Streaming devices that permit "clean" play through?

[Ryan Gallagher]

Anyone aware of any 1080p or 4K streaming devices that don't do annoying things like clobber the credits with menus and ads, with no way to disable them?

I would use it at home if I knew which ones behaved nice relative to the content. But also shopping for a booth streaming player that can pass as a backup in a pinch for 35mm/70mm screenings. Getting all the way through credits would be ideal. Holding a pause indefinitely would be a plus too. Must have wired internet.

My Personal AppleTV 4K+Ethernet doesn't fit the bill. Clobbers credits, but it does let you set it to never sleep or screensaver, and can be set to forced 24p, it's HDMI only audio out is a bit of a bummer though.

How are Roku, Android TV, Fire-Stick in these areas?

My worry is that the credits behavior is app/sub-platform dependent, so maybe the question is which purchase/rental streaming platforms don't do that?

Amusingly the cleanest 1080p feed I can manage is on my mac using the apple TV desktop app, with the primary video on a 2nd monitor... the UI stays in another window elsewhere and it gets the clobber like updates over there. I'm not sure if the app will support 4K, my mac is too old to try.

[Randy Stankey]

To be honest, most of the things you don't like are because of software, not hardware.

You can use the VLC app on your AppleTV and you should be able to get a movie to play through, seamlessly. It should be able to play at any resolution your Apple TV can play. If your original content is 24 FPS, the AppleTV with VLC should be able to play that, too.

AppleTV/VLC can play from NAS (network storage) if you hook an appropriate hard drive up to your local network. It might take a bit of fussing to point the app to your NAS but it does work.

I ripped some of my old DVD and BluRay collection to my NAS and I watch movies in my living room on a regular basis.

It might take some practice to show movies to the public without showing menus on the screen but you can do it. You'll just have to work out your own methods, depending on what you want to do and how things are set up.

[Ryan Gallagher]

To be honest, most of the things you don't like are because of software, not hardware.

You can use the VLC app on your AppleTV and you should be able to get a movie to play through, seamlessly. It should be able to play at any resolution your Apple TV can play. If your original content is 24 FPS, the AppleTV with VLC should be able to play that, too.

AppleTV/VLC can play from NAS (network storage) if you hook an appropriate hard drive up to your local network. It might take a bit of fussing to point the app to your NAS but it does work.

I ripped some of my old DVD and BluRay collection to my NAS and I watch movies in my living room on a regular basis.

It might take some practice to show movies to the public without showing menus on the screen but you can do it. You'll just have to work out your own methods, depending on what you want to do and how things are set up.

But the VLC app can’t play Apple purchased content can it? Maybe I’m not aware and there is a way to download purchased films, but I feel like we are in the “you’ll own nothing and like it era”.

We have playout methods when we own media or have made a local rip. We try to buy blu-rays for all that.

But shipping errors happen, or sometimes simply not available. I’m asking about emergency use when 15min till doors the original plan falls apart and there is a high quality stream available to rent or buy via the various platforms. Another use case is we often slap on Disney+ films for summer camp kids, but the menu overlays are less an issue there.

Maybe Google/YT movies is another provider I did not mention that behaves better.

A booth NAS and app connected to a local library is an eventual goal too, avoid physical media glitches, and faster than converting to DCP. But not a resource we have yet.

[Randy Stankey]

VLC can play streamed content: https://www.videolan.org/vlc/download-appletv.html
Whether it can play streams from Apple, I don't know. I think it would be more an issue of getting the right link/address of the stream than whether the device/app can play said stream.

I don't know because I don't do monthly subscriptions. If I want to watch something I buy a gift card to pay for NetFlix, et. al.

[Ryan Gallagher]

I expect "rented" titles ability to stream in 3rd party apps is pretty limited. But I've never investigated. Purchased titles from the various platforms might be in a slightly different category with a few more options available.

Most platforms don't even let you download a file. But Apple still does. However the iTunes file that shows up for HD or better content is a .movpkg DRM'd file that will only play within Apple ecosystem apps. So yes you own it, as long as that ecosystem still has a player.... and doesn't really solve anything towards avoiding the AppleTV device bad behaviors with "watch next" ads on top of credits.

They really don't want you doing 3rd party stuff it seems, even if purchased at full price.... so my original question still stands if there are any 1st party apps (on any platform) that don't clobber credits with UI elements? We'd prefer to rent in emergencies than purchase, unless purchasing solved the "clean" playback criteria differently than renting did.

This all points to physical media being king. But it's not always in the cards.

I've never explored PLEX, but apparently they have a rental library now too. Will have to investigate.

[Randy Stankey]

When I worked at Mercyhurst, I used to use a generic streaming box that I plays alternative content. Most of the time, it was used for trailers, ads and PSAs but, occasionally for movies if we couldn't get them in any other way.

The box has an ethernet port, a web interface and a USB port. You can upload content to the box, via network/browser and make a playlist. When you hit the play button on the web UI, it just runs whatever playlist you selected. If you have content on a USB drive of some ilk, it will automatically load and play.

For "regular" movies, the box just runs a playlist that shows the ads and trailers then, when showtime comes, you just switch over to your other source. If it is the whole show, you make a playlist that includes the ads, trailers and the feature.

The box was made by a company called "Technovare" and it is just a generic, black box about 4x6 inches. I don't know if the company is still in business, nor do I know whether the thing still works but I still have it, right here, by my desk. If anybody is interested, I'll send it just for the asking.

Disclaimer: The box goes to its new owner, strictly "as-is." I don't have any instructions for it, anymore. I can't find the power supply. At one time, there was a remote control for it but it's long gone. If it works, it works. If it doesn't, it doesn't.

Just pay postage. I don't have any use for it. Might as well, put it to good use if it can be.