The Criterion Channel -- Film and Content Discussion

News on Criterion and Janus Films.
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movielocke
Joined: Fri Jan 18, 2008 12:44 am

Re: The Criterion Channel

#101 Post by movielocke » Mon Feb 04, 2019 8:12 pm

albucat wrote:Did we ever get an answer about how long these weekly additions would stay available for until things get real in April?
My impression was that one week means one week.

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zeroism
Joined: Sat Aug 23, 2008 2:54 am
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Re: The Criterion Channel

#102 Post by zeroism » Mon Feb 04, 2019 9:43 pm

I've just been given the runaround by VHX/Vimeo OTT customer service, but I did come out of it with some information:
Vimeo OTT customer service wrote:Please note, regarding the Apple TV VHX app, due to some shifts in focus, we stopped releasing updates to the VHX app some time ago.

While it’s still generally possible to view purchases and subscriptions through it, you may encounter a bug or limitation. Since we won’t be making updates or improvements, I’m afraid any existing or new bugs that may appear in the future won’t be fixed. However, once the Criterion Channel launches on April 8th, a new Criterion Channel Apple TV app will be available (along with new Amazon Fire, Roku, iOS, and Android apps on or around that time).
This does make it 100% clear that there will be a brand-new app once the service officially launches (although this may have been implicit in the information Criterion already put out).

Incidentally, I don't suppose anyone here has consistently experienced skipping/momentary pauses of a similar nature in video content on both the new Criterion Channel and previously on FilmStruck? Oddly, the pauses occur at the same points in each video each time. This was an issue for me on FilmStruck throughout the entirety of its existence and now continues with this service. It's only happened with the FilmStruck and VHX apps and with Safari; no problems in Firefox, strangely enough. Both bypassing my router and even using Safari on my phone with cellular data produce the same results, so it doesn't seem to be on my end, nor does it seem to be an ISP thing. No problems with any other video/streaming services/apps/websites. Never ran across any similar complaints associated with the Apple TV FilmStruck app (or FilmStruck in general) past their rocky launch period.

EDIT: I do see some similar reports in the FilmStruck thread that I must've missed before. I don't suppose anyone ever got any answers on this or found any kind of solution (in particular for Apple TV)?

KJones77
Joined: Wed Aug 23, 2017 11:35 pm

Re: The Criterion Channel

#103 Post by KJones77 » Wed Feb 06, 2019 12:12 pm

New Movie of the Week appears to be Chungking Express.

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senseabove
Joined: Wed Dec 02, 2015 3:07 am

Re: The Criterion Channel

#104 Post by senseabove » Wed Feb 06, 2019 1:06 pm

KJones77 wrote:
Wed Feb 06, 2019 12:12 pm
New Movie of the Week appears to be Chungking Express.
Oh? I still see Mikey and Nicky.

KJones77
Joined: Wed Aug 23, 2017 11:35 pm

Re: The Criterion Channel

#105 Post by KJones77 » Wed Feb 06, 2019 1:22 pm

senseabove wrote:
Wed Feb 06, 2019 1:06 pm
KJones77 wrote:
Wed Feb 06, 2019 12:12 pm
New Movie of the Week appears to be Chungking Express.
Oh? I still see Mikey and Nicky.
Yes.

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senseabove
Joined: Wed Dec 02, 2015 3:07 am

Re: The Criterion Channel

#106 Post by senseabove » Wed Feb 06, 2019 1:25 pm

I really should've known to check reddit for instantaneous WKW-related Criterion updates.

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sparklemotion
Joined: Tue Jul 17, 2018 2:10 pm

Re: The Criterion Channel

#107 Post by sparklemotion » Wed Feb 06, 2019 2:16 pm

Luke M wrote:
Tue Jan 01, 2019 12:02 pm
Check your email for a $10 gift certificate for signing up to be a charter subscriber
Hmm I didn't receive this? I signed up yesterday.

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mfunk9786
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Re: The Criterion Channel

#108 Post by mfunk9786 » Wed Feb 06, 2019 3:46 pm

That was for people who added their e-mails to the list prior to this beta version of the channel going live.

perkin-warbeck
Joined: Thu Feb 07, 2019 8:44 pm

Re: The Criterion Channel

#109 Post by perkin-warbeck » Thu Feb 07, 2019 9:10 pm

Last week, I streamed "Mikey and Nicky" from criterionchannel.com with no problems. I was in the Chrome browser running on a Chromebook. But when I tried to watch "Chunking Express" on Feb 7, I got the error "Sorry, this video cannot be played while your device is connected to this external monitor." I have no idea what what is meant by "external monitor." My Chromebook isn't connected to anything but a pair of earphones.

I got the same error in the Chrome browser on a PC, Firefox, and Internet Explorer. I tried logging out and logging back in to criterionchannel.com, but still got the error. Have been trying for two days, but always get the same error.

Something must have changed in how movies are being streamed from criterionchannel.com, and if so, it's a bug, not a feature.

I have not tried using the Android app. If that's the only solution, I'll cancel my subscription.

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Morbii
Joined: Sat Nov 27, 2004 3:38 am

Re: The Criterion Channel

#110 Post by Morbii » Fri Feb 08, 2019 12:23 am

Were you using the headphones the first time? I wonder if the app is confusing the headphones for a monitor (which would be pretty bad).

perkin-warbeck
Joined: Thu Feb 07, 2019 8:44 pm

Re: The Criterion Channel

#111 Post by perkin-warbeck » Fri Feb 08, 2019 5:54 pm

Yes, I was wearing them the first time, but it's not the headphones. It's the new High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection (HDCP) scheme that was apparently implemented within the last few days. IHDCP is a form of digital copy protection developed to prevent copying of digital audio & video content as it travels across connections. If your setup is not HDCP compliant, you're out of luck. For me, that means the ONLY device I can watch the Criterion Channel on is my Android cellphone. I can't watch on my Windows desktop or laptop, or on my Chromebook (which runs Android apps, including VHC, but is not fully compliant with HDCP). Hopefully that will change on April 8. Meanwhile, no movie of the week for me! Criterion Channel made a big mistake rolling out the service before it was ready for prime time.

perkin-warbeck
Joined: Thu Feb 07, 2019 8:44 pm

Re: The Criterion Channel

#112 Post by perkin-warbeck » Sat Feb 09, 2019 4:35 pm

Update: after a lengthy email discussion with support, it was determined that the reason I can't stream the Criterion Channel on my Windows PC is that the PC is connected to two displays. It doesn't matter that only one display is powered on. I needed to physically disconnect the cable to the second display. Then I was able to stream successfully.

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Lowry_Sam
Joined: Mon Jul 05, 2010 3:35 pm
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Re: The Criterion Channel

#113 Post by Lowry_Sam » Sun Feb 10, 2019 2:02 pm

This promo period hasn’t been working well for me. Last week I tried watching Mickey & Nicky trailer through VHX and while the sound seemed to work ok throughout, the video looked like an excellerated photo essay, with maybe 1 frame out of every 5 or 6 being displayed. Very distracting. This week Chungking Express shows up with some bonus material, but none of it is even watchable. There’s an empty box wit “Play” next to it, but when you try to enter, nothing happens.

This has led me to wonder what happened to people who did the yearly subscription for Filmstruck. Were they reimbursed for the unused portion of a year or was it money down the drain? I had subscribed to Filmstruck monthly, but decided to do a whole year for Criterion Channel to save $10, but now I’m thinking switching to monthly might be better in the event it doesn’t pan out.

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fdm
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Re: The Criterion Channel

#114 Post by fdm » Sun Feb 10, 2019 2:19 pm

Filmstruck subscribers got refunds.

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DaBargainHunta
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Re: The Criterion Channel

#115 Post by DaBargainHunta » Wed Feb 13, 2019 3:12 pm

The Movie of the Week is an Albert Finney Double Feature: Saturday Night and Sunday Morning and Tom Jones.
ModelShopAbschied wrote:
Tue Feb 12, 2019 5:54 pm
Yeah the comments on this page are pretty ridiculous tbh
Not sure how the comments are ridiculous when people both here and elsewhere have had massive problems since last week. Just because you haven't doesn't mean this isn't a widepsread issue.

I still can't get it the movie to play on a web browser, and the VHX Roku app still wasn't working as of last night (I haven't tried yet today, but I'm expecting more of the same).

Yes, Criterion Channel website has removed all references to the VHX app, and yes, there will be an official standalone app in April. However, this doesn't exactly inspire much confidence in that working well either.

With all of that said, I realize we're still in the "beta" stage and no one's paying yet, so I guess patience is a virtue.

It's a shame though, because everything was perfect the first week for Mikey and Nicky and I was excited to watch each Movie of the Week. Now I'm locked out. Apparently, the reason is because some sort of restrictive DRM switch was flipped on late last week. DRM that breaks functionality for a majority of users is absurd to me. There has be to a happier medium than this. If this happened to Netflix or Hulu (much bigger companies, I realize), the internet would act like the world has come to an end.

Still, fingers crossed that the actual launch is flawless. I think I can speak for film buffs everywhere when I say that we really need this to succeed!

KJones77
Joined: Wed Aug 23, 2017 11:35 pm

Re: The Criterion Channel

#116 Post by KJones77 » Wed Feb 13, 2019 8:29 pm

DaBargainHunta wrote:
Wed Feb 13, 2019 7:10 pm
Glowingwabbit wrote:
Wed Feb 13, 2019 5:12 pm
Exactly. From a tech standpoint it makes zero sense to devote resources to something that is really just a "hey, while you're waiting for our channel, here's a little something to tide you over" (which I don't believe was ever mentioned initially as a charter subscription benefit)
VHX/Roku was definitely mentioned on the site the first week. If you click Help and search for the word Roku, you can still see it for a split second before it disappears. But yeah, all mentions of it have basically been scrubbed from the site.

Here's a quick screenshot I took of my search today. The top option is literally blink and you'll miss it before it vanishes, but this is proof that it was there originally.
I think you misunderstood. They meant that this Movie of the Week deal was never mentioned as a benefit, not that VHX support wasn't mentioned.

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371229
Joined: Wed Mar 02, 2016 12:28 am

Re: The Criterion Channel

#117 Post by 371229 » Sat Feb 16, 2019 3:16 pm

It's crazy... I keep getting emails from them asking for me to sign up... and pay for a physical channel that isn't available yet. Now seriously, why would I commit to something without seeing it first? And then they want me to stay committed forever and ever and ever (to save a tiny bit of money over their normal asking price).

I say... no thank you, sir.

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OldBobbyPeru
Joined: Wed Jan 03, 2018 1:15 am

Re: The Criterion Channel

#118 Post by OldBobbyPeru » Sat Feb 16, 2019 9:32 pm

Let me interrupt all the moaning to just say that I watched Saturday Night and Sunday Morning this afternoon, and quite enjoyed it. I had never seen it. Finney's full on Northern accent made me wonder if Malcolm McDowell was influenced by this film for A Clockwork Orange. The accents are identical. Both actors were from the north originally, but their accents were beaten out of them in schools in the south.

By the way, I watched it on the Apple TV VHX app. It worked flawlessly.

I leave you now to complain bitterly about something that is essentially a gift that no one has paid a dime for.

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robotrobinwilliams
Joined: Thu Oct 20, 2016 12:18 am

Re: The Criterion Channel

#119 Post by robotrobinwilliams » Wed Feb 20, 2019 3:28 pm

This week's movie is Stalker with all the fixings from the blu.

KJones77
Joined: Wed Aug 23, 2017 11:35 pm

Re: The Criterion Channel

#120 Post by KJones77 » Wed Feb 27, 2019 2:38 pm

New Movie of the Week is To Sleep with Anger.

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mfunk9786
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Re: The Criterion Channel

#121 Post by mfunk9786 » Wed Feb 27, 2019 2:57 pm

No excuses for not watching this amazing film now!

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DaBargainHunta
Joined: Sun Feb 10, 2019 9:20 pm

Re: The Criterion Channel

#122 Post by DaBargainHunta » Wed Feb 27, 2019 3:13 pm

KJones77 wrote:
Wed Feb 27, 2019 2:38 pm
New Movie of the Week is To Sleep with Anger.
This is shocking. I was never expecting movies to be added to the Criterion Channel day and date with its physical release. :shock: This is awesome news for subscribers if it's going to be a regular occurrence.

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mfunk9786
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Re: The Criterion Channel

#123 Post by mfunk9786 » Wed Feb 27, 2019 3:14 pm

Happened often with FilmStruck and Hulu, with many films on the service prior to the announcement of a physical release

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goblinfootballs
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Re: The Criterion Channel

#124 Post by goblinfootballs » Wed Mar 06, 2019 2:14 pm

This week's film is Wanda (cf email).

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mfunk9786
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Re: The Criterion Channel

#125 Post by mfunk9786 » Wed Mar 06, 2019 5:06 pm

mfunk9786 wrote:
Wed Feb 27, 2019 2:57 pm
No excuses for not watching this amazing film now!

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