Free streaming services offer a lot of value, especially considering the fact that it feels like the cost of everything is going up. Netflix used to be a great value, but now it feels hard to justify paying for it, especially if you want an ad-free plan. As a result, many people, including myself, were forced to check out the free service.
Roku Channel, Tubi, and Pluto TV are all great options, but they’re not perfect. I don’t expect perfection from something that doesn’t charge a usage fee, but I wish there was a little more quality in these services. Pluto TV is something I find myself using more and more these days. Ads aren’t an issue, but I actually think resolution is the big issue here.
Netflix, HBO Max, and other paid services typically stream at 1080p or higher. Not so with Pluto TV. In fact, you’ll often find yourself watching something in 720p with just stereo audio. In today’s day and age, that’s a tough pill to swallow.
- Number of users
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80 million
- Featured programs
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The Andy Griffith Show (1960), Sanford and Son, The Twilight Zone, Charmed
- Featured movies
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Top Gun, Trading Places, Mission Impossible, Indiana Jones/Raiders/The Lost Ark
- premium subscription
-
no
- original
-
no
- live tv
-
250+ channels
I feel like quantity is more important than quality.
obvious drawbacks
There’s a lot to watch on Pluto TV, and there’s also quite a bit of live TV. Great for anyone looking for something to wear, but that’s where my problem lies. It feels like it’s made for people who don’t want to pay attention to something on the screen, rather than people looking for something to watch. There’s nothing wrong with that. I certainly like having something on in the background while I do other things. I do that all day while I work, and that’s where services like Pluto TV come into the picture.
Pluto TV can play something continuously, even if it’s an ad, which isn’t a big deal since you’re not fully focused on what’s going on. The problem is, when you actually sit down and look at something, it leaves a lot to be desired. These free services have a lot of On Demand, but I’m not really looking forward to watching a long-awaited movie in 720p. And not just 720p, it’s streaming 720p.
Raiders of the Lost Ark is available on demand on Pluto TV, and I couldn’t even imagine the whiplash I’d feel going from a 4K disc with Dolby Atmos to a 720p disc with only 2.0 audio. This applies to many things. That’s why I don’t want to watch something for the first time on a free service. However, there are some exceptions to this rule. Shudder’s stream quality isn’t the best either, but if that service interests me, I’ll use it. I don’t tend to rely on Pluto TV for many movies because most of the time I feel like there are better ways to watch something.
Pluto TV still has a reason to exist
can’t deny its value
If you don’t rely on Pluto TV as your daily driver, I don’t think you’ll find many problems. It’s a treasure trove of TV shows and one of my favorite ways to watch Star Trek: The Original Series. The show has since been remastered, but the poor quality makes it even more appealing. The same goes for many of the older shows streaming on Pluto TV, Tubi, and more.
However, I hope these companies can upgrade the quality in other areas. It’s not possible to watch it at the moment, but it’s scary to think of watching “The Batman” on Tubi in 2022. This is a movie with excellent black levels and excellent audio quality, so it feels very limited for a service like this.
There’s nothing wrong with watching it this way if it gives you entertainment, but I don’t think I can do it. Even if you have a Dolby Atmos surround sound setup in your living room, having to live with just a stereo setup can be a hassle. The problem gets even worse when you connect a 720p stream on a 4K TV. Displaying it in a separate window on your computer monitor is much smaller and therefore much more tolerable. If you zoom in to 65 inches, the 720p image isn’t that great, even with upscaling.
This is to be expected when it comes to free services. I mean, these are free for a reason, so I don’t think you should expect anything more than the bare minimum. What Pluto TV offers is amazing. I wish I could have liked it a little more.
