Amazon Issues - Status inaccurate

[nanoscopic]

To begin with, I own a lifetime license for both Anystream and AnyDVD. I am waiting patiently for issues to be fixed.

I am making this post because I have to periodically read through the posts and speculate on whether the issues with Amazon are fixed or not.

It would be really nice if there was a stickied status post saying what the current status is for each of the providers ( including Amazon )

I call out Amazon here because I keep reading that the issues are only with "new content". That is inaccurate, as I have had issues with many very old tv series.

Examples on Amazon are the series of Amazing Race, which fail for nearly half the episodes, and will soon be gone from Amazon. Those aren't new content, and the issue of half the episodes failing randomly is ignored as if it doesn't happen.

The same happens with the MXC tv show from season 3 onward. The content is neither new, nor even HD. I find it very hard to believe that "DRM issues" are randomly breaking old episodes. There is something more going on here that should be investigated.

It is perfectly reasonable to have issues and to take time to correct them.

What it not cool is to say "DRM issues with new content" when more than "new content" is being affected.

Included in the new status post should be the maximum resolution that can be downloaded per service. This information should be communicated clearly and is not.

I expect all of this to be ignored and no nice status sticky post to be made; but I've said what I want to say. Take care all.

 

[HAMsmoke]

AP is simply inconsistent and results differ among regions. I would say it is not really possible to list all of these exceptions. If you have been attentive to the, say 100 or so posts, that address this issue, you would know that AP issues have not been resolved. That's actually good enough for me - I try something here or there, but don't load up a queue and expect everything to simply work. For the most part, I ignore AP. That is not to say I don't try with a new beta, or after I read a post from someone in the know that server issues have been addressed and maybe that changed something - I do. But until I see a beta release saying all AP issues have been addressed, I need no other statement, comment, or opinion stating that they are not.

 

[RedFox 1]

As HAMsmoke said, every region has different issues for each provider, when a new version is released you can find it here
https://forum.redfox.bz/threads/anystream-beta-1-2-8-4.83568/ at the top of the AnyStream subforum. When a final version is released you know as soon as you open the program. We do our best to keep our customers updated but doing what you ask is next to impossible for the reasons that HAMsmoke so eloquently stated.

 

[nanoscopic]

I agree that a status of "Amazon plus fails randomly" would be more accurate. I simply think this should be communicated clearly in a well written post so that we don't have to have 300 more posts about "Amazon randomly fails when I [x]".

I agree also that it isn't particularly helpful to me or other users to have all the many ways it will fail listed out. What I dislike is the current status being communicated in an untrue way. I barely if ever download "new content" using Anystream, so it just grinds to see that stated constantly as if legitimizing it. The implication is that "new DRM is hard to fix, so it could take a while". There are issues with the new DRM, yes. There are other issues as well. It would be nice if the other issues are acknowledged and there is one place to see status of it. It would even be great to have some rough estimate of when it might be fixed. Such an estimate could be "within the next 2 months."

Finally, it would be nice if some software issue tracker is used instead of the boards for reporting issues and their eventual resolution. That should be easier imo for the devs to organize the issues and link related issues together.

 

[nanoscopic]

@RedFox 1 All I've asked is that a single stickied post exist accurately and shortly stating the expected current results per provider and including resolution information.

How is that impossible?

There even used to be something close to this, and that stickied post was deleted.

Example:
Amazon:
Status: Some new and old content will not download. It varies per region. New content is having more issues compared to older content.
Resolution: 1080p max
NF:
Status: New content is having issues. For some titles subtitles fail to download. Check your downloads to ensure the results match your selection.
Resolution: 1080p max
Disney:
Status: ...
Resolution: 720p max

I don't remember which provider has which issues. I don't recall offhand which providers support which resolution. Is this so much to ask?
If this information was communicated better less users would be complaining in my opinion because expectations would be clearly set.

 

[RedFox 1]

Its not happening. Too many regions and too many languages to update. Perhaps read through the forum, you are new here, maybe you can adjust that way.

 

[BCloud]

Its not happening. Too many regions and too many languages to update. Perhaps read through the forum, you are new here, maybe you can adjust that way.

I think he doesn't want to be specific on regions etc. He would like the same thing he wrote and you do an update of the info when something change, he wrote a good summary. Because it's true that all I read it's that for AP is for new content, now I know by reading the forum that old content has also problems and it's not just me, but when you don't spent time on the forum we don't really know.

 

[RedFox 1]

I think he doesn't want to be specific on regions etc. He would like the same thing he wrote and you do an update of the info when something change. Because it's true that all I read it's that for AP is for new content, now I know by reading the forum that old content has also problems and it's not just me, but when you don't spent time on the forum we don't really know.

Its different for every region, yes there are issues with APV all over, different here than there. That is a fact. I see people being able to download things in the USA I cannot where I live. Its just not possible.

 

[RedFox 1]

Hang on a second, it DOES actually say NEW TITLES, right in the last sentence you quoted from the Changelog. I bolded and colored the relevant parts RED to make it stand out.

That was a forum error or mine, HAMsmoke didn't post that I did from the original changelog. Somehow it was posted in his post. I am done in this thread now. Have a nice day. You are correct there are many titles that are not new having issues.

 

[James Harper]

a Changelog to a BETA version - if familiar with the concept of BETA releases, there are no guarantees that what was addressed actually works perfectly...that is why it is BETA and not RELEASE. The developers have absolutely NO WAY to test against all the various platforms and locales of their users. For all we know a certain developer may have 100% success with the latest BETA, but the guy next door does not.

 

[BCloud]

Its different for every region, yews there are issues with APV all over, different here than there. That is a fact. I see people being able to downl;oad things in the USA I cannot where I live. Its just not possible.

Yes I know, but like I said no need to be specific, we just need a sum up of the different problems seen in the topics.

"Netflix : problems known with some titles, check after 2 minutes, for subtitles prefer external srt files"
"AP : problem with some titles, not only new stuff, subtitles work"
"AS : Problem with the queue, prefer to add manually each title to avoid downgrade audio/resolution problem"

or something like this. People will see the status and will not ask ten times the same question.

 

[RedFox 1]

Yes I know, but like I said no need to be specific, we just need a sum up of the different problems seen in the topics.

"Netflix : problems known with some titles, check after 2 minutes, for subtitles prefer external srt files"
"AP : problem with some titles, not only new stuff, subtitles work"
"AS : Problem with the queue, prefer to add manually each title to avoid downgrade audio/resolution problem"

or something like this. People will see the status and will not ask ten times the same question.

If its not specific its worthless, people will have to try it anyway.

 

[nanoscopic]

@BCloud It makes sense not to share specifics about which regions are working or not, as different regions could use different keys and/or have different keys leaked for various levels of decryption. The software is a grey area legally, and stating intentionality of solving DRM restrictions in some regions just makes it more legally hairy. I'm not asking for or expecting the details stated per region. That would be helpful to the users if it could be said, but I do agree with RedFox in that sharing all those details would be impossible as well, because all the issues simply aren't known. I've spent lots of time reading various posts on the forums and it isn't a particularly great use of my time.

@James Harper I'm not expecting any guarantees at all, just a best guess at what the expectation should be for any release.

@NeedToKnow Edits not showing what was edited is common in every form of online communicate I've seen apart for Git edits. I agree it can be very confusing but is something that just has to be dealt with. I agree it would be nice to know of a region that supposedly works, in which case use of a VPN endpoint in that area could help the users. I do think it is intentional not to share this information. The reasoning would be that if a reason is said to work and users jump onto using that region that the providers would focus on making changes in that region to break it. There is some amount of cat and mouse going on.

I do get the attitude of the devs "We can't share all the details safely, and all the details would be overwhelming even if we had time to detail them all, so you'll just have to try it and find out." It still is a bit too evasive on just giving general status.

There is another related issue I'll point out. I've been seeing people comparing the software to other products by third parties, and there is even a forum category for this, aptly named... What I don't get is why people evasively refer to things such as "Monkey". It is ridiculously unhelpful to refer to things by some secret name. What is the purpose of hiding comparison against competing products? If this is really the best product, there should be no fear of it being openly known if another product does something better or worse.

For example, there is this common attack of other software dismissing them as "they are screen recorders not downloaders". That is well and good, but meaningless for content that cannot be downloaded where the screen recorder actually works.

My point mentioning this is that it ties into my general desire for status to be openly and accurately shared.

Remember the old Sears idea of "If we can't give the customer what they want, we direct them to where they can get it, and because of this we are more trusted?" That is what would be great. Of the competing software, it would be nice to have an open recommendation of a competitor for when I want to timeshift some content that Anystream isn't currently working with.

Another example would be: "We would recommend against using the following VPNs: ... -- These VPNs seem to work and you may want to try them: ..." Obviously no guarantees could be made, but some vague suggestions would at least be helpful.

 

[RedFox 1]

@BCloud It makes sense not to share specifics about which regions are working or not, as different regions could use different keys and/or have different keys leaked for various levels of decryption. The software is a grey area legally, and stating intentionality of solving DRM restrictions in some regions just makes it more legally hairy. I'm not asking for or expecting the details stated per region. That would be helpful to the users if it could be said, but I do agree with RedFox in that sharing all those details would be impossible as well, because all the issues simply aren't known. I've spent lots of time reading various posts on the forums and it isn't a particularly great use of my time.

@James Harper I'm not expecting any guarantees at all, just a best guess at what the expectation should be for any release. I cannot tell the members how to post, I wish I could, everyone is aware of the monkey LOL, maybe that's why Sears is out of business. LOL.

@NeedToKnow Edits not showing what was edited is common in every form of online communicate I've seen apart for Git edits. I agree it can be very confusing but is something that just has to be dealt with. I agree it would be nice to know of a region that supposedly works, in which case use of a VPN endpoint in that area could help the users. I do think it is intentional not to share this information. The reasoning would be that if a reason is said to work and users jump onto using that region that the providers would focus on making changes in that region to break it. There is some amount of cat and mouse going on.

I do get the attitude of the devs "We can't share all the details safely, and all the details would be overwhelming even if we had time to detail them all, so you'll just have to try it and find out." It still is a bit too evasive on just giving general status.

There is another related issue I'll point out. I've been seeing people comparing the software to other products by third parties, and there is even a forum category for this, aptly named... What I don't get is why people evasively refer to things such as "Monkey". It is ridiculously unhelpful to refer to things by some secret name. What is the purpose of hiding comparison against competing products? If this is really the best product, there should be no fear of it being openly known if another product does something better or worse.

For example, there is this common attack of other software dismissing them as "they are screen recorders not downloaders". That is well and good, but meaningless for content that cannot be downloaded where the screen recorder actually works.

My point mentioning this is that it ties into my general desire for status to be openly and accurately shared.

Remember the old Sears idea of "If we can't give the customer what they want, we direct them to where they can get it, and because of this we are more trusted?" That is what would be great. Of the competing software, it would be nice to have an open recommendation of a competitor for when I want to timeshift some content that Anystream isn't currently working with.

Another example would be: "We would recommend against using the following VPNs: ... -- These VPNs seem to work and you may want to try them: ..." Obviously no guarantees could be made, but some vague suggestions would at least be helpful.

I have only tried one VPN and it was horrid. ( Nord. All IPs were blocked) I cannot recommend against VPNs I have not tried. It's the same thing with VPNs, they work in some countries and do not in others, different IPs.

 

[nanoscopic]

I have only tried one VPN and it was horrid. ( Nord. All IPs were blocked)

That's fair enough. As I expect that the providers read these forums and would block any recommended VPN, it is likely also pointless to recommend any...

That does not, though, negate the value in knowing 1 or 2 regions that supposedly are known to be working more than the rest. There are more ways to get an endpoint in a specific region than VPNs, such as by leasing a "seed host" in the region. That also may be pointless, as few users are likely to be willing to pay for a seed host in a region just to timeshift content. To me, it is worth it, as I enjoy having content I like easily able to play whenever I want without having to figure out which provider has it currently available and in my region.

 

[RedFox 1]

That's fair enough. As I expect that the providers read these forums and would block any recommended VPN, it is likely also pointless to recommend any...

That does not, though, negate the value in knowing 1 or 2 regions that supposedly are known to be working more than the rest. There are more ways to get an endpoint in a specific region than VPNs, such as by leasing a "seed host" in the region. That also may be pointless, as few users are likely to be willing to pay for a seed host in a region just to timeshift content. To me, it is worth it, as I enjoy having content I like easily able to play whenever I want without having to figure out which provider has it currently available and in my region.

I am not a VPN expert, nor are most of the members, you will just have to try other VPNs, personally I don't use VPNs anymore and some work in some countries and some don't.Where do you see it advertised that this program even works with VPNs? Thats it. Have a nice day.

 

[DQ]

The VPN deal for the purpose of escaping geofencing will always be a cat and mouse game. It's very easy for providers to see the flood of disparate traffic coming from the same IPs. Now that's with IPv4 which is all but exhausted. Once IPv6 is commonplace that will become more difficult due to the number of available addresses. Of course by the time that happens they probably will have AI doing the blocking so who knows. It's an arms race either way.

 

[nanoscopic]

Where do you see it advertised that this program even works with VPNs? Thats it. Have a nice day.

I'm pretty clearly saying here that I don't expect it to work with VPNs, as providers generally block VPNs. I'm agreeing with you here if anything. No need to get spicy about it.

 

[RedFox 1]

I'm pretty clearly saying here that I don't expect it to work with VPNs, as providers generally block VPNs. I'm agreeing with you here if anything. No need to get spicy about it.

No spicy here, just a lot of work to do and trying not to ignore other people posts, I do apologize if it sounded " spicy"

 

[nanoscopic]

No spicy here, just a lot of work to do and trying not to ignore other people posts, I do apologize if it sounded " spicy"

My misunderstanding then. Carry on. My only suggestion would be maybe you could empower the community here to maintain a hugely speculative current status post in your stead so that you don't have to think about or bother updating it. As you've said, you are quite busy and most of us users should test and find out how things work. Perhaps it is us users who need to be better about combining our knowledge and sharing it with everyone else.