[quote=doubledenim][quote=Yoda]There's some other stuff like higher bitrate, downloads, blah blah, but it's all just extra bits on top of the core stuff.

Being able to fire up any video and have it play immediately with no ads is really, really nice.[/quote]

[font=century gothic]I can see that. YT on a tv is a nightmare. Mobile is easier to implement some of the workarounds, i.e. reloading a page to kill the ad.[/font][/quote]

[quote=doubledenim][font=century gothic]Also aware that Smart Talk or any alternative to the V, comes at the cost of data security or something along those lines.

How else can you explain the cost difference, other than having to buy the phone.[/font][/quote]

[quote=Yoda]There's some other stuff like higher bitrate, downloads, blah blah, but it's all just extra bits on top of the core stuff.

Being able to fire up any video and have it play immediately with no ads is really, really nice.[/quote]

[quote=Yoda]I don't know, I haven't gotten into the weeds. All I know is:

1) No ads.
2) YouTube Music included.

I paid for it on the basis of the first feature alone, which is worth it if you watch any shows with regularity on YT and/or watch it a bit just about every day, which I absolutely do. And I'd say it's actually kind of a bargain if you use it for #2 instead of some other music streaming service. But ultimately YT Music was just gravy.[/quote]

[quote=doubledenim][font=century gothic]I’m also hyper-aware of all the “services” and how those little things add up.

Walmart+ < Amazon Prime, but I get it for free with my discount phone plan, which also eliminated the need for an ISP.

I just hate signing up for services, worried that you look down one day and see a 2010 new car payment.[/font][/quote]

[quote=doubledenim][quote=John-Connor]YouTube Music > Spotify..[/quote]

[font=century gothic]I’m guessing you can make ad-free playlists on YT? Opposed to Spotify, where you are fed “music similar to”?[/font][/quote]

[quote=doubledenim][quote=John McClane]with all that said i still say it’s a waste. unless you need audio to play with your screen locked, which could be easily fixed with a 99¢ option. but nah, the greedy gotta greed[/quote]

[font=century gothic]The screen lock on iPhone works about 75% of the time. When it goes blank, you can play the “open it and try again game” until success.

The killer app is “playing YT in the background” so that you can use your mobile browser for something else. The fact that it will play in the background on desktop, doesn’t help their cause.[/font][/quote]

[quote=John-Connor]YouTube Music > Spotify..[/quote]

[quote=doubledenim][quote=Yoda]I'd actually recommend it, dd. …[/quote]

[font=palantino linotype]Part of my struggle comes from being a current NC A&T student 👀 and not being able to get the student discount.

For an undisclosed reason (and we have gmail accounts) they are set to not allow a connection to a pay service.[/font][/quote]

[quote=John McClane]with all that said i still say it’s a waste. unless you need audio to play with your screen locked, which could be easily fixed with a 99¢ option. but nah, the greedy gotta greed[/quote]

[quote=Yoda]I'd actually recommend it, dd. When I saw it was a thing years ago I thought it was stupid and couldn't imagine ever springing for something like that...but then more and more stuff (full shows/series, sometimes) my wife and I actually watched regularly ended up on there, and I realized I was using it for a decent chunk of time every single day. And, predictably there were more ads in the free version.

Anyway, went for it a year and change ago, or something, and it's a no-brainer now, well worth it. Particularly since I realized, after far too long, that it includes YouTube Music, which I can stream on my phone/in the car/whatever and is a really solid Spotify replacement. If you actually use that the effective value goes way up, too.[/quote]