Any Worthwhile New Streaming Services?

I was going to write up a review on Redbox Instant today, the new Verizon-backed streaming service that Redbox has launched to supplement its DVD kiosks. They've been offering free trials, and I'm currently taking a break from Netflix in my usual rotation. It's eight dollars a month for Redbox Instant, with the added bonus of four regular Redbox DVD rentals. Add another dollar to upgrade to Blu-rays. Unfortunately, I didn't get very far into the sign-up process. Redbox Instant is just out of beta and only offers 4,600 titles, most of the same Epix content that is already available on Amazon Prime and Netflix. After browsing their selections for about an hour, I couldn't find a single title that I was interested enough in to want to give up personal information for. In a couple more months, maybe, if the content has improved enough, I could test-drive the service then. I'm not dismissing Redbox Instant entirely - it's very early yet, and they can surely improve - but the service is not in the shape that it needs to be to compete as a streaming service right now.

Okay, so let's shelve Redbox Instant for the moment. This wasn't the only streaming content provider in the news. Today, it was announced that a service called M-Go had secured a distribution deal with Lionsgate to stream its content. They launched back in January after securing a bunch of other studio deals. I didn't get far with this one either. M-Go is a video-on-demand platform, not a subscription based service. That means you pay for each and every movie and show you watch individually. They offer movie rentals for $0.99 for the first 30 days, and then bump up the price later. Sure, they offer plenty of new releases, and will even direct you to other services if they don't offer the title that you're looking for. However, M-Go is clearly trying to push the studio-preferred model of content consumption, promoting digital locker services and its compatibility with the UltraViolet format for digital content. No wonder the studios were so quick to sign on to M-Go. I don't have much interest in another itunes/Amazon style digital retailer at the moment, so I'm giving them a pass as well. Maybe when December rolls around and I need to catch up on a lot of recent films in a hurry, that deal will be useful.

What else? How about Flixfling? They're a fairly under-the-radar little service that talks up its commitment to indie, classic, and obscure movie content. That sounded promising. They offer two different services, a subscription service called Basic, and an On-Demand service that offers access to "Premium" titles. The problem is that their content is pretty severely lacking too. At 6,500 titles they're nearly as bad as Redbox Instant, and their user interface really needs some work. According to their database, they only have fifty foreign language films available, though a cursory glance through the full listings reveals plenty more. Also, I couldn't find a single movie or television episode that wasn't a "Premium" title, including public domain classics like "Nosferatu" and "His Girl Friday," which can be found for free in plenty of places on the internet. Flixfling definitely puts an overwhelming emphasis on their On-Demand service, and that means I don't have any use for it. And frankly, all the effort they took to make it seem like they had a viable streaming service, but without really offering one, left a bad taste in my mouth.

Then there's Crackle, which is Sony Pictures' platform for streaming content using flash video. They just ask for optional registration, and there are no fees that I can find. The content's not much to write about, but there were a scattering of decent titles that came up immediately, and if it's a free service, I can hardly complain. Then I tried watching Joseph Losey's "Go-Between," and found myself doing battle with a flash player that refused to load the content. I updated the Adobe player and still nothing. Had the movie expired? Was it one of the titles that you needed to register with the site to access? Was it not playable in my region? Not having the time to investigate further, I had to leave it at that. We're just going to have to label this test as inconclusive for now.

Competition is a good thing, but these latest challengers to Netflix and Amazon Prime are really not providing much of it at the moment. If anything, they show the studios’ deep resistance to the subscription streaming model. M-Go and Flixfling are aggressively pushing video-on-demand, while Redbox Instant might have some potential, but it's hurting for content. After researching each one, I didn’t bother signing up for anything, which was disappointing.

Oh well. Guess I'll renew the Netflix subscription a little earlier than planned. And keep tabs on that HBO Go rumor.
---