a tough nut to crack. Where they need to take this is the board of directors of AT&T and hope they can find some allies there.

And I think that the roadblock there is that the AT&t overlords are not steeped in film culture the way that Warner would be. The suits that come up in Hollywood legacy are probably more sentimental and more persuadable than the guys who've come up laying fiber optic cable.

But AT&T will have final say when it comes to ledgers.

As far as board members go they can be a diverse group that are not specific to or relegated to the industry that they are serving as a member of said board.