Dear Crabby, What do you think is the Best Movie Streaming Service out there?

Dear Crabby, What do you think is the Best Movie Streaming Service out there?

Curious Carol

Dear Carol,

You may be thinking about cutting the cord to cable television – do it, do it now! Cable TV likes to package what it wants us to watch and sells it at a high price. We don’t want or need most of what they offer, and for years I wished you could a la cart TV. Now you can, kind of.

You have more options than ever before and the easiest thing to do is to get an antenna to receive free broadcast television – yes free – they still do that. We do that in the Crabby household and we can tune-in about 30, free channels. And the picture is better than cable because they it’s not a “compressed” signal. Plus, almost every channel has more than one channel. For example, channel 2 has 2-1, 2-2, 2-4, 2-4, creating four different broadcasts over one channel. You get your local news, weather, sports, plus old game shows, classic TV, and movies. The downside is you may have to move the antenna from time to time and there is no on demand, which leads to your question.

Dear Crabby Gives Advice

What’s the best movie streaming services? I did a highly official survey using friends and family – I even asked a few strangers at the grocery store – to get you the best answer. Looking at price and inventory for the most part, here’s what I found.

Amazon, Netflix, and Hulu are your best options. Many people already have Amazon Prime at $119 per year for books and shopping, so using their video services is easy. But you may also order just their video streaming at $13 per month. Netflix, at $8 per month, is great deal, plus you can download to watch later. And Hulu, also at $8 per month, gets you the latest TV episodes quickly. They all have add-on services, and there are others services that cost $40 and more. But then, you’re really close the cost of cable. In addition, you can get select networks, such as HBO and CBS – great if you love what they do. A couple other services to look at are Philo, at $16 per month, with no sports but many cable network channels; and Pluto TV, free, with lots of ads.

Many libraries, including our own Rochester Hills Public Library, offer free streaming services to card holders. You can “check-out” a channel for a week or so and catch-up on your favorite show or explore movies.

So, here’s what you do for la cart TV: Cut the cord to cable, get broadcast TV with an antenna, then order 1-2 of the top three (Amazon, Netflix, or Hulu). Fill the gap with free streaming from the library.

Hint: Roku, a device for your TV, helps with streaming services and it comes with a few free watchables. Depending on your needs, $30-$80 will get you Roku. And you can switch services, or add them, or just use Roku.

Happy Watching,

Dear Crabby