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IMDb Launches Ad-Supported Movie Streaming Service (theverge.com)
An anonymous reader quotes a report from The Verge: IMDb is known as the place to go to look up details for any film under the sun, and now it's entering the streaming video arena. The company has launched Freedive, a free streaming platform that's supported by periodic ad breaks. The service's films and TV shows are available to registered IMDb or Amazon users and Amazon Fire TV owners. (The list of compatible devices is the same as the list for Prime Video.) Fire owners can navigate the service by way of a new icon in the "Your Apps & Channels" section or by telling their Amazon smart device, "Alexa, go to Freedive." The site says it will continually add new offerings to the site. The site will also indicate on a film's page if it's available on Freedive.
Title currently is "MDb Launches Ad-Supported Movie Streaming Movie"
They put streaming in your streaming!! Incredible.
"His name was James Damore."
"IMDb Freedive is only available to customers in the U.S. at this time."
I don't see any mention on the website as to when it may be available outside of the US.
Also, it doesn't support chromecast or apple tv, so that'll make it useless to a lot of people. Chances are most of them won't want an Amazon stick. Yes you can cast the screen of your phone to the TV, but that never works out well.
this will live or die depending on how many ad interuptions there are and how they will be.
it looks that, for now at least, it's mostly older movies that have been made available. i quickly scrolled through the recommended lists, and there were no movies that i hadn't seen before, nothing recent from the last 5 years (or more).
On a long enough timeline, the survival rate for everyone drops to zero.
Available only for US citizens (to be precise to US IP addresses). A full list of movies/series is here: https://www.imdb.com/freedive/
Lastly, IMDB is an Amazon company.
Or, you know, just don't use the service and let it die a quiet death from disuse. Not using it takes a lot less effort than what you've described and it frees up time that you can spend doing something more enjoyable.
Frankly, I don't see why it took so long for this to be a thing. It's basically like viewing a movie on TV except the ads are more targeted.
I'm confused. Are you somehow implying that is a good thing? Personally I prefer to watch movies without any ads at all much less targeted ones that still somehow manage to have no relevance to me.
this will live or die depending on how many ad interuptions there are and how they will be.
If the number is greater than zero it is dead to me already.
it looks that, for now at least, it's mostly older movies that have been made available. i quickly scrolled through the recommended lists, and there were no movies that i hadn't seen before, nothing recent from the last 5 years (or more).
In other words, it's yet another shitty catalog of old movies that nobody really cares about anymore. How bored does one have to be to find something like that to be a worthwhile use of your time?
Using what facts do you base your presumption that most readers of this site are outside the US? Especially when actual site staff have stated the opposite for many years.
Ever since IMDB dumped down the drain all the accumulated invaluable information about old/obscure/non-Holywood movies you could find on their forums I stopped visiting/using them.
Most of the other information can be now looked up on Wikipedia and other sources.
Region-restricted ad-infested streaming? Meh...
At least EU condemns geo-blocking:
https://www.consilium.europa.e...
They don't have Jim-bob hacking an old rusty crane in the middle of shit face nowhere. I like those videos. https://www.youtube.com/watch?...
Someone Launches Video Streaming
Of course they are.
It'll be real news when the fragmentation is so fucked that they're losing money chasing increasingly divided slices of the pie.
I watched one movie the first time.. adverts every 20-30 min.. the same ones with little variation. But the interval wasn't bad. Today I tried again.. every 10 minutes. The same adverts.. come on? Seriously, do you think your audience is mindless? It became incredibly annoying to have to stop every ten minutes, not even network TV used to do that (I don't think, I have to remember way back) unless it's football. I've uninstalled it. Whichever bean counter thought he could shorten the interval to make a client happy, well I hope it flushes down the drain for ya!
Have you fscked your local propeller head today?