[Discuss] [Slightly OT] Streaming video services?

[Scott Ehrlich]

We don't subscribe to any premium channels, but we have seen The
Newsroom (HBO) and Homeland (Showtime) and we like those shows.

There are various shows and movies that no station I have in FIOS carry.

I have a Mac at home, and we have other i-Devices.

No interest in dumping FIOS, and we plan to keep the existing FIOS DVR service.

We have discovered, through various FIOS promotions, that the premium
services, such as HBO, Showtime, etc, simply don't offer us enough to
actually subscribe to them.

So, we have streaming services - Amazon, Hulu, Blockbuster, Netflix,
Redbox is evolving, among others.   Their average price is $8/month,
which is fine with us.

I have been reading various reviews, and, obviously, nobody is
perfect.   Many reviews report that although Netflix has lost a great
subscriber base, they still have an incredibly large library.

Hulu might be a major partnership today, but they apparently have a
limited selection, and they have ads (ads are no big deal, just
mentioning it).

No plans to buy movies/shows, just have expanded flexibility to watch
more things, when we want.

Who likes which service, and why?

Which company should I run away from, and why?

Several reviews are approaching a year old, so present-day insights
are most welcome.

I have a Linux laptop I might very well press into service, if the
subscription service we go with supports it.  If they don't, I have no
problems requesting support for Linux.

Thanks for any/all insights.

Scott