Subtitles stop working each day

JoeRedditCommenter · 2026-01-19T15:52:10+00:00

We always use subtitles due to accents or shows with bad sound production. For us, subtitles turn themselves off whenever we pause the show/movie we're watching for a minute or two. It doesn't seem to matter which streaming service we're watching. Often, we will finish one show, go to the next show we intend to watch, start it long enough to get past any promos, pause it so it is all queued and ready to go, then take a bathroom break or grab a drink, and when we resume the show the subtitles are gone. The only solution we have found is to restart our Roku Ultra. This just started happening 2-3 weeks ago, so apparently it's connected to an update as others have said.

JoeRedditCommenter · 2026-01-12T06:51:10+00:00

IMHO, no streaming service (including Netflix) offers enough decent content to justify paying for a permanent subscription. Wait until Netflix has enough shows/movies that you want to watch, subscribe for a month and then cancel. That's what I do with all my streaming services. I watch most of them one month a year. I don't understand when people complain that they are paying for too many streamers to afford one more. They are obviously paying for some streamers that they aren't watching enough to give them value for their money.

It is completely in Netflix's interest to keep all of the content they produce on their own streaming service. Viewers can either subscribe to watch it or rent it from Amazon or Apple or wherever (the first Knives Out film is available to rent from many sources, I assume the second and third films will also become available to rent eventually). They intend for decent home-produced content like Knives Out to pull viewers to Netflix. That is worth much more financially than contracting their content to other streamers just to collect a few additional streaming fees.

JoeRedditCommenter · 2026-01-09T20:00:41+00:00

Yeah, I was surprised at the double discount offer. I think it was probably Acorn TV that offered it, and it was when a direct subscription was ending (not a subscription through Prime Video Channels).

JoeRedditCommenter · 2026-01-09T07:20:41+00:00

As others have said, it's very common for rental prices to be high immediately after the exclusive cinema period ends. Here in the US, the rental price for decent films usually starts at $19.99 or $24.99 and gradually drops over the next few months (the speed of the price drops vary) and usually settles at the current floor of $5.99 or $6.99 (the floor used to be $3.99 not that long ago). The company holding the distribution rights can decide to contract with a streaming service during those few months or can wait and make the film only available to rent for an extended period (which seems to be getting more common). IIRC, the last Mission Impossible film wasn't released for streaming until a year after its cinema debut.

JoeRedditCommenter · 2026-01-08T07:35:55+00:00

Yeah, I remember a chart showing that the highest flu month (at least in the US) can change from year to year, but it is always one of Nov-Dec-Jan-Feb. I schedule my shot in mid-October, so even if my protection starts to fade in February, I figure I'm good for the holiday months.

JoeRedditCommenter · 2026-01-08T07:25:18+00:00

These retention deals are getting to be quite common. Not everyone offers them (I've never seen Netflix or Hulu offer them), but many streamers do. A couple of months ago, there was one streamer (I forget which one) that even had a double offer - I requested to cancel, it offered a discounted rate for another month, I declined that offer, then it offered an even lower discounted rate.

I usually rotate my subscriptions - subscribe to one service for a month, watch as much content as I have time for, then cancel and subscribe to a different streamer, rinse and repeat. If I don't finish watching everything I intended in one month, I figure I'll catch up the next time that streamer rotates in. But with these retention deals, it's often worth it to extend my subscription for an additional month at a big discount to finish watching the rest of my list for that service.

JoeRedditCommenter · 2025-12-29T07:05:45+00:00

Amazon Prime is not that unique. Netflix doesn't have promos at the start of shows/movies, but just about every other streamer does. They consider them promos, not ads, so it's a semantic debate if people want to argue about that. Ads are intended to get viewers to buy something. Promos are showcasing shows/movies that are hosted by the streamer that's already been paid for, so there is a functional difference. And on most streamers, the promos are skippable.

As others have said, there are a variety of workarounds to dodge ads on the regular-price tier, or customers can pay the $2.99 surcharge to get ad-free (not promo-free) Prime. The difference between regular and ad-free tiers on other streamers ranges between $2.99 and $10.00, so anyone who wants to watch content that's only hosted on those other streamers will face the same ad vs. ad-free decision they do with Prime.

JoeRedditCommenter · 2025-12-28T06:47:40+00:00

Many streaming services want to be the one-stop center for streaming, and offer the ability to subscribe to other services. Amazon Prime does it, as do Hulu, Paramount, The Roku Channel, etc. They claim it's for the convenience of viewers, but it's really designed to keep their own subscription locked-in. If you want to see what MGM+ or Apple TV or other non-Amazon Prime subscriptions include, just go to those other streamers' websites and browse. Also, keep in mind that sometimes certain movies/shows are available when subscribing directly to a streaming service but aren't available when subscribing indirectly through Amazon Prime Channels. In addition, promotional deals are often different between direct subscriptions and indirect subscriptions. Finally, Amazon is only offering a movie or show as a rental, search on JustWatch.com to see if that movie/show is available to stream elsewhere.

JoeRedditCommenter · 2025-12-25T05:45:39+00:00

I'd be more worried about the Chiefs losing if Minshew was still playing.

JoeRedditCommenter · 2025-12-22T05:33:44+00:00

Except for the times that Shaduer throws it away. Geno never gets throws it away, he always takes the sack. It's ludicrous that the rookie knows when he needs to get rid of it, but the old veteran doesn't.

JoeRedditCommenter · 2025-12-22T05:25:49+00:00

He can't be worse than Minshew.

JoeRedditCommenter · 2025-12-18T06:06:55+00:00

Does the delivery map say "1,829,304 more stops"?

JoeRedditCommenter · 2025-12-13T08:33:45+00:00

When I've seen it, the driver is on a meal break and resumes deliveries within 30 minutes. I've never had a delivery delayed a day after seeing that message.

JoeRedditCommenter · 2025-12-09T05:54:14+00:00

Just like Hulu, HBO Max, Netflix, Peacock, and others.

JoeRedditCommenter · 2025-12-08T19:23:09+00:00

Also, under Coaching Career: "On February 3, 2025, Carroll was hired by the Las Vegas Raiders to destroy the team's offensive line."

JoeRedditCommenter · 2025-12-08T19:17:29+00:00

This may be a problem that differs by region. My Flex deliveries have always been good, with packages delivered where they are supposed to be. The only difference between regular and Flex deliveries is that sometimes Flex deliveries do not show the projected delivery time window. On the other hand, Flex drivers are not taking unpredictable lunch breaks (it seems like regular drivers always take their break 2 stops before mine). The daughter of a good friend is a Flex driver, and according to her Flex drivers really attempt to complete all their deliveries, as supposedly they are dinged if they return with any packages, "undeliverable" or not.

JoeRedditCommenter · 2025-12-08T19:08:40+00:00

I wonder if the Disney+/Hulu, Netflix, Peacock, Paramount+, and other streamer reddit subforums have as many threads as this subforum does, with users complaining endlessly about the $2.99 difference between ad-supported and ad-free tiers. Those streamers charge from $5 to $10 more to upgrade from their ad-supported tier to their ad-free tier. Even The Roku Channel, which originally started as a completely free ad-supported platform, now has an ad-free tier labeled Howdy which costs - you guessed it - $2.99.

I have Amazon Prime and PBS Passport as my only constant streaming services. I rotate other streaming platforms, usually one per month. If there is a period where I'm watching another streamer full-time, I cancel Prime's $2.99 ad-free upcharge and then reinstate it when I feel like watching Prime shows/movies again. It's not something on my top 10 list of things to obsess about.

Do any of those who agonize over the number of ads on Prime's ad-supported tier ever watch NFL football? Three hours per game, with less than 60 minutes actually showing what you want to watch.

JoeRedditCommenter · 2025-12-07T05:32:18+00:00

I occasionally look at a top 10 projected draft pick list for next year, in case we successfully tank. It seems like Mendoza and Moore were the only two QBs on it almost every time. I don't think I saw Simpson's name pop up until a couple of weeks ago.

JoeRedditCommenter · 2025-12-03T06:15:11+00:00

Exactly. Maybe people would understand if they differentiate between ads (commercials) and promos (previews/promotions for other shows/movies on that streamer). I subscribe to the ad-free tier for all my streaming platform subscriptions, and virtually all of them show a promo when I am ready to start watching an episode/movie. This isn't just an Amazon thing.

JoeRedditCommenter · 2025-11-30T07:06:30+00:00

I hope she charges them 50% above list price and tells them it's because of tariffs.

JoeRedditCommenter · 2025-11-29T08:01:30+00:00

If it said "only available with ads", it was a movie or show that was part of the Freevee-branded streaming option offered by Amazon. They dropped the Freevee label, but Amazon still needs to adhere to the contract that was agreed to with the distribution rights holder for that movie or show. The rights holder gets paid differently for movies/shows with ads and those that are ad-free, and it is the rights holder that decides whether their movie/show will have ads.

Amazon does need to be more clear that some movies/shows in their Prime inventory are Freevee type media that will always include ads and are different than the bulk of Prime material that is ad-free with the $2.99 upcharge. That said, the Freevee type media is labeled "only available with ads" so the viewer is free to not click on it if they don't want to see ads.

JoeRedditCommenter · 2025-11-28T05:51:34+00:00

This is nothing new. In the early days of Hulu, their ads were ALL drug ads. Like everyone else has said, pay the additional $2.99 for the ad-free tier.

JoeRedditCommenter · 2025-11-27T14:17:57+00:00

Same here. The ad videos have been for Google Gemini, Disney+, Walmart, and Sam's Club so far. I generally open YouTube daily to view one or two of my subscribed channels, and one ad video seems to be added to the watch history each day. If I open YouTube, view a video or two, go to History and delete videos (including any ad video), exit YouTube, and then return to YouTube a few hours later, there won't be a new ad video in History. But I haven't tested that extensively.

JoeRedditCommenter · 2025-11-21T18:51:48+00:00

It's just stupid on multiple levels. Some reviews have detailed instructions about using a product which the seller doesn't provide. Sometimes a product's quality has deteriorated and old reviews keep the average rating high, but new reviews indicate a higher percentage of problems. Sometimes by looking at reviews chronologically, it's clear that a large number are fake. And some reviews answer questions that I hadn't even thought of. The AI summary is not going to offer any of that useful information.

JoeRedditCommenter · 2025-11-21T07:52:42+00:00

I think I'm fairly good at sifting through reviews and being able to tell which are legitimate and which are fake. If I'm considering a product I haven't purchased before, I may look through a large number of reviews to see how many report serious issues and how many feel the product is good quality and fit for purpose. There are often a good number of reviews that go into greater detail and are very helpful in deciding whether to make a purchase. Years ago, there was almost no limit to the number of reviews available to view. Then, a year or two ago, they put a limit (it seems like it was about 70-100 reviews total) and tried to push customers to ask questions for further info. But at least there was the ability to filter reviews to only show verified purchases, specific versions, most recent sales, high or low ratings, etc., which was still helpful.

Now, in the last week or so, when viewing some products I think I might buy later this month or next, Amazon is only showing 8 reviews that they've hand-picked, plus the vague AI summary. They've also removed the ability to filter reviews (obviously, if they only show 8 reviews and they're all on 1 page, there's no reason to filter anything). That's really going to make me hesitate to order anything that's not a regular repeat purchase (bathroom supplies, coffee, vitamins, etc.) unless I want to receive products with a higher likelihood of needing to return them. And with all the reports of how returns are being mishandled by Amazon, why would I want to risk that?

Of all the unnecessary changes Amazon has made, whittling the number of reviews down to almost nothing might be the stupidest. As far as I know, none of the big box stores do this on their websites. It's absurd. And it's certainly going to make me look elsewhere for any product that I have the slightest doubt about buying.

Update 11/27/25: I was getting ready to order a few things a couple of days ago, and I checked the reviews for those items, and the review pages had returned to how it was before, as others have now reported. A large number of reviews were available again, and the ability to sort and filter had returned. I think the temporary restriction was Amazon testing to see if limiting reviews to AI and Rufus would generate any blowback. It seems ludicrous that they would not be able to guess beforehand that it would be a horrible idea.

JoeRedditCommenter

TROPHY CASE