Sub to Starz or HBO for recording of HD movies?

[gadgtfreek]

It's a tough decision. Both HBO and STARZ have good movies. Things do show up on Max after HBO and vice versa. Showtime lost the last of their studios coming up very shortly.

S~

I think that tells me what I need to know. Since Im recording as they come on, and only recording what I dont buy, I dont need HBO and Max. Will go with HBO and Starz.

 

[whatchel1]

Does What?

And Most time its better on Cinemax, Because HBO edits some of their movie content to make it a Little more Friendly.

Where did you get this "little gem" on HBO content?

 

[TazmanianD]

I'm in the same boat. I've been recording movies and building a collection on my EHDs. I've had the Cinemax for $0.01 for a while and I just started the free three months of HBO and Showtime.

The one thing that sucks about doing this though that I am finding quite kills the experience is that it seems all these shows are in Stereo. I have a quite nice surround sound system that sounds great with DVDs or Blu-ray movies, but when I watch an HD movie in stereo, it kind of sucks. Why don't they at least include a Dolby Digital sound track?

 

[TazmanianD]

The one thing that sucks about doing this though that I am finding quite kills the experience is that it seems all these shows are in Stereo.

Well, apparently I don't know what I'm talking about. I've only had my receiver for a short time and apparently I had it stuck in a mode where it wasn't automatically switching and was instead in one of those annoying Pro-logic modes. Since I didn't realize it was doing that and the programming info always says "(Stereo)" I just assumed that it was in fact stereo but I have now discovered that they are in fact in DD 5.1. So now I can feel much better about VOD collection.

 

[M Sparks]

Where did you get this "little gem" on HBO content?

"Most time" is a bit of a stretch. 90% of Hollywood movies are going to be the same on HBO and Cinemax.

I doubt HBO actually "edits" anything. However, if there is an "unrated"/NC-17/directors cut of a movie- which is common with comedies these days- HBO will always show the R-rated theatrical version while Cinemax may or may not show the unrated version.

I assume that Hemi is talking about the softcore porn on Cinemax. But HBO generally doesn't show these movies at all, except on HBO Zone. I'm not sure if there are any differences in the explicitness

I know for a fact that Showtime has contracts with cable companies that prevent them from showing NC-17 films. I believe HBO does the same...perhaps just keeping HBO Zone off those systems.

Generally speaking, Starz is the "cleanest" service, partially because they carry a lot of Disney content. They used to actually show edited versions of R-rated films in the daytime, but stopped that long ago. For a while, Starz Edge showed some tame softcore porn, but I think they have stopped that. Starz Cinema does not shy away from more adult-oriented art-movies (for example, "Karma Sutra"), but it's not a regular thing . The Encore channels may even be a bit cleaner. Neither service carries hardcore horror films either...nothing stronger than a typical hollywood r-rated release. But neither service "edits" anything, they just don't show much overly explicit programming.

HBO would be next. HBO does not even show R-rated programming before 8pm. They do have some explicit original programming, but shy away from outright softcore porn, except for Zone. Just like Starz, there is very little "b-movie" programming on HBO.

Showtime is next up the ladder...they do show a lot of soft porn, but in general, they are more "erotic thrillers", and they would probably all get R-ratings with no problem. They do show a lot of b-grade horror films, especially on Showtime Beyond, but nothing too extreme.

The Movie Channel and Cinemax are the most explicit. Cinemax is know for it's "skinamax" programming, and they are not much different that what used to be shown on the old Spice channel. The Movie Channel shows similar barely-soft porn movies, as well as some pretty graphic horror films.

Oddly, IFC is probably the most explicit channel of all at times, yet it's carried on basic tiers. Turner Classic Movies will also sometimes show films-mainly on their TCM Underground block- that HBO might shy away from.

EDIT- HBO DID have a service in the 80's that was aimed at families who wouldn't buy a service with more explicit programming. It was called Festival, and I think it may have edited films. I think there was another one called Home Theater Network. They both died off...there's just no market for premium channels that actively edit their programs.

 

[gadgtfreek]

Signed up for Starz!


Already have 10 more movies set to record this week.

 

[Hemi 6.1]

That exactly what I mean.
Wedding Crashers and American Gangster are 2 that come to mind that Are different on Cinemax vs HBO. Cinemax being uncut .
So what ever you call it , If the same movie is on HBO then on Cinemax, Cinemax has always plays the longer better version.