# Is there an integrated streaming catalog? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 1, 2018, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-integrated-streaming-catalog/815276 "2018-06-01T18:39:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2018, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-integrated-streaming-catalog/815276/1 "2018-06-01T18:39:28Z")
Let’s say I get a hankering to watch a particular old movie or old TV series. And that I have access to several streaming services. It sure would be nice if there was an online resource where I could enter “War of the Worlds (1953)” or “Upstairs, Downstairs” and it would tell me: oh, that’s available on Netflix (for free) or Amazon (for $5.99)…instead of having to log in to each service separately and perform a search. Is there such a thing? ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2018, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-integrated-streaming-catalog/815276/2 "2018-06-01T19:26:38Z")
[There is](https://www.google.com). ---
**Author:** ![Pixel\_Dent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/bc8723/32.png) [@Pixel\_Dent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pixel_Dent)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2018, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-integrated-streaming-catalog/815276/3 "2018-06-01T19:45:59Z")
There’s a site called [Can I Stream it](http://www.canistream.it/). I’ve never been real impressed with it, but it tries to do what you suggest. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2018, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-integrated-streaming-catalog/815276/4 "2018-06-01T21:00:47Z")
It may not be possible for various reasons, but my dream is of a service where I enter the name of a movie or television show and it figures out whether it’s available for streaming, who owns the rights and does the negotiation on the back end. So it just presents me with an offer and if I am willing to pay the required amount, it plays the movie or show. No joining this or that streaming service. No ongoing subscription (unless I want one). Maybe we’ll get there eventually? ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2018, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-integrated-streaming-catalog/815276/5 "2018-06-01T21:19:53Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > Maybe we’ll get there eventually? I don’t see how. Every streaming service’s goal is to be The One. They have everything you want. Just ask 'em! If they don’t have it, you shouldn’t be wanting it anyway. So the idea of an independent service facilitating that filthy C-word\* is anathema. Under no circumstances would streaming providers cooperate with something that threatens their various walled gardens. \*“Competition”. What word did you think I meant? ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2018, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-integrated-streaming-catalog/815276/6 "2018-06-01T21:26:18Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > [There is](https://www.google.com). At first I thought you were being snarky, which is fine; but then I tried Google (on War of the Worlds) with some success – it pointed me to Amazon and You Tube. But then I tried a movie I knew to be on Netflix (African Queen), and Google apparently knows nothing about no Netflix. We don’t got to show you no stinkin’ Netflix. But it does know HBO GO: it came up as an option for Avatar. So: not perfect. ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2018, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-integrated-streaming-catalog/815276/7 "2018-06-01T21:36:42Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > It may not be possible for various reasons, but my dream is of a service where I enter the name of a movie or television show and it figures out whether it’s available for streaming, who owns the rights and does the negotiation on the back end. So it just presents me with an offer and if I am willing to pay the required amount, it plays the movie or show. No joining this or that streaming service. No ongoing subscription (unless I want one). > > Maybe we’ll get there eventually? There’s plenty of services where you can rent a movie for streaming without subscribing to a monthly service. Google, YouTube, Amazon, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2018, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-integrated-streaming-catalog/815276/8 "2018-06-01T21:38:07Z")
I made no claims about perfection, nor was it mentioned as a requirement. I googled for [african queen movie watch](https://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&ei=I7wRW-WtLsm2sAWy6JLYAw&q=african+queen+movie+watch&oq=african+queen+movie+watch&gs_l=psy-ab.3..0i22i30k1l6.22925.24872.0.25106.6.6.0.0.0.0.202.793.0j2j2.4.0....0...1c.1.64.psy-ab..2.4.792...0.0.LHUuTCz6AeU); it’s the first link. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2018, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-integrated-streaming-catalog/815276/9 "2018-06-01T22:10:17Z")
> [@AlsoNamedBort](#): > > > [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > > > It may not be possible for various reasons, but my dream is of a service where I enter the name of a movie or television show and it figures out whether it’s available for streaming, who owns the rights and does the negotiation on the back end. So it just presents me with an offer and if I am willing to pay the required amount, it plays the movie or show. No joining this or that streaming service. No ongoing subscription (unless I want one). > > > > Maybe we’ll get there eventually? > > There’s plenty of services where you can rent a movie for streaming without subscribing to a monthly service. Google, YouTube, Amazon, etc. Yes, but my idea is that the consumer shouldn’t need to know who owns the rights, or have to search the various streaming sites to find which has the program available. The X1 cable box I have from Comcast does much of this already. Yesterday, I was trying to find newer episodes of Midsomer Murders to watch and it told me that it’s available on Acorn TV, and what it would cost to add that to my cable subscription. When I searched for something else, it told me that it’s available through Netflix. ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2018, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-integrated-streaming-catalog/815276/10 "2018-06-02T17:16:21Z")
Roku and Tivo devices also allow you to search for content across all of the services they support. I believe that Roku supports many more streaming channels than Tivo. I used to use CanIStream.it, but it became increasingly unreliable, i. e., not listing things that were available, and I started using Tivo instead. ---
**Author:** ![Asuka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@Asuka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asuka)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2018, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-integrated-streaming-catalog/815276/11 "2018-06-02T18:23:59Z")
Can I Stream It is garbage now, looked up 3 different movies I watched on Amazon, HBO Go, and NetFlix recently and said all 3 were unavailable on streaming sites. ---
**Author:** ![Driver8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5a626/32.png) [@Driver8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Driver8)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2018, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-integrated-streaming-catalog/815276/12 "2018-06-02T19:36:25Z")
> [@jsc1953](#): > > At first I thought you were being snarky, which is fine; but then I tried Google (on War of the Worlds) with some success – it pointed me to Amazon and You Tube. > > But then I tried a movie I knew to be on Netflix (African Queen), and Google apparently knows nothing about no Netflix. We don’t got to show you no stinkin’ Netflix. > > But it does know HBO GO: it came up as an option for Avatar. > > So: not perfect. It also doesn’t properly handle some of the additional subscription services. For example, I’ve seen things that I wanted to watch listed as “free on Amazon Prime”, only to discover that they require an additional Amazon subscription to Showtime or something. ---
**Author:** ![FallingLeaves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/54ee81/32.png) [@FallingLeaves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FallingLeaves)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2018, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-integrated-streaming-catalog/815276/13 "2018-06-04T01:06:04Z")
> [@jsc1953](#): > > But then I tried a movie I knew to be on Netflix (African Queen), and Google apparently knows nothing about no Netflix. We don’t got to show you no stinkin’ Netflix. Still not quite what you want as it doesn’t seem to work for TV shows, but Rotten Tomatoes has “Watch it Now” links that go to whichever streaming services the movie is available on. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2018, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-integrated-streaming-catalog/815276/14 "2018-06-04T01:31:01Z")
> [@commasense](#): > > Roku and Tivo devices also allow you to search for content across all of the services they support. I believe that Roku supports many more streaming channels than Tivo. I use the Roku app on my phone for this frequently. It will find movies on any service on Roku, and then tune it in with one touch. It also supports voice search, if you don’t already have a voice enabled Roku remote. ---
**Author:** ![tenacious\_j](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/439d5e/32.png) [@tenacious\_j](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tenacious_j)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2018, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-integrated-streaming-catalog/815276/15 "2018-06-05T01:41:04Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > I use the Roku app on my phone for this frequently. It will find movies on any service on Roku, and then tune it in with one touch. It also supports voice search, if you don’t already have a voice enabled Roku remote. I use my Roku, not the phone app, and the search function does the same. I can’t see what’s on my streaming live TV/DVR (Playstation Vue) but it includes hulu, Netflix, Vimeo, Amazon, the various network apps, and a bunch of others. Without that, I’d be sunk. ---
**Author:** ![erysichthon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d07c76/32.png) [@erysichthon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/erysichthon)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2018, 7:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-integrated-streaming-catalog/815276/16 "2018-06-05T07:48:23Z")
[JustWatch.com](https://www.justwatch.com/us/) was my go-to streaming search for a long time. However, its search results don’t always seem up-to-date. Lately I’ve been using the Roku search almost exclusively. You can also have your Roku notify you when a movie or TV show becomes available. Unfortunately, none of these search services include Hoopla, the free streaming channel available through many public libraries. Sometimes movies on the ad-supported services (like [tubi.tv](http://tubi.tv)) are available ad-free on Hoopla. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2018, 12:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-integrated-streaming-catalog/815276/17 "2018-06-05T12:22:30Z")
For Netflix and Amazon I use [InstantWatch](http://instantwatcher.com/). Lots of search options. Can search by actor.