E Unit

It’s overall value for the money. Some just think Max’s offerings are better than Netflix. And some don’t want to pay their rising prices anymore.

Jay G.

I mean, I'm sure there's a few people cancelling one and going to the other, likely in both directions. We'll see from the aggregate totals of HBO Max is seriously gaining any actual traction, or hurting Netflix. No need to root for one or the other. I'm sure HBO Max will raise rates as soon as they think they can get away with it.

davidh777

Huh, I use the PS4 app and don’t really have problems other than occasionally hanging.

As far as content, I watch both Max and Netflix a lot more than D+. Prime has some good stuff but I always forget about it.

lwhy?

I have constant problems with my PS4 app especially when I try to watch The Alienist. It would crash at least two times during an episode.

lwhy?

Content-wise I have been watching HBO Max a lot lately. I watched Class Action Park, The Undoing, C.B. Strike, Head of the Class, and all the international versions of First Dates lately.

davidh777

That’s really annoying. Like before I upgraded my router, and any episode I watched would hang several times.

lwhy?

The Roku App in my living room works perfectly. I don’t know why the PS4 app gives me so much trouble,

Cellar Door

I like Netflix Originals, too, but HBO's original content hardly 'pales' in comparison. They have some really great stuff: Watchmen, Westworld, Succession, Euphoria, His Dark Materials, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Veep, and Silicon Valley to name a few current/recent shows. Plus they have an amazing back-catalog of original shows like Sopranos, Game of Thrones, Deadwood, Six Feet Under, The Wire, The Leftovers, Band of Brothers, and more.

majorjoe23

And Dream O... nevermind.

RichC2

Yep, HBO is still the gold standard - though some of the HBO Max "exclusive" stuff isn't quite on the same level (the best stuff originates from HBO still). Netflix continues to get better as well.

Jay G.

Is HBO Max vs Netflix going to be the new Nintendo vs Genesis? You can like both, or neither, or even alternate subscriptions. One isn't inherently better than the other.

fujishig

No, no, Disney+ is Nintendo (mainly seen as for kids, great 1st party support but not in great quantity, little else) , Netflix is Sony (entrenched with loads of content), and HBO Max is Microsoft (lots of money, tons of content to be ported over from their other divisions, still working on that original content). Or something.

Not sure which out of CBS Max, Peacock, etc. are the Jaguar/Dreamcast though. And for the record I loved my Dreamcast.

majorjoe23

What would Prime be?

mwbmis

The thing that comes with the free shipping?

big e

I think we can all agree Quibi was the Ouya.

fujishig

The Mac (back then). Great at what its primary purpose is, gaming (streaming) is an afterthought that is just tacked on; they have the occasional hit game though.

Ok, ok, my initial analogy wasn't perfect, but that's only because everyone and their mother has a streaming service.

I do see Quibi as more the cheapee console for 30 bucks that has 500 games and none of them are worth playing, but Ouya works as well (the best Ouya games found themselves on other platforms eventually).

mwbmis

Prime actually has a good selection of material, but the biggest problem to me is that unless you specifically know what you want to watch it is very difficult to navigate. If you find something, it's almost by accident.

There are lot of things that impress me about HBO MAX, but I love the functionality of it's navigation. I'll sound like a commercial, but the home page offers a variety of new and relevant things, and there are multiple ways to search and refine your selection (the hubs, TV, movies, originals, by genre, what's leaving, what's new, alphabetical order if you choose)

fujishig

Prime actually adds (and removes) the most content on a daily basis than any of the other big services. But the only way you'd ever know this is by going to a third party site like JustWatch.

I agree that HBO Max navigation has come a long way, though honestly part of it is that they have a lot less content than something like Netflix so bringing up a full list of movies isn't as onerous. They need to keep the cataloging up as content increases.

tonyc3742

Yeah, I can't stand Prime's navigation. I've been pleasantly surprised by some of the stuff they offer, then unpleasantly surprised when it's no longer included. And thankfully now they have a 'free to me' section.
Netflix has a lot of great exclusive/original TV shows, as does HBO Max. I think the last movie I watched on Netflix was Jingle Jangle. But it's been nice watching actual recent movies on HBO Max. I'm not too deep into their TV shows yet, my wife watched the Travel Agent (um...the show with Kaley Cuoco) and liked that a lot, and we're watching Summer Camp Island together. I have a lot of stuff in my queue/list that I'm really interested in watching. It's possible they don't have as much as NF, but it seems like the average quality is slightly higher.
I wouldn't get Prime just for the video; I would get HBOMax, NF, and Disney for the video. If I had to choose, not sure which I would drop. I'm tempted to drop NF just because I'm overwhelmed (and that's the only one I'm paying for month to month), but there's enough my household watches to make it tough to consider that.

spainlinx0

Yup, right now I'm sitting with (between the girlfriend and I) Netflix, Hulu, Prime, D+, and HBO Max. I'm thinking it's time to trim down a bit, but I feel like there's always one thing I want to watch somewhere. I may have to start a rotation.

Giantrobo

Well the sentiment was "Netflix might be good, but not $18mo good".

Giantrobo

But seriously. When people are looking to legit cut costs This vs That becomes a real thing even if they like both on some level. Lots of us in groups like this think nothing of having multiple paid subs for streaming while some out there are budgeting for less subs with the best bang for their buck.

fujishig

And that's where rotating services makes a lot of sense, especially in the "that's new to me" vein... you get all the content that you missed right away, which is much better than the old days of, say, switching Cinemax to HBO and hoping they replayed what you missed.

It's also proof that Netflix isn't hurt by anyone yet, because unlike nearly everyone else they have given no incentive price wise to go with them on a longer term than month to month.

tonyc3742

Yep. Especially when it's so easy to 'cancel', and then re-sub three or six months later. In most cases you don't even lose your queue.
We've got - Hulu with live tv (my wife does watch live stuff, and I like DVRing stuff for the next day); Netflix (and 'extended family' is using this one too); HBO Max (free with my internet); D+ (3 year plan); Prime Video (mostly for prime shipping); some British thing thru Prime; and I have a pretty big movie/tv library on Vudu. If I were to cancel one, it would be the British one, because I don't watch it at all; failing that, it would be NF just to take a break and because it's the most expensive (other than live tv).
I think it's not quite 'critical mass' yet, but it's approaching it. Both in terms of just too darn many services, and incremental costs. I'm sure a lot of people subbed to Peacock, but basically they consider it as "the Office streaming".
Granted, an extra four bucks a month or whatever isn't going to really affect my budget, but they do add up, and everything else is going up to, plus the opportunity cost and 'waste', like going to a buffet and only checking out one food island.
And yes, in another thread I did mention considering an annual sub to ANOTHER service.
I would love an integrated browser/Roku interface that combines all the subbed services. I know there are cross-platform searches which are definitely helpful, but 'where do we watch Show X again?' is just a weird question to have to ask.

DJariya

I'm confused. How did Amazon Prime come into the discussion about HBO Max?

Or are you simply talking about how overwhelmed some of you are with the services and the endless amounts of shows and movies that you don't have time to watch?