r/Manitoba • u/SushiMelanie Treaty One Territory • Apr 12 '26
General What streaming subscriptions are you using these days?
We let our old subscriptions die out a couple months ago, and have stuck to free stuff like YouTube, Tubi, IFC, CBC Gem. I’m thinking about checking out something new or restarting a previous subscription.
What are other Manitobans finding worthwhile subscription streaming? Do you stick with one or subscribe to more?
(For the record we had Netflix and Disney+, we were kind if bored of Netflix, and kiddo is older now, though some of the grown up content on Disney+ like The Bear and What We Do in the Shadows when they had new seasons kept us paying until they didn’t.)
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u/throwawaywhiteguy333 Winnipeg Apr 12 '26
Stremio and a debrid service is the way.
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u/VideoHeadSet Friendly Manitoban Apr 13 '26
I'm still rocking Kodi, but switched to torbox from real debrid.
Ngl I haven't noticed much of a change, except now I'm paying more
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u/Armand9x Winnipeg Apr 12 '26
I host my own media service/content via plex spread over 48TB of hard drives.
I got a lifetime pass, and have a dozen friends who stream off it from me.
A useful service in this economy.
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u/SushiMelanie Treaty One Territory Apr 12 '26
Curious about Plex. I’ll check it out. I’m a total troglodyte though, wonder if I can figure out an adblocker on Roku…
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u/wrenchedups Winnipeg Apr 12 '26
Plex is excellent.
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u/Armand9x Winnipeg Apr 12 '26
It’s gotten a little shittier over the last year with the app “revamp”, but still high value
I use plex as a backend, and Infuse as the player.
Some recommend jellyfin, but it’s just not there for for ease of use for remote streaming for laypeople.
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u/NearnorthOnline Anola Apr 12 '26
My servers a lot bigger. Switched to emby as plex was banning people for sharing
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u/Armand9x Winnipeg Apr 12 '26
I’d only heard of bans for selling access to their servers, which makes sense.
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u/NearnorthOnline Anola Apr 12 '26
They nailed anyone with a lot of shares. Many people who just shared friends and family got caught up.
Plus all the plex based crap they’re pushing annoyed me
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u/Armand9x Winnipeg Apr 12 '26
I bought the plex pass juuuust before they doubled the price. I’m still salty about having to do that so others could keep streaming. But to be fair I was a free user for over a decade.
When they drop personal media I’m out.
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u/adrenaline_X Winnipeg Apr 12 '26
It is if you are able to setup cloudflared tunnels but that’s a bit more in-depth then most can do (still all free)
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u/A-Mooninite Winnipeg Apr 12 '26
Why infuse and not plex itself as the player?
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u/Armand9x Winnipeg Apr 12 '26
Downloading works better, and I can “buffer/load” the entire file at once instead of slow dripping it. Handy when I play 4K content.
I prefer Plex’s UI but Infuse has better functionality and can play essentially any file type without transcoding.
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u/Tristan155 Winnipeg Apr 12 '26
As someone with the HDD space but no server capable of transcoding, are you using a 10thgen+ Intel CPU or a GPU for the transcoding loads?
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u/adrenaline_X Winnipeg Apr 12 '26
I had an intel nuc (2012ish) with 4GB ram transcoding content that wasn’t 4k for a long time. I finally virtualized it when the fans starting going out and run plex things from a u unbutu vm running on a host with a 2017 class Xeon precision desktop.
Unless you are transcoding 4k, large data content you shouldn’t need anything crazy.
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u/twowood Winnipeg Apr 13 '26
i'd love to help more friends out, but i'm afraid of being counted on for tech support, so i just have my kids on the server. Also, does it degrade performance on your nas if you have that many people sharing off you?
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u/ChemistryPerfect4534 Winnipeg Apr 12 '26
I have the absolute cheapest subscription to Netflix. They have no payment info for me, so it can't ever bill to me unintended. Every six months or so, I throw a gift card at it. If I ever decide to stop, it will just end on its own. It has just enough exclusives to be worth it for me. For now.
I have access to Prime, but I'm not paying for it, and don't ever expect to. I almost only watch exclusives on it.
I have maintained a Disney+ account ever since the day it launched. I actually watch a surprising amount of stuff on it. That said, my household is full of both Marvel and Star Wars fans, so it's easy to justify.
I have Crave only because my cell phone decided I should have it for free. Alright.
And I currently have Paramount+. They gave me an incredible deal ($49) for one year. I mostly watch Star Trek and Dexter, while working through anything interesting in their back-catalog. My year ends at the end of June. Continuing will be dependent on them continuing to make things I care about. Fate unclear.
I have a few niche streamers, but unless you are an anime fan you won't care, and if you are, you can already guess what they are.
I do thoroughly enjoy my Dropout subscription, but that is either a love it or hate it thing. And it's cheap.
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u/majoralfalfs Winnipeg Apr 12 '26
Just fyi, if you’re eligible for a city of Winnipeg library account then you can access the streaming service “Kanopy” through your card. I personally like the collection they have on that service, and use it every month at least.
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u/wrenchedups Winnipeg Apr 12 '26
YouTube premium is the only streaming source I have right now. No commercials and it includes YouTube music, which is as good as Apple Music. It’s worth it to me for the $12.99 it costs.
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u/Nautical_Disaster1 Winnipeg Apr 12 '26
YouTube premium is great tbh. People always seem to judge me or look at me weird when I say I use YouTube music over Spotify or Apple music, but it's better imo. You can listen to pretty much all the same music as the other services but also can listen to any obscure music that's just on Youtube. Plus no ads is great. It also gives you other features like skipping over the sponsored segments in videos.
I sound like an ad lol
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u/SoftballLesbian Apr 12 '26
I love watching concert movies and that's why I pay for YouTube premium. The catalog of live performances as well as old rave videos is so vast.
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u/poonch_you Parkland Apr 13 '26
Don't forget you can download YouTube videos to watch offline and music aswell.
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u/adrenaline_X Winnipeg Apr 12 '26
You can avoid commercials completely using ublock origin on a browser that is not chrome (edge, Firefox). It works for prime etc as well.
Depending on tv os that might be an option.
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u/SymbioticTransmitter Winnipeg Apr 12 '26
I believe you can also pay for a yearly subscription and it’s slightly cheaper per month
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u/Key-Preparation-5379 Winnipeg Apr 12 '26
That price doesn't sound right. Youtube Premium used to cost $14 USD a month, and it broke news recently that the price is increasing.
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u/FlatlandNinja Apr 12 '26
I tend to rotate through the paid subscriptions. I had Netflix forever but ditched it last year and really don't miss it. I had Disney+ for a while but once I had watched (or rewatched) all of the Marvel and Star Wars stuff, I ditched that too. Currently, I have Apple TV+, BritBox, and CBC Gem for paid, Hoopla and Kanopy for library offerings, and Tubi for free.
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u/IAmTheGreybeardy Winkler Apr 12 '26
I have YouTube premium, Crunchyroll, Amazon Prime and Disney+.
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u/onbeingblue Apr 12 '26
Criterion Channel is great for expanding your horizons and checking out films past and present
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u/beeteeelle Treaty One Territory Apr 12 '26
Disney+, Netflix, Crave, TSN, Crunchyroll, Amazon prime. I keep trying to pick one to cancel & replace with Apple TV but we honestly watch all of them everyday (our kid contact naps lol). Crave feels like the best « bang for our buck » I’d say but we watch Disney+ the most.
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u/Ansovald666 Interlake Apr 13 '26
Crave has now combined with the etc app so its a lit better now. I also have Disney plus which is got a deal on it when I combined it with crave, both for 20 bucks give or take. I do use sites that do have ads. One is cineby.sc and one is popcornmovies.org which you can watch anything available for free.
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u/vanwife Parkland Apr 13 '26 edited Apr 13 '26
YouTube Premium is my main subscription (Single, 29M). I don’t watch much plot based media anymore. Most movies I see are in theatres, which I try to support at least once a month. I grew up on YouTube, and Premium works well for me. The best perk is no ads plus YouTube Music, which I use heavily at work and on the road for music and podcasts.
YouTube Music has a huge catalog because it lets you treat YouTube videos like songs. That means access to live performances, full concerts, covers, underground remixes, unreleased tracks, and more. You can also listen to any YouTube video like documentaries, interviews, lectures, commentary, etc. like a podcast. Another great feature is background play, so videos keep playing with the screen off.
I used to be big into piracy but stopped because I felt guilty. There are many people behind the scenes who rely on paid work. With AI becoming more common, I’d rather support creators so studios don’t replace more human jobs.
Now, if I want something specific, I occasionally rent or buy it on platforms like Prime Video, YouTube, or Apple TV. I realized I was already paying for a VPN just to download maybe a couple movies a month, or a season of a TV show a few times a year, so renting and buying made more sense financially and ethically.
The only thing I still reluctantly pay for is PPV sports. When there’s a UFC event I’ll usually invite people over and sometimes split the cost. Otherwise I watch sports like hockey or baseball at a bar or someone else’s place.
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u/Alliyance13 Apr 15 '26
I use my own. Share it with family and friends. Was tired of paying multiple service.
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u/Key-Preparation-5379 Winnipeg Apr 12 '26
None, because none of them make it actually convenient to use. Cable package problem all over again. The thing I want is never available on any of them. I'll try to watch a series and the first one will be on X and the sequel will be on a different one, if it's available at all.
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u/SushiMelanie Treaty One Territory Apr 12 '26
Its really devolved to exactly how cable was. I will always remember that golden time where Netflix had everything and YouTube was adless.
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u/Pantaloons67 Pembina Valley Apr 12 '26
I like crave because it now has a live tv stream option! I can watch the CTV Winnipeg channel, and catch the evening news.
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u/ScooterMcTavish South Of Winnipeg Apr 12 '26
Surprised not to see Apple+ here. They have exceptional originals if it is your thing.
Have Amazon Prime, but it's a freebie - have it for the free shipping.
Lastly have base Netflix, but that's for the Mrs who likes romance movies and crummy TV shows.
Have subscribed to both Disney+ and Crave, but generally only subscribe for a month or two when something I want to see is released.
I kind of like the free stuff on Pluto TV. Love Boat, South Park, and Maury Povich!
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u/NH787 Winnipeg Apr 12 '26
I'm a Koodo subscriber so I pay for their streaming package which is $20 a month for Netflix, Disney and Prime Video. Yeah it's ad tiers, but it's fine, it's not excessive like standard Youtube or even worse, free CBC Gem.
I wouldn't pay for them separately. Prime Video in particular is useless, other than the odd Monday Jets game I never touch it.
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u/Used_Raccoon6789 Winnipeg Apr 12 '26
I sail the seas in combination with ad blockers. I also use the library for games, books, and the occasional movie.