Channels & viewing

[demsd]

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@FENSTERBARON8 wrote:

Also, It's definitely a problem with the channel, since so many people experience the same thing.

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It's not a problem with "the channel." It's the service the channel provides.

[demsd]

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@chlojo1 wrote:

... I have a feeling CR is skirting copyright issues to maintain such a substantial catalogue from dubious sources.

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They do have public domain movies. Off the top of my head, Kansas City Confidential, The Stranger, Scarlet Street, D.O.A., and Suddenly!, to name a few, can be found on Classic Reel. I haven't checked them all, but I am willing to wager a lot of them are in the public domain.

[chlojo1]

Of course they have public domain films, of which you named a few.  But they also have a lion's share of titles not in the public domain - from studios like 20th Century Fox, Columbia, Universal, Paramount, etc. - literally hundreds of titles.  And, as I mentioned before, many or most of these entries have the opening and closing logos edited out, which is a curious practice if these titles were legitimately licensed from distributors.

As for the continuing issue of buffering, I still have occasional experiences of this, but only once in a while, usually when I'm digging up an obscure title that comes into my head.  In those instances, I simply move on and find something else to watch. Seriously, $3 a month is not too much to pay for this substantial classic film library.

As for the poster who suggested taking this complaint to the FCC, even if there's a remote possibility that this channel gets shut down as a result, I think it will make a lot of classic enthusiasts pretty upset.

[SouthPawPhlly]

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@demsd wrote:

I just got off the phone with them and the guy that I spoke to blamed my ISP and claimed only 1% of his customers were having an issue. I find that hard to believe based on the this thread, and the fact that there were a lot of people talking in the background, no doubt to other customers having the same issue. He also gave me that "moving movies to a faster server" line too. I should have pointed him to this thread.

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I still have this problem from time to time.  Not too often but enough to consider cancelling my sub.

[demsd]

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@chlojo1 wrote:

Of course they have public domain films, of which you named a few.  But they also have a lion's share of titles not in the public domain - from studios like 20th Century Fox, Columbia, Universal, Paramount, etc. - literally hundreds of titles.  And, as I mentioned before, many or most of these entries have the opening and closing logos edited out, which is a curious practice if these titles were legitimately licensed from distributors.

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Are you suggesting there are no movies from 20th Century Fox, Columbia, Universal, Paramount, United Artists, MGM or Warner Bros. in the public domain?

[chlojo1]

Of course there are movies from those studios that fell into public domain.  What I am suggesting is that a lot of the studio titles Classic Reel is showing are not in the public domain.  Just scan through their "Trending This Week" titles and do a little research.  Of the 47 titles, you will find at least more than half that aren't PD.  Which is why I love this channel so much.  While some of the Fox titles are occasionally in rotation on FMC, and some 50s and 60s fare show up on Starz, you will not be able to find hundreds of these titles readily available anywhere, even if you have cable.

[demsd]

I doubt Classic Reel has been able to dodge copyrights after all these years. I would suspect that any movie not in the public domain is licensed.

[FENSTERBARON8]

Yes, that is absurd for Classic Reel to blame your ISP.  I have recently been trying to watch "Atomic City" and it has been buffering every four minutes!  It is quite irritating -- and I'd give up, were it not actually an interesting and socially relevant movie, even today, so I'm slowly watching it, in fits and starts. Yet other movies, like "She Devil," for instance, NEVER buffer.

It is always the same: either Classic Reel movies play without problem, or they stop to "re-buffer" every five minutes or so. Classic Reel obviously has a two-tier system, in which some (perhaps most) of their movies are on decent servers, and others (like "Atomic City") are hosted on woefully inadequate equipment.

This is even more obvious when you consider the following:

1) I have never had any buffering problem with any other Roku streaming service over the past two years (including FandangoNow, Vudu and a host of lesser-known services).

2) I have an extra-fast Internet connection that I specifically chose because my freelance work involves working with videos.

I don't know why Classic Reel won't own up to the problem since it has to be losing them customers.  I've been on the verge of quitting for months.

Despite their seemingly low price, they actually charge me more than CuriosityStream, so you'd think they could accomplish the bare minimum of streaming videos without such old-school headaches as re-buffering, which, until Classic Reels came along, I thought I had left behind in the late '90s.

[jcgk105]

Now, that explanation makes sense as to the buffering problem.  

Thanks

[Glowbaby]

I subscribed/paid & went to home. Clicked channel and gives me the option to purchase...clicked that.

I still can't access it.

Roku account says I'm a subscriber.

Anyone know where I go from here?

Thank you