Author Topic: EEVblog&some other YouTube channels, no longer free, at best (HD) quality levels  (Read 11934 times)

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Offline Veteran68

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Well some may consider me "old" at 55, and I certainly remember CRTs. I've owned everything from 9" B&W CRTs to 32" Sony Trinitrons (damn those were some heavy beasts for their size) before getting into DLP, Plasma, and LCDs. Also grew up with rabbit ears and later VHS/Beta. And I can't say I have fond memories of any of them, LOL.

Despite my age, I'm a tech/gadget geek and I appreciate new technology. I'm also a resolution addict with still good eyesight for closeup work (wear glasses for distance though), so I'm one of those people who use 27" 4K monitors with native font scaling where many people are scaling to 150-200% just to be able to read it. I like my pixels and fine details!
 
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Offline madires

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Or maybe it's because "older" people remember analog television with over-the-air reception and/or VHS tapes and have much lower standards than people born and raised in the internet age :)

Do you remember RealPlayer? That was even worse than VHS. However, around that time it was possible to stream SD video (1-1.5 Mbit/s) over the internet, of course not for consumers with dial-in access.
 
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Offline pdenisowski

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Well some may consider me "old" at 55, and I certainly remember CRTs. I've owned everything from 9" B&W CRTs to 32" Sony Trinitrons (damn those were some heavy beasts for their size) before getting into DLP, Plasma, and LCDs. Also grew up with rabbit ears and later VHS/Beta. And I can't say I have fond memories of any of them, LOL.

I remember taking the tubes out of the TV and going down to the hardware store to test them so I could get back to watching shows that started with "In Technocolor" at the bottom  ... good times.  :)

True story:  when I was a poor grad student, I once had some people over at my apartment and one of them asked what the rabbit ears on my TV were for.  I said that I used them to watch TV because I was too broke to pay for cable, to which my guest responded "Is that .... legal???"  :-DD 

Test and Measurement Fundamentals video series on the Rohde & Schwarz YouTube channel:  https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLKxVoO5jUTlvsVtDcqrVn0ybqBVlLj2z8
 
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Offline Veteran68

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True story:  when I was a poor grad student, I once had some people over at my apartment and one of them asked what the rabbit ears on my TV were for.  I said that I used them to watch TV because I was too broke to pay for cable, to which my guest responded "Is that .... legal???"  :-DD

:D

It's like watching a Gen-Z's first time with a rotary dial phone. Blows their mind that we could live like such primitive savages.
 

Offline luudee

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Hi Guys,

I now pay the equivalent of $3.99 for YouTube Premium, since Spotify refuses to take
my money for their programming. Corporations and corporate politics can be incredibly
stupid ....

Sure, I am not to happy with that, but since it also covers my daily music needs, I am
ok with it ...

Cheers,
luudee
 
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Offline MK14Topic starter

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I now pay the equivalent of $3.99 for YouTube Premium

Absolutely NO offence to you.  But I find that so annoying, it very significantly stops me from wanting to subscribe to their service(s).

I also can't really see the benefits of YouTube Premium. (Possible extra help to content creators, aside).

Sorry, I know we have already discussed this.  But, I'm sort of coming back to it, and just posting my immediate thoughts.

We use to have this situation, to some extent (going back decades), where it was often considerably cheaper to buy high tech goods, in America, compared to buying them in the UK.

I can't remember exactly.  But it was something like a particular hard disk would be $135 equivalent here, but only $100 in America.

One reason for the discrepancy though, was the prices here get (what is currently) 20% VAT (sales tax) added to the prices.  I.e. The adverts and price display in general, would have to include the VAT.  Whereas in America, the sales tax, as well as often being a lot less (such as 6%), is only added to the total, afterwards, and is NOT included in any displayed or advertised prices, in general.
I.e. In America it might say something is $10, but sales tax, still needs to be added to it, such as 6.25%.

Example:
A while back (less so these days), Petrol/Gasoline prices, were hugely different, between the UK and America, by a very large amount.  Maybe something crazy like a factor of x3 to x7 times cheaper.
 

Offline themadhippy

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We use to have this situation, to some extent (going back decades), where it was often considerably cheaper to buy high tech goods, in America, compared to buying them in the UK.
Used to?The just swap the $ for £ and add some tax exchange rate seems still fairly common,and not just high tech goods
 
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Offline pdenisowski

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It's like watching a Gen-Z's first time with a rotary dial phone. Blows their mind that we could live like such primitive savages.

If you really want to blow a young(er) person's mind, demonstrate* hook-flash dialing (i.e. "dialing" a number on a traditional phone by manually pulsing the hook switch with your finger instead of using the dial or buttons).

*Assuming you can still find a POTS phone and line somewhere ....
Test and Measurement Fundamentals video series on the Rohde & Schwarz YouTube channel:  https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLKxVoO5jUTlvsVtDcqrVn0ybqBVlLj2z8
 

Offline Veteran68

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I also can't really see the benefits of YouTube Premium. (Possible extra help to content creators, aside).

It includes YouTube Music as was posted, however I don't use it for that (I mainly use Apple Music and Amazon Music). My subscription is entirely for ad-free purposes. Yes I could use an ad blocker and did for quite awhile, but the content creators lose out on that. Considering how much YT I consume, paying for Premium gives me something (no-ads) while rewarding creators in some small way. It's worth it to me, but YMMV.

We use to have this situation, to some extent (going back decades), where it was often considerably cheaper to buy high tech goods, in America, compared to buying them in the UK.

I can't remember exactly.  But it was something like a particular hard disk would be $135 equivalent here, but only $100 in America.

One reason for the discrepancy though, was the prices here get (what is currently) 20% VAT (sales tax) added to the prices.  I.e. The adverts and price display in general, would have to include the VAT.  Whereas in America, the sales tax, as well as often being a lot less (such as 6%), is only added to the total, afterwards, and is NOT included in any displayed or advertised prices, in general.
I.e. In America it might say something is $10, but sales tax, still needs to be added to it, such as 6.25%.

I served in the US Army in the late 80's and early 90's, including a posting in Germany for nearly 3 years. My wife had an American friend who was married to a German Air Force officer. I remember taking him as a guest to our Post Exchange (PX), basically a big retail store for US servicemembers and families that sold everything at US prices with no VAT of course. We were allowed to bring guests. He bought a stereo, VCR, and a number of other consumer electronics items. He explained that they were SO much cheaper than German retail prices plus it saved the 17% VAT.

Example:
A while back (less so these days), Petrol/Gasoline prices, were hugely different, between the UK and America, by a very large amount.  Maybe something crazy like a factor of x3 to x7 times cheaper.
[/quote]

Yes, we in the US like to complain when our gas prices go up, but I remind those who have never been overseas that they don't realize how cheap we have it over here. Our gas prices do vary wildly from state to state, as each state can tack on their own taxes and fees to every gallon. Looking at some current stats, California has the highest average gas prices at $4.81/gal (USD) vs $6.07/gal a year ago. Mississippi has the cheapest at $2.99/gal vs $4.18 a year ago. I can remember back in the late 80's in Germany, gas was around $5-6/gal (adjusted for currency and measure). Fortunately we had ration cards that let us buy our gas on US military bases at US prices. Same with cigarettes -- I knew guys that used to pay their rent to their German landlords in cigarettes since they didn't use their rations. Germans always said American cigs were far better and cheaper than German (I wouldn't know, I never smoked).
 
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Offline Veteran68

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It's like watching a Gen-Z's first time with a rotary dial phone. Blows their mind that we could live like such primitive savages.

If you really want to blow a young(er) person's mind, demonstrate* hook-flash dialing (i.e. "dialing" a number on a traditional phone by manually pulsing the hook switch with your finger instead of using the dial or buttons).

*Assuming you can still find a POTS phone and line somewhere ....

I can do you one better. I had some family members in very rural areas who were on a party line. Everyone in the nearby vicinity shared a phone line. You'd pick up the phone to make a call and listen in other people's conversations, LOL.
 
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Offline vad

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Quote from: MK14 link=topic=388282.msg5014741#msg5014741
I also can't really see the benefits of YouTube Premium. (Possible extra help to content creators, aside).
There are two reasons why I chose Premium:

1. It allows me to listen to shows on a locked phone, which is very handy when I am on the go or in a car. I listen to 95+ percent of YouTube content without watching.

2. It is ad-free.
 
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Offline MK14Topic starter

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Quote from: MK14 link=topic=388282.msg5014741#msg5014741
I also can't really see the benefits of YouTube Premium. (Possible extra help to content creators, aside).
There are two reasons why I chose Premium:

1. It allows me to listen to shows on a locked phone, which is very handy when I am on the go or in a car. I listen to 95+ percent of YouTube content without watching.

2. It is ad-free.

Occasionally, that would be a benefit for me as well, but nowhere near £12.99 / months, worth of benefit though.

I try and block adverts, but, just as in your case, I'm sometimes on things which don't easily block adverts.  But on the other hand, if a person is really determined, they can still block a lot of them using other means.  I.e. At the home router (doesn't apply if it is a mobile phone carriers internet access).

I don't want to give YouTube ideas.  But what would have really tempted me, is if they had a fair amount of extra content (a bit like some YouTube channels only offer if you pay them monthly subscriptions, as I understand it, there are various ways of achieving it, some of which don't then use the YouTube platform, for showing those paid for only videos).

Also, if they somehow resolved these massive price discrepancies between countries.

As already mentioned, I can't see how I'd be happy to be paying £12.99, when exactly the same service, is available for a tiny fraction of that price, to a number of countries.

I'm also rather confused, as to how legal and morally right or wrong, accessing YouTube Premium via a VPN and 'pretending' (if I understand things correctly), to be living in another country.

I was also interested in their download/offline options, until I checked into it, and sure enough (as expected).  They have almost totally ruined it by 48 hour timeout limits (although, confusingly 29 days limit, is also mentioned, I'm not sure which applies and when/how), before you have to go online, and (dreaded by many people) DRM.
« Last Edit: August 17, 2023, 03:41:08 pm by MK14 »
 

Offline MK14Topic starter

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I served in the US Army in the late 80's and early 90's, including a posting in Germany for nearly 3 years. My wife had an American friend who was married to a German Air Force officer. I remember taking him as a guest to our Post Exchange (PX), basically a big retail store for US servicemembers and families that sold everything at US prices with no VAT of course. We were allowed to bring guests. He bought a stereo, VCR, and a number of other consumer electronics items. He explained that they were SO much cheaper than German retail prices plus it saved the 17% VAT.

Example:
A while back (less so these days), Petrol/Gasoline prices, were hugely different, between the UK and America, by a very large amount.  Maybe something crazy like a factor of x3 to x7 times cheaper.
Quote
Yes, we in the US like to complain when our gas prices go up, but I remind those who have never been overseas that they don't realize how cheap we have it over here. Our gas prices do vary wildly from state to state, as each state can tack on their own taxes and fees to every gallon. Looking at some current stats, California has the highest average gas prices at $4.81/gal (USD) vs $6.07/gal a year ago. Mississippi has the cheapest at $2.99/gal vs $4.18 a year ago. I can remember back in the late 80's in Germany, gas was around $5-6/gal (adjusted for currency and measure). Fortunately we had ration cards that let us buy our gas on US military bases at US prices. Same with cigarettes -- I knew guys that used to pay their rent to their German landlords in cigarettes since they didn't use their rations. Germans always said American cigs were far better and cheaper than German (I wouldn't know, I never smoked).

Thanks, that was very interesting.  In the past, those price savings were rather noticeable, so I can well understand why they happily bought all that equipment, such as the VCR, and why people like to save money on the Petrol/Gasoline, if given half a chance.

I didn't know that military bases, could sell goods, from their home country, at home country prices.

It is a bit like getting anyone who is holidaying in America, or coming from America to visit the UK.  To (legally) bring back cheaper or much cheaper goods (I think there are limits on how much VAT, can be legally ignored, on a per person basis).

On top of all that, there are the complications of the exchange rates.  E.g. Some countries, have extremely good exchange rates, so that people from the UK, can effectively visit there, and have huge buying power, especially for locally produced stuff or services, rather than imported stuff.

E.g. A meal at a restaurant might cost £20 or more, here in the UK, but might only be a few pound, in some other countries (exchange rate permitting).  I'm not sure, how cheap or not such things are currently, but in the past, they could be extremely lucrative.
 

Offline Bud

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At food courts in malls food is much cheaper and better than in most of restaurants here. Like 3-4 times cheaper. No i am not talking burgers.
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Offline themadhippy

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Quote
I didn't know that military bases, could sell goods, from their home country, at home country prices.
If the nafi in germany had tried that in the 90's they'd have been riots,think it was  1 deutsche mark for a beer,about half the price of  the uk.cigarettes were also much cheaper,even compared to  than the  duty free price.Needless to say any spare space in the van was soon was filled with  packs of fags.
 
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Offline MK14Topic starter

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At food courts in malls food is much cheaper and better than in most of restaurants here. Like 3-4 times cheaper. No i am not talking burgers.

Yes, but if you're in a foreign to yourself country.  Many people prefer to eat out and neither have the inclination or cooking apparatus available, to make meals.  E.g. A standard hotel room, without cooking equipment.
 

Offline langwadt

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At food courts in malls food is much cheaper and better than in most of restaurants here. Like 3-4 times cheaper. No i am not talking burgers.

Yes, but if you're in a foreign to yourself country.  Many people prefer to eat out and neither have the inclination or cooking apparatus available, to make meals.  E.g. A standard hotel room, without cooking equipment.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food_court
 
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Offline MK14Topic starter

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food_court

Yes, I misunderstood their reply.  I think they are still somewhat rare in the UK, and that term, seemed to cause confusion with me.  As I was thinking of Food Halls, such as Marks & Spencers, food selling area(s), from quite a while back.

Some UK motorway service stations and airports, can have things which are similar to these Food Courts.
 

Offline MK14Topic starter

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Moving back on-topic, and updating this thread with my latest thoughts.

As I see it, this YouTube Premium subscription, currently only seems to be suitable to a minority of the people who use YouTube, everyday.

It could be that the people involved, are at the lower end of the income bracket, or retired, or in education.  They may not be especially interested in much of what TV/Movies can offer.  So for these and many other reasons, many, many people, WON'T be getting a YouTube Premium subscription.

So, I'm disappointed that YouTube are limiting YouTube's features and capabilities, in some respects, for non-subscribers.

Thinking out aloud.  Another fundamental, method of working it, would be having an internet money system.  Where, when people pay access fees to go on the internet (broadband monthly connection charges, mobile phone charges, internet cafe charges etc).  They could charge one amount, but it could be split into two parts (a bit like taxation systems).

So, a percentage of the bill, e.g. 25%, could go towards paying people/things/websites, depending on what percentage and amount of the overall worlds internet traffic, they process.

E.g. A bit like how some countries (in theory), pay for their expensive road infrastructure by adding a tax for the sale of Petrol/Gasoline, that fund (tax) can then be used to pay for better/new roads and similar.  (In practice governments tend to just see it as a new way of stealing obtaining money from hard working people, and then using it for their own agendas).

So in the UK, we have pot-holes in some roads, which damage our cars (in some cases) and we have to pay big bills to get the car fixed (because of the pot-holes), and we have to pay ever increasing bills for car tax (disc's, although paperless now), and Petrol/Gasoline fuel duties, which are sky high, percentage wise.

They even dilute the petrol, before we even get it, rumoured to reduce the MPG we get (by adding Bio-Ethanol to it, so only some of the percentage of fuel we get is actual Petrol, around 95% or 90% is actual Petrol, I'm not sure).

So that world wide 'internet tax', could be distributed, to help pay for things like YouTube.  The fact that, that payment would also go to competitors of YouTube.  I think, would be a good thing.

But there would be potentially bad things, from what I suggest.  Bandwidth consumption, doesn't actually equate to good quality content.  If you don't agree, then please watch YouTube shorts for 24 hours, without a break, and see if you do, after that.
« Last Edit: August 18, 2023, 10:41:37 am by MK14 »
 

Offline langwadt

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Moving back on-topic, and updating this thread with my latest thoughts.

As I see it, this YouTube Premium subscription, currently only seems to be suitable to a minority of the people who use YouTube, everyday.

It could be that the people involved, are at the lower end of the income bracket, or retired, or in education.  They may not be especially interested in much of what TV/Movies can offer.  So for these and many other reasons, many, many people, WON'T be getting a YouTube Premium subscription.

So, I'm disappointed that YouTube are limiting YouTube's features and capabilities, in some respects, for non-subscribers.

they are offering a free and paid service, deal with it. if you don't like service you can stop using it

Thinking out aloud.  Another fundamental, method of working it, would be having an internet money system.  Where, when people pay access fees to go on the internet (broadband monthly connection charges, mobile phone charges, internet cafe charges etc).  They could charge one amount, but it could be split into two parts (a bit like taxation systems).

So, a percentage of the bill, e.g. 25%, could go towards paying people/things/websites, depending on what percentage and amount of the overall worlds internet traffic, they process.

Otherwise, we would end up turning the entire world, into some kind of communist/socialist singularity.

and now you want some elaborate tax system???

They even dilute the petrol, before we even get it, rumoured to reduce the MPG we get (by adding Bio-Ethanol to it, so only some of the percentage of fuel we get is actual Petrol, around 95% or 90% is actual Petrol, I'm not sure).

the don't "dilute" the petrol, ethanol works as an octane booster and it is a helluva lot better than using MTBE or worse lead

 
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Offline MK14Topic starter

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they are offering a free and paid service, deal with it. if you don't like service you can stop using it

But they have cornered the 'YouTube' market, and become the main/primary go to place, for watching or precenting your own, videos.  I.e. They are effectively a monopoly.  So it is all very well to suggest, stopping the use of YouTube.  But if the competition, only has a tiny fraction of the video content, and if putting ones own videos up on a competitors platform, meant it would get hardly any views or revenue.

So, 100% ignoring YouTube, would seriously mess up that capability/option in life.

and now you want some elaborate tax system???

I don't want to be a one party problem solver, who always sticks to the Left, Right or Middle ground of politics.  If something seems to be a viable solution and good idea, that is probably more important than the ideas political leanings.
I'm suggesting a percentage of (something like 25% of the total charges for internet) what are already being paid for internet connection charges.  Not a new dictatorship, which grabs 100% of everyone's earnings.

On the other hand, starting off things like that on a small scale, can eventually lead to massive political monoliths.  E.g. The original EEC, which was just to start out with a common market for certain limited food stuffs, nothing else.  Eventually became the EU, with proposals for it to have its own army.

tthe don't "dilute" the petrol, ethanol works as an octane booster and it is a helluva lot better than using MTBE or worse lead

There seem to be suggestions, on the internet, that it can cause the Petrol to attract/absorb too much water, and then corrode certain parts of the car, such as the fuel tanks, and hence damage cars.  There are also suggestions, that some older cars, especially ones from before 2010 (and especially older than 2000).  May not be able to use the higher percentage (such as 10%, E10), Ethanol containing Petrol/Gasoline.
« Last Edit: August 18, 2023, 09:16:37 pm by MK14 »
 

Offline langwadt

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just admit it, you want stuff for free or other people to pay for it, that's not how it works, YT is not a charity

and car manufacturers don't make cars that can't handle fuel that is sold at the pump, it would be stupid. That +20 year old cars could maybe, sometimes, have minor problems with some modern fuel is a non-issue, there are old cars that can't handle lead-free fuel
 
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Offline Veteran68

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But the fact is YT is not denying you access to the platform or content. They're limiting bitrate/resolution and requiring ads unless you pay a modest fee. If you want to enjoy high bitrate and no ads, you pay for that. Simple. It's how a capitalist system works. You pay more for Hulu or Peacock or HBO Max without ads than with ads. You pay more for 4K Netflix than for lower resolutions. Back in the early days of HDTV you paid a significant premium for HD content, if you could get it all.

YT is a private business, and they do have competitors even if they're small by comparison. But many creators, including Dave and Defpom, simultaneously post their content to multiple platforms, such as Odysee, for those that don't like YT.
 
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Offline gnuarm

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They even dilute the petrol, before we even get it, rumoured to reduce the MPG we get (by adding Bio-Ethanol to it, so only some of the percentage of fuel we get is actual Petrol, around 95% or 90% is actual Petrol, I'm not sure).

the don't "dilute" the petrol, ethanol works as an octane booster and it is a helluva lot better than using MTBE or worse lead

There's no reason why octane has to be "boosted".   But he is right that adding ethanol lowers the mileage of the fuel. 
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