Best streaming video services

Tired of paying big bucks for dozens of channels he never watched, Paul Talaga dropped his family's cable-TV service two years ago and now relies mostly on streaming video for entertainment. "We stream lots of last season's TV shows and one or two movies a week from Netflix," says Talaga, a 31-year-old computer-science professor who lives in Cincinnati. "We also get a DVD by mail maybe once a week." He connects a computer to his TV to watch news and current programs available on network websites. The entertainment mix suits him fine, he says, calling Netflix "an excellent value compared to paid TV service."

Talaga is among the millions of Americans who now watch video that's delivered to their screen over the Internet. More than half of the 15,277 discountninja.online subscribers we surveyed recently had used a streaming video service within the previous month. Most didn't drop TV service, as Talaga did, but use streaming as a supplement to regular TV rather than as a replacement for it.

Like him, though, the overwhelming majority of streaming viewers—81 percent—used the company that accounts for most of the action in video streaming: Netflix. The rest of the services covered in the survey were used by only 2 to 14 percent of respondents.

But Netflix didn't earn especially high scores for satisfaction from the users surveyed by the Consumer Reports National Research Center. The main reason: dissatisfaction with its selection of movies, especially the latest releases. Respondents were happier with the selection of titles available on Blu-ray and DVD from Net­flix's disc-by-mail service and on pay-per-view streaming services such as Amazon Instant Video, iTunes, and Vudu.

The fact that Netflix's disc business was judged better than its streaming operation is ironic, because Netflix says it's focusing on streaming and putting limited resources into its "fading" disc business. In line with that strategy, the company discontinued joint streaming and disc subscriptions in 2011 and started charging a separate fee for each service. That prompted many subscribers to drop one of the two plans. Among our survey respondents who had joint Net­flix subscriptions, more than twice as many abandoned discs as gave up streaming.

That shift shows up in Netflix's subscription numbers. Earlier this year, it announced that it had 23.4 million streaming subscribers and 10.1 million subscribers to its disc-by-mail plan.

You should weigh a number of things when deciding which service best meets your needs. You can see what users think of 14 streaming and disc rental services in our first comprehensive Ratings of video services. Streaming definitely has room for improvement. Satisfaction scores for streaming-video services were lower than for most other services we've rated during the past few years.

Also consider the types of equipment you can use to get streaming video to your TV. Don't overlook Internet-connected set-top boxes, which were among the most satisfying options for users. See "Set-Top Boxes That Make You the Program Director" for more details.

Limited selection, Netflix's Achilles' heel, is a common problem with all-you-can-watch streaming services, which also include Amazon Prime and Hulu Plus. Fewer than one in five respondents said they were highly satisfied with the choice of titles from those services. (Amazon Prime is primarily a two-day shipping service that also includes unlimited access to a relatively small portion of the Amazon Instant Video library.)

Given the number of titles that most services claim to offer, you wouldn't expect any complaints. But those numbers can be misleading. Standard-definition and high-definition versions of the same movie and individual episodes of a TV series might count as distinct titles.

All-you-can-watch subscription services tend to get fewer titles from movie and TV studios, and at a later date, than the services that charge for each video you order. Consequently, many hotter titles and programming from premium cable networks such as HBO and Showtime never make it into the unlimited-streaming libraries of Amazon Prime, Hulu Plus, and Netflix, which include films you might not even be familiar with.

"The selection is really, really poor," says Mark Sears, a 59-year-old sales manager from Teaneck, N.J., who subscribes to Netflix's streaming service. "When I searched for movies featuring George Clooney recently, only a handful came up, which is ridiculous when he's been in so many." Of the Clooney movies Net­flix offered for instant viewing at press time, almost all were at least 10 years old.

An all-you-can-watch subscription does have its appeal, though. If you watch a lot of streaming video, an $8-a-month plan from Hulu Plus or Netflix, or the videos available with an $80-a-year Amazon Prime subscription, can be a much better deal than paying individually for each movie and TV episode you watch. Survey respondents viewed an average of three movies and six TV programs on their sets in the prior month. That could easily cost $20 or more per month if you had to pay for each title individually.

Pay-per-view services such as Amazon Instant Video, iTunes, and Vudu charge for each title you stream—usually $4 or $5 for a newer movie, a little less for older movies and individual TV episodes. That business model is very similar to the disc rental business, so pay-per-view streaming titles are often available at the same time they're released on disc. More than 60 percent of readers gave high marks for selection to those three pay-per-view streaming services.

The advantages of discs were clear in our Ratings. Entertainment studios want to sell discs, so new titles make it onto Blu-ray and DVD in the first wave. In addition, older titles are often available on disc when they're no longer available for streaming. Netflix's disc-by-mail service and independent video stores—the relatively few remaining since the mass closures of the past few years—were judged to have a more satisfying selection of titles, including current ones, than even the best streaming services. Blockbuster had a weaker showing for its video stores (about 900 of which remain after its bankruptcy filing and acquisition by Dish Network), Blockbuster Express kiosks (bought by Redbox; about 6,200 locations at press time), and Blockbuster Total Access discs by mail.

Disc rentals, from Netflix and other places, weren't just the favorite of older viewers. Respondents between 18 and 44 years old also gave higher marks to Net­flix's disc service than to its streaming service. Despite that, almost 80 percent of those viewers had streamed videos within the past month, not only to a TV but also to a computer, tablet, or smart phone.

On the whole, readers found it reasonably easy to search for particular movies and TV shows. iTunes users were the most satisfied, Amazon Prime users the least. That's because Amazon's search function combs through everything available in the fee-based Instant Video catalog, so results will include titles that are not included with a Prime subscription.

One tip: Searching can be tedious on a typical TV remote because you have to "type" in your search terms by clicking around an onscreen keyboard using the directional arrows. If you're using Netflix, it's often easier to use your computer to add a movie to your instant queue. When you go to Netflix on your TV, your selections will be accessible.

Some search apps and websites for services' content have more robust search functions than the services themselves. For example, at canistream.it, you can search content across multiple sources, showing you which, if any, offer the title and in what format (including streams, disc rentals, downloads, and disc purchases). Some will e-mail you when a title becomes available.

A healthy selection of titles is one of the biggest factors in overall satisfaction, but cheap and easy counts with viewers, too. Redbox video kiosks—vending machines with low-priced rentals—ranked with Netflix and independents as among the most satisfying options for renting discs even though Redbox scored on the lower side for selection. A kiosk usually stocks about 70 to 200 titles, including recent releases, older hits, and games.

What pleased users most about Redbox was the price: $1.20 per day for discs. It also had a high score for convenience, thanks to its 30,000-plus kiosks in stores and malls you're likely to visit often.

The Amazon Prime service earned kudos for price as well, suggesting that many readers consider it a "free" perk on top of unlimited two-day shipping, the main membership benefit. Though not as widely available as Netflix on Internet-capable Blu-ray players, TVs, and media boxes, Amazon's video service scored comparably for convenience. If you access it through the Kindle Fire, the company's tablet, you can start streaming video with a few screen presses via the device's Video tab.

Hulu Plus's free companion service, Hulu, which can be viewed on computers but not on TVs, was also a hit with viewers looking for free content. Unlike most network websites, which carry only their own programming, Hulu offers videos from more than 350 content companies, according to its website. Sources include ABC, A&E Networks, Comedy Central, the CW, Fox, Lionsgate, MGM, MTV Networks, National Geographic, NBC­Universal, Paramount, Sony Pictures, and Warner Bros. When we checked recently, TV shows included "Family Guy," "Modern Family," and "The Simpsons"; movie titles included older hits such as "The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman" and "Gladiator." You can connect a laptop to your TV—using an HDMI cable, for example—to watch free content from Hulu and other websites on your big screen.

A public library is another free resource to explore. Many carry DVDs and, increasingly, Blu-ray discs. Selections tend to be smaller than in video stores, and you might have to reserve a title, especially a recent one, or request a loan from another branch. So be prepared to wait—but hey, it's free.

Among streaming services, Vudu, iTunes, and Amazon Instant Video and its Prime selection had the same high scores as disc-rental services for picture quality. Netflix, Hulu Plus, and the free Hulu service were a step lower. Our testers checked out Net­flix picture quality in our labs and found it to be very good, roughly on par with the high-def video we see from cable. We found Vudu's HDX movies had the best quality of all the streaming services. Blu-ray discs are still the gold standard for picture quality, but most viewers should be happy with streaming-video quality.

But the quality you'll get depends on the speed of your Internet connection. Net­flix and other services adjust picture quality in response to the speed of the Internet connection. We found that picture quality was often poor on startup but improved after a minute or so as the service adjusted to the connection speed.

Cable service is generally faster than DSL, yet our most recent survey on Internet service shows that satisfaction with speed varies greatly by cable company. If bandwidth becomes limited—say, if a lot of cable viewers in your area are online at the same time—the service might temporarily downgrade the video quality so that the stream doesn't freeze or break up. Generally, even relatively slow DSL Internet service should suffice for video, but the slower the connection, the lower the image quality, as a rule. Verizon FiOS, the all-fiber service, earned our highest rating for speed in a recent survey.

If you aren't yet streaming video to your TV, you might be in the future. The landscape could change dramatically if Amazon.com steps up its efforts in video streaming. Other big names are also eager to feed the demand for entertainment.

"Netflix has a lot of potential competitors," says Dan Rayburn, a New York-based principal analyst at Frost & Sullivan, a market-­research firm, and executive vice president of StreamingMedia.com. "Dish Network, which now owns Blockbuster, will offer more streaming options within and outside its Blockbuster @Home service, and Verizon and Redbox are partnering for a hybrid service that will combine disc rental with streaming." He also sees the possibility that Apple and Google will add subscription streaming services.

You can get video whenever you want it through streaming services (available as pay-per-view content and via all-you-can-view monthly subscriptions) and disc rentals from stores or kiosks or by mail. Cable and satellite TV providers also offer streaming video via free on-demand channels or as pay-per-view content.

Best streaming services
Vudu
Apple iTunes
Amazon Instant Video

These pay-per-view options topped all the subscription services, including Netflix, for overall score and in almost every respect except price. In addition to offering the usual high-def and standard-def videos, Vudu has a third option: 1080p "HDX." Our testers found the video quality nearly comparable to Blu-ray's, but it costs $1 more than regular HD. Apple iTunes and Amazon Instant Video allow downloads to your device, which is handy where Wi-Fi is unavailable.

For easy access, widest choice
Netflix

This mail-order disc-subscription service was the only one with high scores for both selection and convenience. You can watch as many videos as you want (Netflix says it will get a fresh title in your hands within two days or so of the time you pop a returned disc in the mail) for $8 per month for one DVD at a time or $12 for two, a few dollars more for Blu-ray discs. Compared with pay-per-view streams or renting discs in a retail store, you'll come out ahead if you rent three or more titles per month.

Selection and a personal touch
Independent stores

Not many neighborhood video stores are left, but those that remain pleased readers for selection, price, and service, perhaps because they can tailor choices to local or specialty tastes. These stores might be the last bastion of knowledgeable, in-person advice.

Best values
Amazon Prime
Hulu
Redbox

Amazon Prime is included with Amazon.com's two-day-shipping membership. But it has a small selection and is available on relatively few TVs, Blu-ray players, and boxes. For computers only, Hulu offers TV shows, free and with commercials, including some episodes available within days of broadcast. (If you want to stream to a TV or mobile device, consider Hulu Plus, $8 per month, which survey respondents felt had a slightly better selection of TV shows than Netflix.) Redbox video kiosks carry a limited number of titles but are often handily located in supermarkets and malls.