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Keeping track of my entertainment these days is super difficult

Deleted member 42

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Oct 24, 2017
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So I was making a Word doc to keep track of all the shows/games/sports/etc I wanted to be aware of, and the absurdity of doing that kinda hit me a bit.

At the risk of sounding like An Old, I kinda miss the days where entertainment wasn't so:

Affordable/on a small monthly subscription
Easily accessible on all devices
Spread out over many different services and mediums

It tends to lead to an embarrassment of riches, except it isn't just TV anymore (with cable back in the day), it is literally:

Games
Movies
Music
Sports
TV

I haven't had cable in over a decade, but I have had streaming networks from time to time. I have a bit more money now, and the amount of monthly services I have is admittedly too gargantuan, even though they all serve a purpose. I'm cutting out the ones I don't use, so here's the list of the main things I have:


Media Services:

Amazon Prime
ESPN+
Giant Bomb Premium
HBO Now
Hulu
Netflix
Sling TV
XfinityStream
Youtube Premium


Music Services:

Sirius XM
Spotify



Game Services:

GamePass
Origin Access
Switch Online


I'll swap online gaming subs from time to time depending, and GB/HBO/Netflix will fall off at some point, but even then, it's everything ever, and it is admittedly super daunting to me.

I'm generally pretty goal oriented/like to focus on a few things at one time, but with so many things out there, all needing to be tracked separately, it freezes me up when I want to 'maximize' my time. And with new ones like Disney+ on the horizon, I don't think it's going to get any better.

Anybody else run into this issue? How do you track/consolidate the things you want to watch/play/listen to? I feel like Apple's TV app does a real good job of consolidating this, but that's only on my iPhone and my iPad.
 
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subpar spatula

subpar spatula

Member
Oct 26, 2017
15,328
i gave up on consolidating. too early to worry about the hassle. i just subscribe to things i actively use like netflix, amazon, spotify, etc. if i dont use it generally i dont subscribe to it. we do have a spreadsheet for anything reoccuring going on credit cards which those media things go on.
 
jon bones

jon bones

Member
Oct 25, 2017
19,271
NYC
I'm glad I'm not the only one - I've started to use Google's Excel app with different tabs for different mediums.

The new Apple TV app has helped a lot as well.
 
Maximum Spider

Maximum Spider

Member
Oct 25, 2017
10,548
Cleveland, OH
That's way too much stuff for me to keep track of.

I just recently cancelled my Netflix subscription because I'd finished watching the new shows I wanted to see. Now i'm subscribing to Hulu and will be doing the same thing with that service when i've finished watching what i've wanted to watch. Knowing what I want to watch also saves me from wasting time on Netflix(and other services) aimlessly scrolling and watching things out of any sense of obligation/boredom.

Same goes for online gaming subscriptions. There's no way I can justify having an active supscription to Nitenedo, PSN and Xbox Live at the same time.
 
Fright Zone

Fright Zone

Member
Dec 17, 2017
2,133
London
Who the hell has time to watch/use a worthwhile amount of content on that many services?

I only ever sub to one or two services at once. Cancel them when I’ve seen all the things I really wanted to see, then maybe sub to another for a while, etc.
 

Deleted member 2625

User requested account closure
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Oct 25, 2017
4,596
I just put all my subs as recurring annual Reminders in my phone with a week-ahead alarm. Same with 1 month trials.
 
OP
OP

Deleted member 42

user requested account closure
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Oct 24, 2017
16,939
Sweeney Swift said:
And here I thought I was getting out of hand with just Spotify, Shudder, cable with HBO, and the Criterion Channel...
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Gimme that Criterion Channel chief

I think the main problem is that I worked out so many shared deals/accounts for things that it's overload city. Like I probably pay only half of the cost on all of those services.

Fright Zone said:
Who the hell has time to watch/use a worthwhile amount of content on that many services?
Click to expand...
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This guy!
 
Minishdriveby

Minishdriveby

Member
Oct 25, 2017
3,237
I did in past years. Just TV shows, books, music, movies, and games I would be interested in experiencing, not a list of the services that provide them, although this year I worry less about keeping track of what I want to experience and focusing more on what I am experiencing in the moment.
 

Disco54

Banned
Apr 26, 2019
28
So much stuff that are around nowadays. Games, movies, and tv shows. it is hard to keep track of everything.
 
Aftermath

Aftermath

Member
Oct 27, 2017
3,756
I’ve heard this is supposed to be good, i’m going to try it out this weekend

https://trakt.tv

Track all your music & films on here rather than a spreadsheet

There is a section to discover things you may like & lists etc

Judt use the free rather than the vip (paid for section)
 

Deleted member 11985

User requested account closure
Banned
Oct 27, 2017
4,168
If you can't even remember what you want to watch, then are you going to remember it after you do watch it? I say only watch the things you don't have to make spreadsheets to plan out for. The things that are on the top of your mind all the time like "oh boy, I can't wait to watch X."
 
Coyote Starrk

Coyote Starrk

The Fallen
Oct 30, 2017
25,956
I am in the same boat.
- Streams
- Shows
- Movies
- Channels
- Anime

I have a list of literally 11 things I want to get caught up on, but I am strapped for time.
 
slabrock

slabrock

Member
Oct 25, 2017
1,668
I've go so many games and TV shows in my backlog it is hard to just get started. Between all of my games on PS4 and Steam and having Netflix, Amazon Prime and Hulu I just can't decide where to start. At least it isn't football season (NFL draft right now though) and WWE sucks so I don't waste time with that.
 
Baccus

Baccus

Banned
Dec 4, 2018
5,307
It's ridiculous. And the worst part is that I had the sudden realization that I spent too much time consuming entertainment. I shouldn't. People are more important.
 
OP
OP

Deleted member 42

user requested account closure
Banned
Oct 24, 2017
16,939
Z-Beat said:
Maybe you should just get cable.
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I probably pay like 50$ a month for all of those max

Baccus said:
It's ridiculous. And the worst part is that I had the sudden realization that I spent too much time consuming entertainment. I shouldn't. People are more important.
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This is another big thing for me too, you can get really lost in the weeds with all the content consumption you can do nowadays
 
StrangerDanger

StrangerDanger

Member
Jul 18, 2018
4,098
I had to make an Excel file for my GF and I to keep track of shows we watch. It's gotten that bad because of amount of stuff out there and on various platforms, so sometimes we had to cut off subscriptions and never finished show fully or we forgot. But the list itself is madness. Backlog is going to get worse than my steam backlog in a year I bet
 
OP
OP

Deleted member 42

user requested account closure
Banned
Oct 24, 2017
16,939
OP
OP

Deleted member 42

user requested account closure
Banned
Oct 24, 2017
16,939
And if you REALLY wanna go all the way into hell, there's all the free ad-supported services too like Filmrise/Pluto TV/Tubi TV

BAIL OUT
 
Cirrus

Cirrus

Member
Oct 25, 2017
808
Yeah, It's too complicated for a Word Doc.

I use Excel but sometimes I wonder If I should learn to use Access or something else so I can make a decent interface for it.
 
Jessi77

Jessi77

Avenger
Oct 29, 2017
5,594
Massachusetts
I subscribe or have access to

Netflix
Hulu
Prime
Philo tv
Shudder
Spotify family
PSN
PSNow
Marvel Unlimited

Edit: also HBO but I always forget it because I get it through Hulu and it integrates with all my Hulu content so I never look for HBO only stuff, and never use their dedicated app because it sucks...

All but the game stuff is shared among my immediate family so it all gets used, plus both me and my mother use the library.

I tried the keep track of what I want to do and that’s too much and overwhelming. I find it easier now to have a small notepad for each media type (movie, books, etc) except music since I interact with that differently and now I just write down when I have finished something and a blurb on what I thought. That way I can track things but without turning my entertainment consumption into a chore/job.
 
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Coyote Starrk

Coyote Starrk

The Fallen
Oct 30, 2017
25,956
Slayven said:
Comics are cool now, making excel sheets to catalog your schedule will never be.
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Says you! I bet there is some bonafide 11/10 supermodel out there just impatiently waiting for the day that someone shows her their Excel sheet to-do list.


Literally. Waiting. Slayven. That could be you, but you too busy judging.....for shame.
 
Rad Bandolar

Rad Bandolar

Member
Oct 25, 2017
4,036
SoCal
BronsonLee said:
So I was making a Word doc to keep track of all the shows/games/sports/etc I wanted to be aware of, and the absurdity of doing that kinda hit me a bit.

At the risk of sounding like An Old, I kinda miss the days where entertainment wasn't so:

Affordable/on a small monthly subscription
Easily accessible on all devices
Spread out over many different services and mediums

It tends to lead to an embarrassment of riches, except it isn't just TV anymore (with cable back in the day), it is literally:

Games
Movies
Music
Sports
TV

I haven't had cable in over a decade, but I have had streaming networks from time to time. I have a bit more money now, and the amount of monthly services I have is admittedly too gargantuan, even though they all serve a purpose. I'm cutting out the ones I don't use, so here's the list of the main things I have:


Media Services:

Amazon Prime
ESPN+
Giant Bomb Premium
HBO Now
Hulu
Netflix
Sling TV
XfinityStream
Youtube Premium


Music Services:

Sirius XM
Spotify



Game Services:

GamePass
Origin Access
Switch Online


I'll swap online gaming subs from time to time depending, and GB/HBO/Netflix will fall off at some point, but even then, it's everything ever, and it is admittedly super daunting to me.

I'm generally pretty goal oriented/like to focus on a few things at one time, but with so many things out there, all needing to be tracked separately, it freezes me up when I want to 'maximize' my time. And with new ones like Disney+ on the horizon, I don't think it's going to get any better.

Anybody else run into this issue? How do you track/consolidate the things you want to watch/play/listen to? I feel like Apple's TV app does a real good job of consolidating this, but that's only on my iPhone and my iPad.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
You’re not that old yet. At some point you reach the stage where most of this shit doesn’t matter to you and you’re fine with missing it. The fear of missing out will go away and you’ll just check out a handful of things that you know will appeal to you (instead of getting excited because it’s hyped by others).

At that point, you’ll be like, “I can do well with Hulu+ & Amazon Prime” while putting on your comfy slippers and taking a nap in the afternoon, before noticing the kids have fucked with the thermostat again and you can feel the money leaving your wallet. You fuckers can live with 78. God damn.

Anyway, Apple TV sounds like it might be a good idea.
 
ThatMeanScene

ThatMeanScene

The Fallen
Oct 25, 2017
6,070
Miami, FL
This same thing has been on my mind in the past. Thankfully I became super busy with school so I cut everything out except for Netflix and PlayStation Plus. I'm still paying for cable though as I have family that has to have Spanish language channels and they can barely navigate the cable box interface as is.
 
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