• AnyStream is having some DRM issues currently, Netflix is not available in HD for the time being.
    Situations like this will always happen with AnyStream: streaming providers are continuously improving their countermeasures while we try to catch up, it's an ongoing cat-and-mouse game. Please be patient and don't flood our support or forum with requests, we are working on it 24/7 to get it resolved. Thank you.

Token Conservation and Reclamation

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StevenIvan said:
Not after July 31st.
Hulu announced it is leaving the service, and Hulu (Disney) owns the broadcasting rights.
hence why I'm downloading it, instead of streaming it.
Click to expand...
10 Seasons of the X files are available on Hulu right now, what is the issue here?
 
Ch3vr0n said:
Maybe not. Currently it deducts a token immediately when the download begins. Even if the download then fails, the token is still deducted. A simple fix (and no token refund needed) is to:

1. Check user has tokens available. If yes > move to 2. If not tell users "limit reached" as it does now
2. Reserve token but don't deduct.
3. Download completes succesfully (aka post processing done), deduct token reserved in step 2. If download fails for some reason > move to 4
4. Release reserved token, bucket count remains the same.
Click to expand...

That is the happy path. If someone were to hijack the communication at step 3 (after post processing, but before the communication is made) .. *poof* no more download limit.

Because one would have to assume that AS downloads are aborted most frequently due to network outages and/or crashes; not someone hitting 'abort'.
to be 'fair' with a refund the held token approach, they would have to assume any non-communication back was due to this, and 'time out' the hold, otherwise crashed clients wouldn't get a 'refund' anyways.

That wouldn't be hard to game at all.
*shrug*. The more complex a system you make, the harder it is to protect. Simple is better. :)
 
RedFox 1 said:
10 Seasons of the X files are available on Hulu right now, what is the issue here?
Click to expand...

"A new month means tons of brand new content from Hulu. ... As for sci-fi fans, the first six “Star Trek” movies will be waiting for you to binge at the kickstart of the month. Be sure to cue up “Charlotte's Web,” “Dirty Dancing,” and “The X-Files" while you still have time as they're leaving the platform on August 1."

https://www.audacy.com/music/television/everything-coming-to-and-leaving-hulu-in-august-2020

Like I said. I have enough time (barely) to download the show. (5 days away, I downloaded 43 episodes today).
I do NOT have enough time to watch 180+ episodes before Aug 1st.
 
StevenIvan said:
Not after July 31st.
Hulu announced it is leaving the service, and Hulu (Disney) owns the broadcasting rights.
hence why I'm downloading it, instead of streaming it.
Click to expand...
Then you waited too long, plan ahead, meanwhile, you have 5 days left, do the best you can.
 
RedFox 1 said:
Its better than being locked out by your provider, then you have no downloads from that provider.
Click to expand...
Netflix will only lock you out for 48 hours had it happen just once and not by using Anystream.. so for you folks complaining about the token system it is put in place to keep from getting locked out by your streaming service provider.
 
RedFox 1 said:
Then you waited too long, plan ahead, meanwhile, you have 5 days left, do the best you can.
Click to expand...

So .. can you clarify for me .. are you telling me I should :

A) Not worry about downloading content because I can always stream it, despite the fact that you are a moderator in a forum for software SPECIFICALLY designed to download streaming content,
B) I shouldn't download TOO much because I could get banned by my provider, or
C) I should somehow know when a show I haven't watched since it aired is going to be yanked from the ONLY streaming provider with broadcast rights, and download it earlier to avoid having to worry about downloading it?

Because honestly .. You have said all THREE of those things in this thread. Two of them to me.

The irony here, is that my explanation of WHY someone might burn through a lot of tokens at one time was written to SUPPORT better planning of downloads in response to the original post.

I used to love the saying 'You have two ears, two eyes, and one mouth. Use them in that proportion."
Sadly, now adays, people go out of their way to show they ALSO have ten fingers and use them first.

*shrug*
 
BRCS said:
Netflix will only lock you out for 48 hours had it happen just once and not by using Anystream.. so for you folks complaining about the token system it is put in place to keep from getting locked out by your streaming service provider.
Click to expand...
I wonder what the punishment is for the 2d infraction? Well, whatever it is, it can certainly be avoided by planning ahead. ;)
 
StevenIvan said:
So .. can you clarify for me .. are you telling me I should :

A) Not worry about downloading content because I can always stream it, despite the fact that you are a moderator in a forum for software SPECIFICALLY designed to download streaming content,
B) I shouldn't download TOO much because I could get banned by my provider, or
C) I should somehow know when a show I haven't watched since it aired is going to be yanked from the ONLY streaming provider with broadcast rights, and download it earlier to avoid having to worry about downloading it?

Because honestly .. You have said all THREE of those things in this thread. Two of them to me.

The irony here, is that my explanation of WHY someone might burn through a lot of tokens at one time was written to SUPPORT better planning of downloads in response to the original post.

I used to love the saying 'You have two ears, two eyes, and one mouth. Use them in that proportion."
Sadly, now adays, people go out of their way to show they ALSO have ten fingers and use them first.

*shrug*
Click to expand...
Do what you like, I am done in this thread. Have a nice evening.
 
Couple of things:
1) StevenIvan: That link you posted is from last year. You got me in a panic to download X-Files as it was also on my queue, but I can find nothing current that indicates the TV series is leaving Hulu (still, I'm DLing anyway just in case :coolman:)
2) The situation with the X-Files is the stated purpose of AnyStream: "AnyStream will save your favorite shows and movies before the content expires and is removed from the streaming service." -- but if the provider doesn't give enough notice for someone to plan their token usage (which for some like me must be budgeted across all 5 supported providers) then AnyStream cannot fulfill the purpose for which it is being sold. My *only* beef with the token system it that it is not per-provider and *none* of the arguments I've read for why it is not, or should not be, stand up to the purpose for which AnyStream is sold.
 
gbstreamer said:
My *only* beef with the token system it that it is not per-provider and *none* of the arguments I've read for why it is not, or should not be, stand up to the purpose for which AnyStream is sold
Click to expand...
If they made it per provider, we would have all kinds of complaints from the other end of the spectrum - why give me 40 per provider (and less when they add providers) when I only use one or two? And just what the heck is "the purpose for which AnyStream is sold"? It's purpose it to let you download up to 280 videos per week. It was sold that way, and all your grousing about it is unlikely to change it.
 
RedFox 1 said:
Well, whatever it is, it can certainly be avoided by planning ahead. ;)
Click to expand...
HAMsmoke said:
If they made it per provider, we would have all kinds of complaints from the other end of the spectrum - why give me 40 per provider (and less when they add providers) when I only use one or two? And just what the heck is "the purpose for which AnyStream is sold"? It's purpose it to let you download up to 280 videos per week. It was sold that way, and all your grousing about it is unlikely to change it.
Click to expand...

I agree with you that a pool of generic tokens was probably easier and safer to implement.
And, since certain folks have a tendency to reply to threads without actually bothering to read them, or read them in the context of the thread, I should also point out the following :

I HAVE ZERO ISSUES WITH THE WAY THE CURRENT TOKEN QUEUING SYSTEM WORKS.
(caps for emphasis).

That being said, I do have to point out the flaw in the often parroted line that limiting tokens is in place to 'protect us'.

First, the obvious : They aren't in place to protect the users. They are in place to protect RedFox's revenue stream.
I am 100% ok with this too, because indirectly this protects my investment (a lifetime investment, with a soon to be upgraded license) in the software.

Initially, during the first trial, they were supposedly put in place to prevent banning of accounts. The 100 limit was enacted for the first provider to keep people from hammering them too hard.
We will ignore that Netflix has over 200m subscribers, so this was probably STILL aggressive because the ( generously ) 1000's of users that use AnyStream aren't even a 10th of a percent of Netflix's HOURLY traffic.
Again, I'm fine with a super-safe precautionary move on RedFox's part. I'm ok with safe and under the radar, as it lengthens the life expectancy of my investment.

What is my point with all this?
Once you have multiple providers in the mix, the 'we are just out to protect your accounts' argument starts to unravel.
If a 100 token pool (280 max downloads a week) is 'safe' for Netflix, then one assumes it would also be a respectable limit for Amazon, or Hulu, or Disney.
Clearly the devs think so, as they haven't adjusted the count lower.
No one knows where or how you spend those download tokens.

But to the point others have made : What happens when you split those tokens across multiple providers? (which people often say is exactly what they do.)
Amazon isn't going to ban you because of how many downloads you've pulled from Hulu or Netflix.
Netflix doesn't care what you do on HBO Max.
Aside from Disney and Hulu, the other providers are pretty unlikely to share data between themselves, especially not about potential leaks and or abuses of their systems.

So when someone defends the fact that we don't have seperate provider token pools with 'it is to protect you', they are using a dishonest (some might say FanBoi) argument, and are essentially gaslighting you.
If we had 280 max downloads for EACH PROVIDER, The upward limits of weekly downloads per provider would STILL be 280 max downloads.
So the theoretical idea is sound. We could have more tokens, split out among the separate providers, without additional risk of 'detection'.

If someone INSISTS that giving people more downloads is super risky for the user .. ask them what is preventing ANYONE from buying multiple licences to Anystream?
Because truthfully, if you need more downloads, that is TOTALLY an option :)

But back to the idea of separating tokens per provider as a practical idea?

No need to fix something that isn't broken when there is loads of broken stuff to fix.
Redeveloping the whole token system probably has a much lower ROI than adding new providers.
 
HAMsmoke said:
And just what the heck is "the purpose for which AnyStream is sold"? It's purpose it to let you download up to 280 videos per week. It was sold that way, and all your grousing about it is unlikely to change it.
Click to expand...
Purpose is stated on the product page, which I quoted, but here it is again: "Did you already miss a movie because of expired content? AnyStream will save your favorite shows and movies before the content expires and is removed from the streaming service."
The Fair Use policy also has a purpose: "to avoid being blocked by your streaming provider". It was sold to prevent being blocked by a singular provider. If the purpose of the tokens is to prevent being block by "your streaming provider [singular]" then why are the tokens shared across all providers? I suspect it was a system they quickly put in place at the very beginning when there was only Netflix and AP and they needed to prevent testers / early adopters from drawing unwanted attention. And that makes sense; I'd have done the same...all myself and others wonder is why can that not be something that is *eventually* changed?
Personally, I would much rather have HBOMax stable and more providers than a change to the token system right now, but I do not understand the push-back on these forums when people come here to ask a very reasonable question: why can it not be per-provider...it is a question / a wish, really, not a attack on the RedFox team or the usefulness of AnyStream, nor does it diminish my appreciation of the value I am getting from the software (I've gotten my $$$ worth from AnyDVDHD a thousand times over and AnyStream will probably eclipse that).
[/grousing (for real, I'll drop it now)]
 
gbstreamer said:
StevenIvan: That link you posted is from last year. You got me in a panic to download X-Files as it was also on my queue, but I can find nothing current that indicates the TV series is leaving Hulu (still, I'm DLing anyway just in case)
Click to expand...

Legit course of action. (fist-bump-respect).

I actually didn't read it online (I have a few 'leaving soon' blogs that I follow, but haven't found a good one for Hulu yet.) I read about it yesterday in another thread on here.
Which is when I realized my wife has never watched X-Files, and not knowing if she would like it (or if it still holds up some 28 years later) I didn't want to pay something like $300 for a full Bluray set of the show.

When I pasted that link, I just pasted the first one that wasn't a word salad. If I'm wrong, great. But like you .. I have the tokens to burn, so why take the chance ? :) If I'm wrong because I didn't fully vet what another forum member said was happening; totally bad on me and I apologize.
 
StevenIvan said:
That being said, I do have to point out the flaw in the often parroted line that limiting tokens is in place to 'protect us'.

First, the obvious : They aren't in place to protect the users. They are in place to protect RedFox's revenue stream.
Click to expand...
I appreciate the well written and lengthy discussion and I agree with everything you said. One thing I would add that you didn't mention is that the same 'protect the users' argument is also given with the download speed option and it says something along the lines of "You shouldn't use unlimited speed because it could lead to you getting banned" but then it still lets you select it. If your stated goal is to protect your users and keep them from being banned then you should at least be consistent with it.
 

i just thought of something. i could be wrong. if we had 280 per provider and redfox plans on introducing, lets say, 20 more providers... that would be 24 in total. 280 times 24 times customers... maybe it would cost them to keep track of all those tokens. e.g. the traffic towards their servers where licenses are kept. i mean, maybe redfox plans introducing 280 per provider, but they dont have the infrastructure or maybe the code itself wouldnt be able to handle it. so it would be logical to cap all tokens for all providers at 280, and if someone wants more tokens feel free to buy another license. redfox gets moneys for future investment in code and infrastructure so they can introduce 280 per provider in the future.

that being said, i could be wrong. maybe its just a few bytes per token, per ping back to the server, so 280x24 wouldnt be that demanding even if AS has tens of thousands of customers all downloading at the same time. anyways, cheers!
 
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