For a long time I wanted to discuss with you the difference between online streaming and offline video viewing, and also explain why I prefer the second method.
In retrospect, I remember that I was heavily addicted to anime and series at the end of 2008. I decided that after going to college I needed to end up with an MMORPG and switched to 'drugs' easier. Unlike an endless game, each anime had a certain number of episodes, so that even after killing a lot of time, I, in the end, could always return to my usual life rut. In 2008, video streaming was not yet so widespread, and there were almost no legal services for watching anime or TV series, so torrents were the main method of extracting them. At first, I enjoyed watching all the titles with voice acting, until in one of the anime the translator changed. The new voiceover had an unpleasant voice for me, so I decided to try switching to subtitles. This is how I discovered the wonderful world of original Japanese and a little later English / American speech. As talented as the dubbing is, it still does not replace the original voices of the actors, especially when it comes to Kevin Spacey or Hugh Laurie, for example.
Gradually, a large number of films, TV series and anime began to appear on VKontakte, but in most cases the translation was duplicated. Some enthusiasts converted the video with subtitles to turn it into a 'hardsub', and only then upload it to the VK video base. This option was not particularly suitable for me, since during the viewing I slightly increased the font of the sub, and you cannot do this in the hardsub.
And finally, with the advent of Amediateka, I got to watch my favorite TV series using online streaming. They have not yet added the ability to increase the size of subtitles, but the same Chromecast uses a font that is quite comfortable for me.
Unfortunately, while the assortment of Amediateka is not so large, and many TV series are not there, the other part is sold by a separate subscription, and there is no need to talk about anime.
By the way, yesterday I tried to start watching Vinyl, and somehow this series did not go at all. In addition, when watching from Chromecast, there was constant loading of data, as a result, the video was interrupted every 5-10 minutes, which is very unpleasant. And I also once uploaded myself with movies for a long flight through the offline player of Amediateka, and in the end it required an Internet connection. It's good that I also had the third 'Heroes' installed, so there was an opportunity to pass the time.
As a result, I decided for myself that for now I will only use offline viewing or Amediateka at home, and I will postpone other streaming services for the time being. And I would like to ask you, dear readers: how do you watch the video at home and on the road? Online services or good old offline media player?