ULPT - is there a way for me to replace all my subscriptions (Disney+/Netflix etc ) with a cheaper method but LOOKS identical?

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404-error-notfound@reddit

15+ years into running my plex server. My shows and movies never get deleted, are always available, and because I host locally my library is intact even without internet.

I paid $150 for the lifetime membership 15+ years ago, share access with friends and family, and NEVER watch commercials or deal with subscription fees.

I do have costs - similar to OG Netflix, but handled differently. Every 6-7 years i am replacing hard drives (last 26TB one was $300US), and I pay for power to have a desktop computer running 24/7/365, but it still averages out to be competitive with one streaming service price-wise.

It can be done cheaper - I've got 13 hard drives, a top tier processor, and fiber networking to the server to support 4K and 3D content. Some people have used old laptops and external hard drives with great success

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Cuneus-Maximus@reddit

gif

I'm about in the same boat as you, got a lifetime pass for $75 on Black Friday a long time ago. Have had Plex running for probably at least 12 years now. It's great. My server is fairly minimal, running on a dedicated ancient prebuilt Dell desktop with an I7 2600k, 16gb RAM, 3x 8tb HD's and a 1tb SSD for cache on Unraid. Prior to that it was running on an Intel Mac mini with some external HDDs. The Dell prebuilt plus the 3x 8tb HDDs was the only hardware upgrade I've ever done to date. The 1tb SSD is a Samsung I had leftover from an old personal MacBook Pro I decommissioned, the last one that you could replace the SSD on, which I harvested back out before I sold it.

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404-error-notfound@reddit

That's fantastic, definitely proof it can be done in a budget. My setup is a dedicated Unraid machine. Ryzen 9 5950x, 128GB RAM, a 1TB + 2TB nVMEs, and a mix of hard drives ranging from a 1TB Surveillance grade, multiple old 4TB drives I am preparing to decommission (10+ years power on time), 8TB drives and now a 26TB. Plan is to save up another $900 and go with all 26TB drives with parity, so roughly 78TB usable space across icky l only 4 drives (should cut part usage significantly). I rip Blu-Rays, 4K movies, and 3D movies with no compression, so a number of the titles in my library can be 50z80GB each. I have a 4K copy of Game of Thrones (2TB) as well. Current library size is around 38TB, and the powerful hardware is to manage live transcoding for remote play.

The Unraid box also does my CCTV (10+ cameras, 12TB dedicated storage there, a blueiris VM, media acquisition tools, general Personal photo / document/ etc backup, and my VPN.

Fun fact: with a network tv tuner and some carefully placed and aimed antennas Plex will DVR over the air content, automatically edit out commercials, and add it to my library

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motionmatrix@reddit

done on a budget.

laughs (and cries) in 104 tbs

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404-error-notfound@reddit

I'm working on mid- to high- double digits. My next storage upgrade will admittedly cost at least another $900... my should last me another 8+ years (or maybe it's wishful thinking)

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Silly_Illustrator985@reddit

You my friend, is what my brain would call best friend maybe doctor, just short of Saint! I would love to hangout and talk lol

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404-error-notfound@reddit

I'm an approachable person. Feel free to DM me

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Cuneus-Maximus@reddit

Yup I have a 4 channel HDhomerun tuner in my attic, works great with Plex, I DVR lots of stuff off OTA. The commercial cutting doesn't always work right or sometimes causes audio issues for me, so I just leave the commercials and use the Skip button.

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404-error-notfound@reddit

Precisely what plex is great at. I cut the cord 4 years ago and only pay for basic internet now: no TV or subscriptions here, and all the content i want to watch

It also means that i am deliberate on what I watch. No more putting on random crap because it happens to be on! Also, no commercials + children means a better upbringing (in my opinion)

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Skeggy-@reddit

I’ve reached the state of downloading random crap because my gf works from home lol.

I checked my father’s plex. 15k titles. 6k of them being kids media and he only has one grandchild lol.

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404-error-notfound@reddit

At this point I have (assuming hit play, watch 24/7, no repeats: * 14 months of tv shows, most in 720p or higher * 4 months of movies, 1080p * 3 months of 4K movies * 2 months of 1080p 3D

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8trackthrowback@reddit

How do you access your media without connecting to your internet? Roku to Tv to WiFi isn’t the only way? But you must connect your plex server to your WiFi to share or am I wrong there also?

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404-error-notfound@reddit

As long as your router is up and running and your plex server is on the same network (same wifi, etc) as your devices when the internet goes down you still have local access to all of your media on your plex server.

Your can't stream outside your network, but you can watch your media library locally. It's like having your DVD, BluRay, and DVR libraries all in a Netflix or Hulu interface without the need for internet

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Kale@reddit

I bought the lifetime membership like a decade ago and it all worked great. Then a couple of years ago, our Internet went out. My Plex devices refused to play because it required authentication online. I saw later where you had to set it up to not require online account authentication, but you had to be online to set it up. I wasn't aware of that since I wasn't changing anything, just updating my software, and it "helpfully" converted my account to online authentication.

Well, I did change some things. They updated the app or the server (I forget where I had to change it) to push their online streaming service. It didn't show my media first, it showed their online streaming service first. I quit using it a couple of years ago.

During that time, I was also a PlayOn user, and they stopped honoring their lifetime pass memberships and required a monthly subscription, so I quit using both at the same time.

Anyways, if you haven't gone in and set up the manual workaround, then you'll still need an Internet connection for Plex to work for local media. Your clients need to be able to connect to "Plex.TV" online first. And if you set up the manual workaround, it disables all authorization and user profiles if the Internet goes out (minor trade off, I guess, but profiles should be baked in locally I think). I don't believe there's any access restrictions. You essentially force your Plex server to accept any incoming requests from your local network. Apps are programmed to authenticate online first, then fallback to local connection. But a browser can directly connect to the server first. So with the manual workaround, anyone on your local network gets full admin access to the Plex server.

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Obi-Wan-Nikobiii@reddit

I have a network drive, takes 12 volts and plugs into the router via cat6, damn sight cheaper than running a desktop 24hrs a day

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Papas72lotus@reddit

Are we the same person?

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Le_Jonny_41293@reddit

Since when does Plex have commercials or fees?? I only have my own library and my friends and have never encountered either...

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404-error-notfound@reddit

That's the point... complete control without commercials. When with a network TV tuner and Plex DVR function

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Le_Jonny_41293@reddit

Ah I was just reading about the editing out commercials bit. That's above my scope I'm just looking to host a local media library when I get a NAS set up :)

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404-error-notfound@reddit

Hey more power to you! Plex is awesome and I'm glad people are using it! When you go dedicated NAS feel free to reach out, I've run a dedicated NAS as long as I've had Plex!

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throwawayyyyygay@reddit

r/jellyfin is the free plex alternative that offers all the same features

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Dawn_of_an_Era@reddit

Seconding this! Plex makes it look like you have your own streaming service. All the shows are even organized by show/season, and, have title covers, “continue watching” and “next episode” features like any streaming service would.

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jakeb1616@reddit

Where do you get the content for your plex server?

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AgreeableAd8687@reddit

1337x.to, a good vpn (airvpn or mullvad), and qbittorrent, just block .lnk files from download since they disguise mkvs as malware

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blaznivydandy@reddit

why not protonvpn

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plotikai@reddit

r/Share_Plex

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Crazy-Agency5641@reddit

*arr

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motionmatrix@reddit

There’s plenty of non pirate options too, those are just the easiest/fastest/most common. You can find groups (discord/reddit/other social media platforms) that share media without pirating, may completely legal, like filming a free to air tv show and handing it over to someone else.

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Salty-Passenger-4801@reddit

Its. PITA, but a legit workaround.

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devilismypet@reddit

gif

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CriManSqaFnC@reddit

gif

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troutshitter@reddit

Is there a service where you can pay to access other peoples Plex or Jellyfin servers they’ve set up?

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Julian_1_2_3_4_5@reddit

there are definitely people that do that, i've heard of it, but it's even more illegal for the one selling access, so probably just not easy to find.

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Julian_1_2_3_4_5@reddit

jellyfin and arrs is better if you also want control of your data

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Julian_1_2_3_4_5@reddit

apparently from another comment plex also makes you pay for h2659 transcoding???

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Lower_Group_1171@reddit

I no longer trust plex.

I have since migrated to jellyfin, which is free. I had plex for a long time. My lifetime was 75 bucks, but no longer using them.

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Cuneus-Maximus@reddit

I have a $75 lifetime from like 10 years ago too. Why don’t you trust them? You’re grandfathered into everything.

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Lower_Group_1171@reddit

The sharing of data with advertisers, the logging into their servers to access my media, paywalling remote access. I wouldn’t recommend it to a potential new user, so I don’t want to run something I wouldn’t recommend. It’s only a matter of time before they sell your data or it “leaks”

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moch1@reddit

If you want to stream media when you’re outside your home plex is way easier than jellyfin right?

Telling non technical users to uses tailscale and connect to a vpn whenever they want to stream is frankly just to complicated for many. The fact plex handles that seamlessly still makes it the better option for most families IMO.

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Skeggy-@reddit

Jellyfin is open source if you don’t want to spend $250 on a lifetime pass for hardware transcoding.

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bronzewtf@reddit

r/jellyfin

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Cuneus-Maximus@reddit

I got a lifetime Plex pass on a Black Friday special for $75 10+ years ago. You don't need it for most setups.

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Skeggy-@reddit

They locked their remote play being the paywall last year I think. Tailscale is a good work around for free users.

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scarlettohara1936@reddit

Huh. I've been using Plex for over 10 years and it still looks and works the same. It might as well be Netflix, but free.

The only thing I pay for is my VPN. I've been using PIA for as long as I can remember

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Skeggy-@reddit

They made some changes earlier this year. Like bringing the lifetime pass from like $125 to $250. https://www.plex.tv/blog/important-2025-plex-updates/

Mainly shit that involves using it outside your local network. You wouldn’t notice if you only use it at home and don’t need to transcode certain formats.

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scarlettohara1936@reddit

Ah. I see. I only use it at home and TBH, we don't watch TV very much anymore anyway

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Cuneus-Maximus@reddit

I guess I'm focused on OP's ask - he just wants to use it in their home so free would work fine.

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fried_clams@reddit

I've never paid anything for Plex, and my cheapo mini PC can play any 4K content to my Roku.

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Skeggy-@reddit

Good for you on the free version. If you want all the features you need the upgrade.

Your Roku doesn’t need to transcode that format.

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toolfan2k4@reddit

I also couldn't get Plex to not disconnect from my phone. Their "sleep-idle timer" or whatever was too much for me. Switching to Jellyfin resolved that and I requested a refund for Plex because their support also sucked. LOL

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Skeggy-@reddit

I still like plex but yeah their phone app is hot garbage.

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bronzewtf@reddit

r/jellyfin

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unbelizeable1@reddit

Or go sttrmio and not worry about storage space

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KeyMysterious1845@reddit

🏴‍☠️

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scarlettohara1936@reddit

Plex Plex Plex Plex Plex!!!!!!!

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Doublestack00@reddit

This.

I am 12 years in, I have been spent a penny on TV services.

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buttersofthands@reddit

Is "The Bay" still a thing? I jump around using the megathread list but I never see them on there and haven't used them in a while.

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IAintInYourCloset@reddit

Well it exists but it's definitely not recommended. And that's kinda it, not the safest place and not the most time efficient with all the crap people have put up over time.

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buttersofthands@reddit

Yeah that's what I was thinking.

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Cuneus-Maximus@reddit

It works just have adblockers on

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goochtoootz@reddit

Veesee box. More money up front, no money ever again

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Upbeat_Pangolin_5929@reddit

Kodi + Bingi mod is identical to Netflix

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IAMN0TSTEVE@reddit

Hurawatch

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JesseB342@reddit

Have your partner sit down and watch a few Louis Rossman videos on YouTube, specifically his video on Netflix and piracy. Perhaps that will change their perspective.

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blipintheuniverse@reddit

Make sure you get a vpn for when you’re filling your plex server with your hoard from the bay.

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7_bucks@reddit

U should leave morality behind when u post something in this sub....lol

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caeru1ean@reddit

stremio with a real debrid subscription

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liimo458@reddit

Cheapzy

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RsCaptainFalcon@reddit

Your partner is morally against this method?

Ignoring the part where you're okay lying to them about this.... Why not talk with them on the many reasons to be anti-streaming services? Disney and Netflix specifically are constantly doing shady shit. Taking their content instead of giving them money is the lesser of evils.

After that talk, Streamio and 🏴‍☠️ is the way to go.

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TrumpisaRussianCuck@reddit

Stremio is the app for you. Then you add on plugins like Torrentio to source torrents to stream and you can layer in other plugins like Cyberflix to make browsing more like Netflix/streaming services.

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daveyboi80@reddit

Cyberflix returns no results in the addons search...

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BlAze_103@reddit

Cyberflix is dead, use streaming catalogs

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TrumpisaRussianCuck@reddit

https://stremio-addons.com/cyberflix-catalog.html

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The-Autistocrat@reddit

100% this

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Roy-van-der-Lee@reddit

So do I still need to buy the debrid premium subscription?

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MadeInCanada87@reddit

You’ll have to run a vpn if you forgo the RD if you don’t want to get in trouble with your internet service provider

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The-Autistocrat@reddit

You dont NEED a debrid sub. But for like $30 for 180 days its highly recommended

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knn130@reddit

Its literally half of that. I paid 16€ for 6 months

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The-Autistocrat@reddit

That was aussie dollars, but even then I think its lower, SEE! Price is simply low its not even worth remembering

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knn130@reddit

Yeah just pointing so that people dont get "scared" from the price you posted

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Roy-van-der-Lee@reddit

Then I must be doing something wrong. I've been trying to setup a system like this but everyone on Reddit seems to have such a long stick up their ass they refuse to help me with it. Would you mind sending me a PM explaining how to set this stuff up?

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Veqa@reddit

No but without it you are torrenting

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austinalexan@reddit

Are you trying to get us shut down?

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TrumpisaRussianCuck@reddit

?

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Successful_Pace_1159@reddit

DO NOT CLICK HIS PROFILE

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improperdancing@reddit

Oh god why does it look like that why didn't I listen 🤢🤮

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phillip42069@reddit

Feel sorry for his wife

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ready-eddy@reddit

gif

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CptBronzeBalls@reddit

WELL I WOULDN’T HAVE IF YOU HADN’T SAID THIS GODDAMIT

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TorrenceMightingale@reddit

Well I wouldn’t have.

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-TrUsT_mE_bRo@reddit

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-TrUsT_mE_bRo@reddit

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hereditydrift@reddit

Eh... could be worse. At least it's interesting looking. Oddly straight.

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sehranonym@reddit

... Wait, thats considered to be interesting?

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hereditydrift@reddit

Kinda. It looks like a puffy vienna sausage. It's a unique thingy.

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htx4view@reddit

Man I should read the comments under this parent comment fml

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StrawberryGreat7463@reddit

:/

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WigboldCrumb@reddit

Plex is great.

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BlackjackNHookersSLF@reddit

If its "your partner"... As has been mentioned... well you can figure it out.

If its really your partner? Have THEM pay for whatever the fuck they want, or not. And then decide where they stand.

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kreetohungry@reddit

Annoying and time consuming, but cancel your subscriptions, use burner emails to get free week/month trials to the services. Log in on the TV with your new credentials. If you want to be super stealth you could keep track of the shows you’re watching and just start each on the correct episode so they show up as “continue watching”.

Or just ask a friend/family member to share their accounts and deal with entering a travel code when prompted.

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faz712@reddit

A debrid service and strremio

Or plex debrid

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fightclubdevil@reddit

Stem.IO + torrent.IO

All you need my friend

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Puceeffoc@reddit

"Free media heck yeah"

Fmhy(dot)com

It's a website for 100% free streaming services. It's not illegal and all the services rely on free will donations.

Then tell your girlfriend you'll start donating to the site you find and like. But I have to warn you, I made all the donation stuff up. But it sounded believable right? Maybe you can spin this same story.

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Maltempest@reddit

Kodi +plus add ons.

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silianrail@reddit

The real LPT is to get away from screens.

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OTF98121@reddit

If you sign up for a T-Mobile cell phone plan, you can get free Netflix, AppleTV, and Hulu. You would still have to pay for Disney though.

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bronzewtf@reddit

r/jellyfin

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Illsquad@reddit

Morally against stealing the equivalent of micro pennies from massive companies who will screw you out of your money any chance they get...

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Hello_Hangnail@reddit

Yohoho 🏴‍☠️

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wirelessnetizen@reddit

Onstream

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tempestokapi@reddit

deceiving your partner over something this inconsequential is so over the top

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AlexV348@reddit

This is not unethical, but you can get dvds at the library for free. There's also kanopy, which is another free streaming service that you may be able to access through your library.

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onmy40@reddit

The Real ULPT is to attach your partners card to all the subscriptions and take yours off.

gif

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Skyblacker@reddit

Try FAST (Free Ad Supported Television) services like Tubi and Pluto TV. Honestly, my Tubi queue is longer than my Netflix queue ever was, and its algorithm is top notch. Check out r/TubiTreasures for recommendations.

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A-Fredd@reddit

Plex!

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YouCantGiveBabyBooze@reddit

Stremio as close as you'll get, but no, nothing is going to look even vaguely identical..Not sure how anything could look identical to multiple services anyway tbh.

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Vegaprime@reddit

There are some side load stuff you can pay for but pay a lot less. As far as I know, I'm no lawyer, it is the uploading that gets people in trouble not the streaming. Most side load apps look almost exactly like Netflix and they stream. Its not file sharing like the old days.