From TV Time to Trakt

Carrie and I watch a lot of shows, from major network programs to those on various streaming services. It can be difficult to remember where certain shows are available or where we left off in a particular series. To help with that, I started using an app to track the shows and movies we watch.

The app was called TV Time. I'm not exactly sure when I started using it. The service launched around 2011, but I think I began using it sometime in 2014 or 2015. For years, I used it to keep track of the shows and movies I watched. Unfortunately, in early July, TV Time shut down. The company behind the site and app decided it was no longer worth keeping the service running.

I searched around for a similar app to help track shows. Over the years, I had tried several alternatives but never found one I liked as much as TV Time, so I stuck with it. With TV Time gone, I had to move on and find something else. I landed on Trakt, which offers both a website and an app. I've been using it for a few weeks now, and I'm enjoying it.

Trakt is free if you manually enter the shows and movies you want to track. They also offer integrations with services such as Apple TV and Netflix, but those features require a paid subscription. Naturally, I started with the free option before deciding to see how the automatic tracking worked. The VIP subscription costs $5.99 per month and includes features such as automatic tracking and calendar feeds for upcoming shows and movies. So far, I like it. It makes it very easy to keep track of shows across multiple streaming services.

For shows we watch through YouTube TV, such as those on NBC, CBS, and other networks, I still manually mark them as watched. That process has been working well for me.

You might be wondering why an app is needed to track shows in the first place. As I mentioned, we watch a number of different shows and subscribe to several streaming services. Many times, we can't remember where we watched a particular show, especially when a new season arrives a year or two later. In the past, I would open TV Time to see where a show was streaming and then go directly to that service to start the new season.

Trakt offers a similar experience. When I receive an email or calendar notification about a returning show, I can click through and quickly find where it's available. From there, I can mark it as currently watching or watched. It's a simple process and works really well.

Before long, the regular network television season will be starting up again, so I'm glad I found a new place to track everything. One thing I appreciated was how easy Trakt made the migration process. I was able to transfer my watch history from TV Time without much effort. That meant I didn't lose 10 to 15 years of viewing history, which was nice.

I know I wasn't very consistent about tracking movies in TV Time. I got better about it over the past few years, but I still missed quite a few. With Trakt, I'm trying to do a better job of recording all the movies we watch, especially those that aren't part of a streaming service. It's nice to have a record of what we've watched and to be able to add notes that I can refer back to later.

I'm not sure if I'll continue with the VIP subscription long term, but for now, I'm enjoying the process and the information it provides about the shows and movies we've watched.

Until next time, have a great rest of your Sunday and a wonderful week!

Viewing Recent Released Movies and Problems with DVDs that are Scratched

I have been a Netflix customer for a number of years.  Primarily for the streaming service, but every once in a while there is that movie that I cannot get through the Netflix stream and then only have a few options on obtaining that recent released movie.

1. Add the DVD option for Netflix.
2. Go to the local video store.
3. Pay to watch the recent release for 24 hours through Dish, iTunes, Amazon, etc.
4. Go to the not so legal side of sites to watch the movies.

To this point, I have primarily targeted options one, two, and three above.  We have actually used option three a number of times through the past few years.  It is easy and quick to get that recent release and watch it when we want.  The problem is that usually just for that one movie it is easily $5.99 (or more) to rent that movie.  Paying for the convenience and so that whomever is selling it to you can give it to you is why they are so expensive.  

So, every now and then I get the idea to pay for DVD delivered to the home from Netflix.  Or, sometimes we get the idea to go to our local video store and pick up a DVD.  Sure, the prices are cheap to go to the local video store, but usually the recent movies are picked over.  Netflix has a descent selection of movies, but even those you have to wait for to get if they were just released.

OK, so why the post?  Yes, I was wondering the same thing about this point.  My point is why do we still have DVD or BlueRay discs?  Nothing is more frustrating than to get that perfect movie for movie night, pop it in the player, press PLAY, and 30 seconds into the movie it pauses... or it just stops playing... or jumps to the end of the movie.  Seriously?  We have a old DVD player and have not given any thought to buying a BlueRay device.  Why would we when it is frustrating to watch movies that pause, jump, or stop playing and get the same problems with BlueRay too?

So the discs are easy to produce and easy to use.  Easy for the stores (video store, Netflix, etc.) to be able to distribute to their customers.  Bottom line is that the discs are easy to track.  It seems that other than going to the illegal area of streaming that it would be possible to distribute a code that would change each time the "disc" is rented to someone new that would allow that person to watch the video through a streaming service.  Thinking of Netflix, it seems this could be done with a code that is sent through email and entered on streaming device to watch the new release.  A one-time code that would allow access to the movie.

I have read numerous articles regarding Netflix and that they still have millions of customers that subscribe to their DVD service.  I understand that there are a lot of people that do not have Internet or only have means to watch movies on their physical player requiring a disc.  Or, maybe those individuals just like the old school way of watching movies. 

Netflix DVD membership has dropped to 5.3 million subscribers (see 4 Reasons Netflix DVD Rental Isn't Going Away) and that number will likely continue to drop.  I have not read anything about a new model of delivering new content from Netflix or other services other than what some are already doing with paying $5.99 or more to rent the movie.

For now, I will go back to streaming only from Netflix and it will likely be a while before I get another DVD from a store either.  I will continue to rent recent releases from iTunes, Amazon, or Dish. I will be interested to see how Netflix will work into their service to be able to watch those new releases without having to get DVDs.

I would love to hear your comments regarding your experiences with streaming new movies or trying to watch DVD or BlueRay movies.

Enjoy your streaming shows and movies....