CBS All Access

[8/31/16] Discontinued my CBS All Access subscription after I finished watching Supergirl and CSI: Cyber (the available episodes anyway) and I saw that Netflix picked up all the Limitless.  One of the questions they asked when exiting was the reason for discontinuing.  Too much commercials was one of my options.

Now I see they have a commercial free plan for $10/month.  Commercial free sounds good.  But $10/month?  I guess that's not that bad, but that's the same price as Netflix.  I guess we're all spoiled by the Netflix price.

[6/9/15] Decided to try out CBS All Access a couple of weeks ago because Letterman was going off the air and I missed the last couple of weeks.  (And it wasn't On Demand on Oceanic.)  I've been using it mostly on my Roku, but sometimes on my iPad or computers.

I found out that I could use my CBS Rewards to get a free month (and that I needed to use it because CBS Rewards was going kaput).  So I redeemed it and tried to apply it.  But I don't know if it worked because the screen hung up when I put in the code.  And when I try to access my account on CBS.com, my credit card is not available (bad sign).  I get the following message: "Your Account, Billing and Payment Information is currently unavailable. Please call customer service for assistance: (888) 274-5343."  Another bad sign.  So we'll see when my card gets charged.

Hey, but I guess the free month code worked because I see a message in my CBS All-Access account area saying "Enjoy your Free Trial Through June 28, 2015".

Anyway, here's what I noticed so far.

The picture seems a little dark for some reason.

Sometimes there's buffering.  Sometimes there's a lot of buffering.  And sometimes there's a long wait as it buffers.  Sure my internet speed isn't that fast.  And sure I'm using an old, slow Roku HD.  But don't have this problem on Netflix or Hulu Plus.

And there's a lot of commercials.  A lot more than Hulu Plus.  And you get the same commercials over and over.  Currently Expedia is the one that keeps playing over and over.  It's a snappy commercial but after watching it seemingly every five minutes, it gets a bit tiresome after the fourth or fifth time.  And all this time watching it, I still can't make out all the words that the woman is singing.

And you can watch what's on CBS Live, but only in selected areas (not in Hawaii).

You get all this season's episodes for current CBS shows.  NCIS fans will be happy to know that all 24 episodes of season 12 are available.  Also all this season's episodes of NCIS: Los Angeles and NCIS: New Orleans.  And Scorpion and Hawaii Five-O, and Elementary, etc.

But not all the shows.  For example, only 7 episodes of The Big Bang Theory, 7 episodes of CSI: Cyber, 7 episodes of 2 Broke Girls, 7 episodes of Mom.  6 episodes of The Mentalist.  And now only 2 episodes left of Late Night with David Letterman (and counting down).

They do have some "classic shows", like Everybody Hates Chris, Star Trek, MacGyver, and a bunch more.  But most of these (if not all of them) are also on Hulu.

After I finish watching the Scorpion finale (and maybe some CSI Cyber and NCIS: Los Angeles), I'm on the fence about renewing.

[4/7/15] CBS's internet TV service is arriving on Roku today. For $5.99 a month, Roku owners will be able to subscribe to CBS All Access, which gives subscribers streams of many current and past CBS TV series and allows viewers to actually watch CBS as it's live on the air, so long as they're within certain areas. It's the exact service that people who want to ditch cable are looking for, making this an important grab for Roku. Though All Access has already been available on the web and through iOS and Android apps, the addition makes Roku — which already has a huge number of online channels — an even more compelling option for those looking for a device that'll let them cancel cable.

For now, CBS All Access' killer feature — the ability to watch CBS as it's airing live — is only available in 14 markets. That includes New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, Dallas, San Francisco, Boston, Detroit, Minneapolis, Miami, Denver, Sacramento, Pittsburgh, and Baltimore. CBS says that more locations are coming "soon," but it doesn't mention where or exactly when. Notably, those live streams do not include NFL games, though other sports content is available.

CBS does mention that you can expect to see All Access on more platforms very soon. "The launch of the CBS All Access channel marks the first of many connected device platforms we’ll be bringing this service to in the coming months," Marc DeBevoise, a CBS Interactive exec, says in a statement. One would expect the Apple TV to be among those, but Apple has exclusives of its own for now: for the next three months, it's the only streaming box that's going to have HBO Now. There's a good chance that'll be more of a sales hook that CBS.

[10/16/14] Netflix got even more competition this week, a day after HBO revealed that it will introduce a stand-alone streaming service in 2015: CBS released a digital subscription video-on-demand service, "CBS All Access," on Thursday.

The new product -- which costs $5.99 per month -- will be measured by Nielsen, the network said.

"All Access" offers episodes from the network's current season, previous seasons and classic shows on-demand. Viewers are also able to stream local CBS TV stations live in 14 of the biggest U.S. markets, including New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, Dallas, San Francisco, Boston, Detroit, Minneapolis, Miami, Denver, Sacramento, Pittsburgh and Baltimore.

The service is currently available at CBS.com and on mobile devices through the CBS App for iOS and Android. Non-subscribers will still be able to access to the most recent current episodes of CBS programming on CBS.com, select CBS Audience Network partner sites and through the CBS App.

Here's what is included at launch, per the press release:

- Full current seasons of 15 primetime shows with episodes available the day after they air.

- Unprecedented ability to live stream local CBS stations in 14 of the largest markets at launch, with more to be added as affiliates join the new service.

- Full past seasons of eight major current series, including THE GOOD WIFE, BLUE BLOODS and SURVIVOR.

- More than 5,000 episodes of CBS Classics, including every episode of STAR TREK, CHEERS, MACGYVER, TWIN PEAKS and CSI: MIAMI.

- Access to exclusive additional content for CBS Television's biggest special events, such as THE GRAMMY® AWARDS, THE ACADEMY OF COUNTRY MUSIC AWARDS and THE VICTORIA'S SECRET FASHION SHOW.

- Ability to stream the BIG BROTHER 24/7 Live Feeds service for no additional fee when the show returns next summer.

- Advertising-free environment for all CBS Classics.

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Don't you get a lot of this now with their app and website.  Well, I guess you get only the most recent shows and not all of their classics.

Actually most, if not all, of the CBS Classics are currently on Netflix.  So I'm wondering if they're going to pull them off.  And interestingly I don't see NCIS or the new Hawaii Five-O mentioned as a series with full past seasons.  Well, going to NCIS, it says you can "watch the full season" with All Access.  No such mention for Hawaii Five-O or The Mentalist.  Blue Bloods says "Watch Full Seasons".    Hawaii Five-O and The Mentalist just says "Watch It Live Watch It Later".