Video rental stores
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In which TR must be me somehow even if I don't think so.
I like watching movies once in a while, and since my childhood we have been going to a video rental store 15 minutes from our house. Back in the day they were renting VHS movies. Then they had DVDs too. Then they closed the shop in 2013 because here in Hungary everyone uses torrents. I was already getting weird looks from friends back then for paying for movies. Or watching them on regular broadcast TV.
I Googled and found another video rental similarly close to us. I started going there until this week that one also closed. There is a third one but that's much shittier. I wanted to rent Die Hard 2 and they told me that's so old, they only had it on VHS. The other shop had basically any old movie on DVD.
Renting a movie cost less than $2. Is there no way for me to
- watch movies on my old TV, not my computer
- pay around the same price for each
- without purchasing extra hardware and a bigger internet connection? Current is 5 Mbps since when it was considered a fast one, and I'm telling you there is literally nothing I do that needs more bandwidth.
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@marczellm said in Video rental stores:
5 Mbps
Should be enough for Netflix, and you can get set-top boxes that have an in-built Netflix client.
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@marczellm Go to the shop, rent a movie, go home, torrent the movie, watch it.
No, seriously.
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@marczellm said in Video rental stores:
without purchasing extra hardware and a bigger internet connection? Current is 5 Mbps since when it was considered a fast one, and I'm telling you there is literally nothing I do that needs more bandwidth.
If you'll start downloading movies, that'll be something you'll be doing that'd use more bandwidth.
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@RaceProUK said in Video rental stores:
Should be enough for Netflix, and you can get set-top boxes that have an in-built Netflix client.
@marczellm said in Video rental stores:
without purchasing extra hardware
@anonymous234 said in Video rental stores:
torrent the movie, watch it.
@marczellm said in Video rental stores:
watch movies on my old TV
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@marczellm Last time I checked, Netflix isn't a torrent, and set-top boxes connect to old TVs just fine.
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A new set top box is "purchasing extra hardware".
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@marczellm said in Video rental stores:
A new set top box is "purchasing extra hardware".
Does a cable from a laptop / smartphone / tablet to the TV count?
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@marczellm Does a DVD pack count as extra hardware? You can record them there.
Otherwise, no, sorry. But sooner or later you'll want to connect your computer to the TV. I suggest you just splurge on a cable and adaptor (or a new TV, or a new screen, or an old video card with TV output).
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If only Netflix hadn't got rid of their DVD rental variant...
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@e4tmyl33t said in Video rental stores:
If only Netflix hadn't got rid of their DVD rental variant...
Makes me wonder what they did with all the discs...
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@Tsaukpaetra said in Video rental stores:
@e4tmyl33t said in Video rental stores:
If only Netflix hadn't got rid of their DVD rental variant...
Makes me wonder what they did with all the discs...
https://dvd.netflix.com/ apparently. Why they have that on a separate subdomain with no links on the previous one I have no idea...
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@e4tmyl33t said in Video rental stores:
@Tsaukpaetra said in Video rental stores:
@e4tmyl33t said in Video rental stores:
If only Netflix hadn't got rid of their DVD rental variant...
Makes me wonder what they did with all the discs...
https://dvd.netflix.com/ apparently. Why they have that on a separate subdomain with no links on the previous one I have no idea...
Huh. It let me try to sign up, it let me sign into my Netflix account and redirected me to the "fill in your address" page, except I suppose it's US-only since there's a mandatory "State" field? There doesn't seem to be any availability indication anywhere - strange given that Netflix is the first to slam you with a "not available in your country" screen.
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$4 on Youtube Video. Only in English. (In Hungarian we are used to overdubbing. Some actors have even better Hungarian voice actors than their own voice.) Are there English subtitles on these services?
Also I would still have to purchase a capable Android device to be able to stream that to the TV. My phone is a Nokia 2600c and my tablet is too slow for everything.
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@marczellm said in Video rental stores:
Are there English subtitles on these services?
Netflix always has English subtitles, Amazon only sometimes. Everyone else: No fucking clue.
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If Amazon Lovefilm is available where you live, that might be exactly what you are looking for.
You make a list of dvd's you want to watch, they send you one via snailmail, you watch it, send it back and they send you the next one.
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@ScienceCat said in Video rental stores:
If Amazon Lovefilm is available where you live, that might be exactly what you are looking for.
You make a list of dvd's you want to watch, they send you one via snailmail, you watch it, send it back and they send you the next one.That sounds almost exactly like Netflix's DVD option...
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@RaceProUK said in Video rental stores:
you can get set-top boxes that have an in-built Netflix client.
Or get a Chromecast for $35. And that works fine to stream on a 5mb down connection (I've used it before)
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@sloosecannon said in Video rental stores:
Chromecast
Depends how old "old TV" is. My old TV is a CRT so no chance of HDMI input! Or my current TV is now over five years old which some people would consider old :(
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@Zemm said in Video rental stores:
@sloosecannon said in Video rental stores:
Chromecast
Depends how old "old TV" is. My old TV is a CRT so no chance of HDMI input! Or my current TV is now over five years old which some people would consider old :(
That's fair. I'm assuming if he wants DVD, he's got at least a modern-ish HDMI-capable TV.
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@sloosecannon said in Video rental stores:
@Zemm said in Video rental stores:
@sloosecannon said in Video rental stores:
Chromecast
Depends how old "old TV" is. My old TV is a CRT so no chance of HDMI input! Or my current TV is now over five years old which some people would consider old :(
That's fair. I'm assuming if he wants DVD, he's got at least a modern-ish HDMI-capable TV.
Why? Composite is still a thing, and pretty popular in these parts.
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@Maciejasjmj said in Video rental stores:
@sloosecannon said in Video rental stores:
@Zemm said in Video rental stores:
@sloosecannon said in Video rental stores:
Chromecast
Depends how old "old TV" is. My old TV is a CRT so no chance of HDMI input! Or my current TV is now over five years old which some people would consider old :(
That's fair. I'm assuming if he wants DVD, he's got at least a modern-ish HDMI-capable TV.
Why? Composite is still a thing, and pretty popular in these parts.
Your parts are doing it wrong. (err, and , but that wasn't intended...)
I actually haven't seen a TV without HDMI for... like 5 years. With the sole exception of one you get from Goodwill or something like that.
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@sloosecannon said in Video rental stores:
I actually haven't seen a TV without HDMI for... like 5 years.
Not in stores, but plenty of households are nursing their CRTs until they keel over (and sometimes beyond that).
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@Maciejasjmj said in Video rental stores:
@sloosecannon said in Video rental stores:
I actually haven't seen a TV without HDMI for... like 5 years.
Not in stores, but plenty of households are nursing their CRTs until they keel over (and sometimes beyond that).
Indeed. If we weren't gifted the money for the new TV we'd probably still be rocking the 63cm CRT I bought in 2004! My sister still uses hers of a similar vintage.
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@Maciejasjmj said in Video rental stores:
@sloosecannon said in Video rental stores:
I actually haven't seen a TV without HDMI for... like 5 years.
Not in stores, but plenty of households are nursing their CRTs until they keel over (and sometimes beyond that).
Well I'm not talking just in stores. Aside from thrift stores and gathering dust in peoples' basements, and maybe the occasional rare outlier from a particularly low-funded organization, I haven't seen a CRT in use for... At least 2 or 3 years.
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@sloosecannon said in Video rental stores:
Aside from thrift stores and gathering dust in peoples' basements, I haven't seen a CRT in use for... At least 2 or 3 years.
You should check your privilege, then.
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@asdf said in Video rental stores:
@sloosecannon said in Video rental stores:
Aside from thrift stores and gathering dust in peoples' basements, I haven't seen a CRT in use for... At least 2 or 3 years.
You should check your privilege, then.
Are you microaggressing our televisions?
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@sloosecannon said in Video rental stores:
Are you microaggressing our televisions?
Nah, but you seem to be microaggressing people who don't want to pay for a new TV. That's racist against Dutch people!
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@sloosecannon said in Video rental stores:
microaggressing our television
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@asdf said in Video rental stores:
@sloosecannon said in Video rental stores:
Are you microaggressing our televisions?
Nah, but you seem to be microaggressing people who don't want to pay for a new TV. That's racist against Dutch people!
I find that statement highly illogical. I am clearly macroaggressing them.
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@sloosecannon checks category
OK, good, it's not a help category. Trolling may continue.
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Our TV is almost definitely from the 90s or older. No digital input I'm sure. The set-top boxes sold here are designed with new and old TVs in mind.
My dad usually hacks together some adapter cables to connect stuff from different eras. He also made a box similar to this to switch between two inputs to the TV: the DVD player and the STB.
IIRC in our weekend house the TV is from the 80s at most. The audio from the STB goes in with a custom adapter to a plug like this:
Also there's the question of how big the Netflix catalogue is in Hungary.
And should I drill holes in the walls to bring an Ethernet cable from the other end of the flat.
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@marczellm said in Video rental stores:
watch movies on my old TV, not my computer
sure, grab a Chromecast and cast the movie, you might need to rip the DVD first, but there's decent freeware for that (handbrake for instance)
@marczellm said in Video rental stores:
pay around the same price for each
yeah, the chromecast will sort you out there. since you're playing the DVD on the PC and just casting it over local network to the TV.
@marczellm said in Video rental stores:
without purchasing extra hardware
so...... your hardware budget is $0? you can't even skip starbucks for a week, getting the office coffee instead, to save up $35 for the chromecast?
ooof.... that's gonna make this hard.
@marczellm said in Video rental stores:
a bigger internet connection?
honestly 5Mbps is plenty for Stnadard Definition streaming. it'll get tight if theres more than just you using that connection, and HD or UHD streaming will be stuttery or impossible.
@marczellm said in Video rental stores:
A new set top box is "purchasing extra hardware".
again with the "fix my problem of not having the right technology, but you're not allowed to buy new technology!" Has anyone told you that you's make an excellent middle manager?
@marczellm said in Video rental stores:
Our TV is almost definitely from the 90s or older.
uhh.....
@marczellm said in Video rental stores:
No digital input I'm sure.
uhhhhhh.........
okay. here's what you do. I'm assuming you have a DVD player for your TV already.
- get a DVD burner for your computer, if it doesn't already have one. Here's an amazon link.
- Get a stack of blank DVDs. Here's an amazon link.
- Get Freemake
- Visit the high seas and download a movie. this will take a while and is piracy, so you know.... the squeamish need not apply.
- Use Freemake, the DVD burner, and a blank DVD to turn the video file into a video DVD.
- Make popcorn
- Enjoy
- (Optional) Feel guilty about taking pennies from the pockets of Hollywood executives that make dollars per minute
- ???
- Prophet!
Total Initial Cost: $30.53
Cost per Movie (initial 30 movies): $1.02 (plus popcorn)
Cost Per Movie (subsequent movies): $0.62 (plus popcorn)Yeah, this requires new hardware (if you don't already have the DVD burner) but it's pretty damn cheap hardware and it's multi-use and damn useful....
But if even that's too much money to spend..... i'm not sure how i can help
oh, wait, even that costs money..... so that's not gonna work with your budget.
guess i don't have a solution after all, sorry.
Filed under: this post is intended to be 70% helpful, 30% lighthearted snark.
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Does anyone actually use chromecast? I bought the first gen and found it fairly limited.
Ended up just getting Amazon Fire TV and I love it. (You can also get away with the fire TV stick, which is under $40, and IMHO tons better then chromecast (plus you can run KODI on it))
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@dangeRuss raises hand
I use mine semi-frequently as a Netflix receiver as well as to occasionally stream Google Music from my phone to the TV/Sound System while I'm cleaning or something. I've got a pair, one down on the main TV (because while it is a Smart TV, its software is slow and shitty) and one on the TV in my bedroom (an older, non-smart model). Works pretty well for what I do with it.
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@e4tmyl33t said in Video rental stores:
But fire TV stick is the same price, and has netflix natively as well as a bunch of other stuff (not sure about google music, it has amazon music and you can probably sideload google music if you wanted to).
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@dangeRuss said in Video rental stores:
Does anyone actually use chromecast? I bought the first gen and found it fairly limited.
daily.
yeah it's hella limited on its own, but with a laptop or tablet (basically any one really, though iOS can get snippy sometimes.) you can cast most media to it with next to no effort.
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@accalia said in Video rental stores:
@dangeRuss said in Video rental stores:
Does anyone actually use chromecast? I bought the first gen and found it fairly limited.
daily.
yeah it's hella limited on its own, but with a laptop or tablet (basically any one really, though iOS can get snippy sometimes.) you can cast most media to it with next to no effort.
Well from what I remember (at least from the first version) is that you can only cast a limited set of things (netflix, youtube, a browser tab minus the sound). You couldn't cast lets say a movie file over.
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@dangeRuss said in Video rental stores:
@e4tmyl33t said in Video rental stores:
But fire TV stick is the same price, and has netflix natively as well as a bunch of other stuff (not sure about google music, it has amazon music and you can probably sideload google music if you wanted to).
I had a Play Store credit on my account from when I had bought my Nexus 6P, so I used it on those when I went and bought my Nest thermostat because there was a discount thing going on, IIRC
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@dangeRuss said in Video rental stores:
@accalia said in Video rental stores:
@dangeRuss said in Video rental stores:
Does anyone actually use chromecast? I bought the first gen and found it fairly limited.
daily.
yeah it's hella limited on its own, but with a laptop or tablet (basically any one really, though iOS can get snippy sometimes.) you can cast most media to it with next to no effort.
Well from what I remember (at least from the first version) is that you can only cast a limited set of things (netflix, youtube, a browser tab minus the sound). You couldn't cast lets say a movie file over.
yeah, that was the case early on. Google pushed the functionality pretty hard though, now most apps can cast natively, and nougat (marshmallow might have been able to as well, i forget and don't have an unupgraded device handy) can just cast the entire screen from the hotbar so even if you can't cast direct you can do it indirect.
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@accalia said in Video rental stores:
nougat (marshmallow might have been able to as well, i forget and don't have an unupgraded device handy) can just cast the entire screen from the hotbar so even if you can't cast direct you can do it indirect.
Marshmallow can, that's how I cast Amazon Prime videos. It's often quite slow and choppy though (might be a strain on my relatively low end phone, I imagine it's doing all the encoding on the fly with screen casting), and it's not properly supported on older phones (my Moto G first gen doesn't have the option on the swipe down bar but does have it through the Home app. Casting the live screen is even choppier)
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casting videos to Chromecast
I have a Plex server setup on my desktop, and I can cast whatever is in there (i.e. all my media) using the Plex app on my phone/tablet.
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@hungrier said in Video rental stores:
casting videos to Chromecast
I have a Plex server setup on my desktop, and I can cast whatever is in there (i.e. all my media) using the Plex app on my phone.
this is my solution as well. :-)
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@hungrier said in Video rental stores:
I have a Plex server setup on my desktop, and I can cast whatever is in there (i.e. all my media) using the Plex app on my phone/tablet.
Ooooh. I should do this, or see if XBMC on my Linux box can do the same thing.
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@e4tmyl33t If XBMC can't, I think Plex has a Linux version you can use.
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@hungrier said in Video rental stores:
@e4tmyl33t If XBMC can't, I think Plex has a Linux version you can use.
it does, that's the version i use.
they also have version for qnap and synology NAS's, though be careful with that, the CPUs on those boxes tend to not be powerful enough to transcode on the fly.
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@dangeRuss said in Video rental stores:
Does anyone actually use chromecast? I bought the first gen and found it fairly limited.
I used to use it for casting Plex, but then I got a new TV and now it's just plugged into the back of a smart TV being useless.
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@hungrier said in Video rental stores:
casting videos to Chromecast
I have a Plex server setup on my desktop, and I can cast whatever is in there (i.e. all my media) using the Plex app on my phone/tablet.
I did that, but now both TVs have Plex apps built-in which makes things easier.
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@e4tmyl33t
For legal and pricing purposes (but mostly financial engineering for purposes ofthe stock marketexecutive bonuses paid in stock options), they split into two separate companies. The DVD rental child is officially the company "DVD.COM".
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@accalia said in Video rental stores:
Google pushed the functionality pretty hard though, now most apps can cast natively
FYI, it's also a DLNA renderer.