How much does Discovery+ suck?

[Marilyn Manson]

Here?s a list of some of the technical issues with the Discovery+ streaming service. I?m a couple of weeks into my free 6 month trial and so far I?m not impressed at all. I?ve experienced many of these issues, on different devices, including smart TV?s and Fire sticks.

I consider myself technologically savvy, but that doesn?t mean that - even though I can - I want to go through all the cache clears, app reinstalls, router resets, etc. suggested as *possible* fixes.

Worst part is when it?s not even me that?s watching, like when it crashes while SWMBO is watching. I have to drop what I?m doing and fix it for her.

Based on my experience so far, there?s no way I?d pay for this service.

[angelica...]

We've been using Discovery+ for several months, and I don't recall any issues. Or at least no more so than any other streaming interface. To me, it seems like HBO Max is the most prone to getting itself locked up.

We watch exclusively on a Samsung smart TV.

Cindy Hamilton

[Ed Pawlowski]

I'm not a heavy uses but for the few months I've had it, no problem. I use my Fire TV to access it. I signed up for the commercial free, worth the few bucks a month to avoid them

[Jim Joyce]

My son subscribes to every streaming service that I've heard of and he shares his logins with us. We watch exclusively through Roku devices and haven't had issues with any of the streaming services.

[Marilyn Manson]

I'm glad it's working out for you, I think.

You don't recall *any* issues but at the same time the problem frequency is "no more so than any other streaming interface". So which is it? No issues at all or some issues?

Either way, the issues I am having appear to be common enough that they are mentioned on a website dedicated to a host of problems. My favorite was the DRM error. I had "How It's Made" streaming for a few hours, kind of as background noise while I was doing stuff around the house. Suddenly the sound stopped, so the next time I passed the TV I took a look.

I had a DRM (Digital Rights Management) error and some verbiage about a "problem playing protected content". Huh? The same show had been playing for hours, episode after episode. I turned off the TV, turned it back on and continued watching "How It's Made" for a few more hours. What happened to the "protected content" issue? Poof... gone.

DAGS 'discoveryplus problems'. It ain't just me.

[Jim Joyce]

That sounds like an HDCP error. IOW, local to you. Check your HDMI connections.

[angelica...]

I don't recall any issues. It's possible there were issues that I don't recall. Therefore, I consider it comparable to other streaming services. The occasional nuisance lockup, perhaps, but not enough for me to say it sucks.

It ain't me, though.

Cindy Hamilton

[Marilyn Manson]

If it were an HDMI issue, I'd expect it to happen more than once. So far, that's not happening. Just the one time, and nothing changed before or after that error showed up. No other issues with any other app on my Fire Stick.

Last night I got both of these errors within hours of each other. Both errors occurred in the middle of shows, i.e. not when I was just starting to to access a show or video.

In neither case did "Try again" work. In both cases, going Home on my Fire Stick and then re-opening Discover + resolved the issue. That's always the fix on that TV.

On my Smart TV (Samsung, hardwired to the router) choosing Source and choosing the D+ app (again) usually solves any issue. However, on that TV, the Rewind and Fast Forward features are really cumbersome. The 10 second feature does nothing. In addition, unlike my cable DVR box, you can't tell where you are moving to. If you want to replay a scene, but you don't know when it was, you have to hunt and peck and hope you find it. At least with YouTube you get a still image so you have a general idea of where you are headed. With D+ all I can set is the rewind speed, but I have no idea where it is going to land.

[Jim Joyce]

Your description of the error, and the corrective action, is what makes it look like an HDCP error. (High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection)

HDCP is a handshaking protocol, where two connected HDMI devices ask each other to produce their license before they continue to use the HDMI connection. The HDCP handshake should happen very quickly and transparently, but when it fails you see an error message about not being able to play DRM content, or something to the effect of not being able to play copy-protected content. There are multiple ways to reinitialize the HDCP handshake, including the power cycling that you mentioned above.

HDCP errors usually occur at the very beginning of DRM playback, but I've seen reports of them happening at any time during playback, so my guess is that the HDCP handshake is periodically reaccomplished during playback.

If HDCP is indeed the culprit, there are a couple of ways to fix it. First, don't use HDMI. Component video, for example, offers the same video quality as HDMI but without the HDCP. Or, as the article linked below shows, you can insert a cheap HDMI splitter into the link that goes to your TV. Normally, though, it's just a bad HDMI cable or flaky HDMI connections at either end.

[Marilyn Manson]

Thanks for the explanation. It wasn't needed since I know what HDCP is, but thanks anyway.

The cables I use are quality HDMI cables that have never exhibited any issues until Digital+ was installed. If I wasn't experiencing other issues, and on more than one TV, I wouldn't be so skeptical about it being a cable problem.

In any case, I shouldn't have to buy new hardware or reconfigure my set-ups just to accommodate an app that is known to have all sorts of varying issues. Like I said, I'm in the first few weeks of a free trial. If the issues continue, I'll just let the subscription lapse. I have no desire to fight with a flaky app on multiple devices. Maybe they will have figured out why so many people are complaining about it by the time my trial ends. We'll see.

[Tekkie©]

On Tue, 01 Jun 2021 12:25:05 -0500, Jim Joyce posted for all of us to digest...

If it's flaky connections then get stabilent 22 that clare synder posted. Works, great

[Tekkie©]

On Mon, 31 May 2021 09:47:48 -0400, Ed Pawlowski posted for all of us to digest...

You mean they charge and have ads too? I won't go for this because there annoying ads on the regular channel or repeats.

[Marilyn Manson]

$4.99/month with commercials, $6.99 without.

All else aside, the price is right and the extra $2/month is well worth it - until they suck enough people in and then start slowly ratcheting up the subscription fee.

Granted, there's a lot of crap to sort through. If I want to watch 600 lb people waddle around, I'll go to Wally World and listen to the scooters complain.

[Jim Joyce]

OK, no problem. I hope things smooth out for you. I'm not seeing any issues here, with D+ or any of the other major streaming services.

[Marilyn Manson]

Yeah, that?s the thing. If I was having issues with any other apps, I?d say that my equipment was at fault, but it?s only D+.

Just this afternoon, on the hardwired TV, (not the one with the DRM issue) I was watching Homicide Hunter. The episodes just flow one right after the other, usually. This time, one episode ended, the next one started but after the first few seconds, the white circle showed up and it sat there spinning for at least 5 minutes until I decided to shut it off and go do something else.

[Ed Pawlowski]

Two plans. 4.99 with commercials, 7.99 with no commercials. I'm willing to pay $3 to watch without them

[Ed Pawlowski]

Correct, I posted 7.00 but it is 6.99

[Tekkie©]

On Tue, 1 Jun 2021 21:00:13 -0400, Ed Pawlowski posted for all of us to digest...

Whatta bargin!

[rbowman]

I didn't have the sound on but the TV on the stair climber at the gym was hawking Discovery+ constantly.

I usually turn it off but there was a show on about buying cheap, and I mean $5000, houses in Detroit, fixing them up and reselling them. I've seen chicken coops that were more livable than some of them but after putting $60,000 in they figured they could move it for $80,000.

i don't know what neighborhoods they were in but I didn't see a mount for a Ma Deuce on the front porch to handle the traditional Detroit trick or treaters.

Sorry if I strayed to close to home repair. The guys were getting a lot of use out of sledge hammers and Sawzalls. Personally I would have went with 5 gallons of Citgo's finest and a fresh start.

[angelica...]

This Old House did a season in Detroit a few years ago:

Cindy Hamilton