In our digital lives, there is still room for another streaming service? It is not just a matter of time (to have to see everything), but also a matter of money: already today, for films, TV series, music, cloud, football, connection, newspapers, books and magazines, you can spend over 100 euros per month.
At the point where we are, with the wide offer as it is, the economic discourse is important to evaluate the quality of the service offered by Paramount Plus, which takes its name from the well-known film production company and debuted in Italy on September 15th. We tried it for a long time from the first day and in the first weekend of availability.
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How much does Paramount Plus cost and how it works
By connecting at paramountplus.com, we have activated the free trial period 7 days, a useful and always appreciable function that the most established platforms have long since stopped offering. The procedure is simple and we followed it from a computer: insert name and surname, an email address as username and choose a password; you must provide credit card information (not American Express), though no charge is madeand choose the subscription plan, which will start at the end of the test week.
The possibilities are two, which until 25 September become three: € 7.99 per month (€ 4.99 for a few days) or € 79.90 per year. The first price, the one on promotion, is understandably quite aggressive and even slightly lower than that charged by Disney Plus in March 2020, upon its arrival. in Italy: 59.88 euros per yearagainst 59.99.
From a computer, the interface looks a bit a cross between Disney Plus and the renewed version of Amazon Prime Video, while the smartphone app is very reminiscent of Netflix: contents sorted by themes (original productions, family, crime, dramas, comedies and so on) and arranged vertically, each to be scrolled horizontally. The navigation menu it is at the top on a computer and on the left on a smart TV.
What should be improved
The linea dei Keep watching, loved and hated, of course, it populates as you watch movies and series, although not everything that we started and then abandoned has been included. This is probably a bug, understandable given the young age of the platform. We found others: a Error 404 (page not found), by clicking on The Man Who Fell to Earth, the phrase “55 minutes left” for a film of which 55 minutes remained to be seen (in English, left is both left is remaining o remaining), a whimsical and unreliable internal search engine (in the sense that looking for The GodfatherCoppola’s films are not foundeven if there are).
The point, however, is not the mistakes of youth, but some fundamental aspects of Paramount Plus that in our opinion should be improved. Let’s take 3 examples, in order of increasing importance.
Not all content has an entry page: there is for the series, but not for the films, which immediately go to play at the first click, even if you just wanted to read the plot. A little uncomfortable, but you get used to it.
You do not understand the number of enabled devices: the page of Assistance (which is this) he says that “there are no limits of using Paramount Plus compared to devices ”, but“ there are limitations with respect to the number of simultaneous streams / views at any one time, regardless of the number of devices used ”Which means everything and means nothing.
Above all, the resolution of the contents is not specified: in the eyes, the quality is really very good, but the TV we used for the test (this) does not recognize it as 4K. Nor does Paramount mention 4K in the information material relating to its platform: it is probably an excellent FHD, but we are now in 2023 and it is difficult to accept the absence of UHDwhich practically all competitors now offer (some even free).
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5 things to see, to get started
Another problem, which will probably come resolved over time, it’s about choosing what content to watch. Mind you: it’s not that there aren’t any, it’s that it’s hard to find enough to justify activating another streaming subscription. Always because now the competition is greatand so fierce.
Of the dozen or so productions announced in the debut days of Paramount Plus, today there is a third: there is no Top Gun: Maverickthere is not Tulsa King, there is not I eat your heart nor the new season of the series dedicated to Carlo Verdone. There are so many classic movies, because the Paramount library is huge, lots of content for children and many set in the universe of Star Trek: For fans of the genre, Paramount Plus is definitely heaven.
But beyond all this, what is it? What is worth seeing about the new platform so far? We have selected 5 contents that we recommendfrom which you can start, listed below in alphabetical order.
1883
Prequel to the beautiful Yellowstoneis a miniseries in 10 episodes of western genre: Kevin Costner is gone, but we still talk about the Dutton family and how, in the late nineteenth century, they became the owner of some land in Montana. You have a following which, with little imagination, is entitled 1923 and is expected by the end of the year.
Billions
For those who missed it (it aired for the first time in 2016), this series is still completely current and is not affected by the weight of the years: played by Paul Giamatti and Damian Lewis, is set in New York in the world of high finance and the super rich. On Paramount Plus there are all 6 seasons distributed to date.
Super Pumped
The subtitle is The battle for Uber, and the series (7 episodes) tells just that: the birth of the ride sharing platform that has revolutionized and upset the world of taxis. Very good Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Travis Kalanick and the stainless Kyle Chandler in those of his financier, perfect the rendering of the heady and somewhat toxic climate that reigned in Silicon Valley in those years.
The Man Who Fell to Earth
Played by Chiwetel Ejiofor, this 10-episode series (but for now on Paramount Plus there are only two) is inspired by the namesake. 1976 film with David Bowie, in turn based on the 1963 novel of the same title. The story is that of an extraterrestrial who arrives on Earth and tries to understand if he is suitable to host the inhabitants of his planet, now dying.
Top Gun
Yes, the 1986 film: almost 40 years later, it is still engaging and adrenaline-pumping, just as Tom Cruise and Kelly McGillis are still beautiful and sexy. True: she is an American, but she is a very beautiful American that has withstood the passage of time well. And then it has an inimitable soundtrack.