Im a Member of Curiositystream Do I Have to Pay for It Again to Watch on Youtube Tv

While some people turn to video streaming services for mindless entertainment, others may want to explore those platforms that tin teach and inspire them. CuriosityStream, a service from the founder of Discovery Channel, offers documentaries on topics from infinite exploration to aboriginal civilizations to the coronavirus and more. The viewing experience is stellar, with all titles available in either HD or 4K, though the caption options are limited in the US. CuriosityStream lives up to everything it promises: a wide documentary selection, stunning quality, and a steady menstruation of original content. It offers unmatched value equally a documentary streaming service, and for that it deserves an Editors' Option award.

How Much Does CuriositySteam Toll?

CuriosityStream'southward cheapest plan, which grants you access to all of the service's HD documentaries, is just $ii.99 per month. If y'all desire to watch everything in 4K, yous need to upgrade to the 4K Monthly plan, which costs $ix.99 per calendar month. Documentary lovers who know they'll use CuriosityStream for the entire year can get the about value out of HD Annual ($19.99 per twelvemonth) or 4K Almanac ($69.99 per yr) plans.

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The cheapest tier of Netflix costs $8.99 a calendar month, simply you lot can only stream in SD quality. Prime Video is the same price. Hulu is cheaper at $5.99 for its base plan (with ads). Apple Goggle box+ and Disney+ cost $4.99 per month and $six.99 per month respectively. The British-focused services we've reviewed, Acorn TV and BritBox, are $v.99 and $6.99 per month respectively. CuriosityStream'southward base Hard disk monthly program beats them all in cost.

When matched upwardly against documentary streaming services, CuriosityStream comes out on top. MagellanTV costs $6.99 a month, and 4K streaming is included, but the content library is far smaller than CuriosityStream's: ane,500 titles compared to more than than three,000. Dox Channel is only $ii.99 a month, just there'south no mention of video quality. Kanopy is free with a participating library or university login, only if y'all don't accept one of those, y'all can't access any titles. Topic costs $5.99 a month, and PBS Documentaries costs $3.99 a month.

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Although CuriosityStream is first and foremost a video streaming service, it also fits into the edutainment category, given its focus. Other edutainment services are generally more expensive. MasterClass, for example, also offers informational content at a higher price indicate ($180 per year or $90 per course). While MasterClass is more instructive, CuriosityStream is more informative: You apply the information acquired through a documentary differently than the information acquired from a series of instructional videos. The Great Courses Plus costs $20 a month, $45 for three months, or $150 for the whole year. It'south comparable to CuriosityStream and offers informational, documentary-mode videos, some of which are produced in collaboration with National Geographic and the History Channel. I watched a few gratuitous video lectures from the Great Courses Plus, and while they sparked my interest, I don't think I would pay nigh 10 times more each month than I would with CuriosityStream for admission.

CuriosityStream is well worth its price tag, because the impressive library it offers and how highly rated its documentaries are by viewers (everything I saw had a rating above 90 percent). Depending on what you're looking for, however, some other online learning service might be a better selection.

CuriosityStream is available on the web, mobile devices (Android and iOS), gaming platforms (Xbox 1), streaming media devices (Apple TV, Chromecast, Fire TV, and Roku); and smart TVs. CuriosityStream does not have a dedicated app on the Microsoft Store, something that Prime Video, Hulu, and Netflix exercise.

What Can I Watch On CuriosityStream?

CuriosityStream's library features an impressive 3,000 titles, 900 of which are exclusives. According to a representative, the company plans to expand its streaming library to 11,000 premium titles within 5 years, an ambitious undertaking that could make sticking with the service worthwhile. Currently, CuriosityStream offers documentaries in categories such equally History, Kids, Lifestyle, Nature, Science, Guild, and Applied science.

Some notable documentaries in the CuriosityStream carte du jour are Calorie-free on Earth and Ant Mount, both hosted by David Attenborough; Dream the Future, narrated by Sigourney Weaver; the BBC history series Empire of the Tsars; the human origins series Out of the Cradle; and the paleontology serial Amazing Dinoworld.

Explore food with History of Food and Happiness Is on the Plate. Dive into the physical attribute of who y'all are with The Body. For a sports series on ii Florida high school football teams that battle for supremacy, await no further than fourth and Forever: Muck City.

An interesting topic that has captured public attention for years is whether there's an exoplanet that could support human life. The documentary Living Universe takes you on an interstellar take a chance in an endeavour to notice a planet that could support complex life, including us.

For science, some interesting titles are: Redesign My Brain, a three-episode series that tests the new science of encephalon plasticity; Magic Numbers, iii episodes that journey through the evolution of math; Water ice Age Giants, three episodes that wait at the remarkable creatures of the Ice Historic period; What is Reality? With David Eagleman, a cursory look into how we perceive reality and how to expand that perception; and Exploring Quantum History With Brian Greene, three episodes exploring theoretical physics.

History buffs are sure to savour The Celts: Claret, Fe & Cede, an intriguing championship for a three-episode series exploring the British islanders. Catching History's Criminals: The Forensics Story, looks at 200 years of innovation in law-breaking solving. Super Fish, the historical conflicts between united states and our tasty underwater friends. Finally, Queen Victoria's Messages: A Monarch Unveiled, psychological exploration of the adult female, in her own words.

Technology is our bread and butter hither at PCMag, so naturally, I am excited nearly the content CuriosityStream has to offering in that area. I similar the look of Order and Disorder, which explores how humans discovered the complex rules of the universe and mastered energy and information.

Kids get a defended category, besides. The Beginning and End of the Universe, which explores the universe's origin and where it's going, will go far to enhance childlike curiosity about our origins. Nature documentaries, including The Secret Lives of Big Cats, can help kids understand the challenges facing natural habitats and their native species.

In terms of original content, CuriosityStream offers 4th and Forever: Alcoa, an acclaimed original documentary series produced in partnership with Jupiter Amusement. The eight-episode feature focuses on the history and impact of a boondocks nestled in the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains. It explores the issue of diversity in Alcoa's high school dynamic, including its sports program, and how the schoolhouse pulled off a season that almost wasn't possible.

Over the summertime, CuriosityStream partnered with Doclights to bring fifty original titles to its viewers around the earth. These are all natural history titles ranging between xxx and threescore minutes, including Chetah: Chirapsia the Odds, These Birds Were Made for Walking, Monkey Commotion, and my personal favorite, Sloth Deport: Birth of a Prince. I've never associated sloths with princes before.

Another original offer is a three-office series called The History of Home, which takes you behind the history of each room in featured houses. Nick Offerman, who played Ron Swanson in Parks and Recreation, narrates the series. As information technology turns out, he's a master woodworker! The filmmakers went to 10 countries and filmed dozens of heart-catching homes.

The pandemic hasn't afflicted CuriosityStream's dedication to new content. According to Clint Stinchcomb, president and CEO of CuriosityStream: "We've premiered new and exclusive originals every single week since the first of the shutdown and that will continue for the rest of this year and certainly into 2021."

It'southward difficult to compare CuriosityStream with other streaming services considering it has a narrow focus. However, within that focus, the service sets itself apart with titles that appeal to a broad audition and a robust original title itemize. Netflix offers documentaries too, more than 500 of them, including Jiro Dreams of Sushi and Forensic Files. Prime Video houses acclaimed BBC natural history serial Planet Earth.

For an fifty-fifty wider option, our list of best movie streaming services includes Netflix, Hulu, Peacock, and Tubi. Netflix features popular original content, Hulu has an all-encompassing film library, Peacock highlights popular NBC network shows, and Tubi is a gratuitous service with a big selection of ad-supported movies. Cinephiles would like The Criterion Aqueduct and Mubi.

Simply CuriosityStream is your all-time bet if you're looking for a high-quality, solid documentary to watch on a rainy Sun or really any twenty-four hours of the calendar week.

CuriosityStream'south Web Interface

I tested CuriosityStream's web interface on the Google Chrome browser running on a Windows 10 desktop. I signed in with an electronic mail or telephone and password, or with a Idiot box or Net provider. I opted to sign in with my email. CuriosityStream'south web interface is straightforward to navigate and I did not experience whatsoever functioning bug in testing. It was smooth and intuitive, and the navy blue/dark xanthous color scheme is pleasant.

The superlative navigation bar includes four bill of fare options: Browse, Collections, Search, and your business relationship name. If you hover over your business relationship proper noun in the upper section of the interface, a drib-down menu offers access to the Watchlist, Keep Watching, and History sections. In the My Account section, you can view Plan Details, Payment Information, Account Information, and Settings. Inside Settings, there are options to just show kid-friendly content, testify comments, and adjust notifications.

At the time of testing, the homepage featured an original series called My Wild Lawn that I could watch, add together to my watchlist, or simply curlicue past. Further down on the folio, I saw sections such as Newest Additions and Shows for you. I'g a huge fan of personalized content, so I especially appreciate that latter department. Past those categories are sections dedicated to other genres, including Spooky Stuff, Ancient History & Dinos, and more.

The Browse section'south drop-down carte du jour enabled me to observe content past category or duration. I really liked the duration choice, specially if I know I just have a certain corporeality of time to watch something. Inside each main category (Science, History, Engineering science, Nature, Society, Lifestyle, and Kids), subcategories make information technology easier to find even more specialized topics. Nether Club, for example, there was Entrepreneurship, Social Issues, Politics, Criminal offence & Forensics, Economic science, Business & Commerce, Commonwealth, and Current Events.

The Collections carte du jour particular leads to a page full of curated programs, including Women Dominion, Coronavirus, and Hidden Gems. I felt similar I was back in my Spotify account, browsing through collections of films instead of playlists put together by the Spotify team.

When you hover over a evidence or motion-picture show'due south thumbnail, yous can add it to your watchlist via a push button in the top-right corner or view the episode count and rating in the bottom-left. On a prove or movie'southward item page, you can see which company produced it, if subtitles are available, and the rating again.

CuriosityStream's Mobile Apps

I tested CuriosityStream'due south mobile app on the iPhone 11 running iOS xiv.0.1. After logging in (CuriosityStream gives you lot the same login options as on the web), I noticed a familiar habitation screen. The featured content, My Wild Backyard, was the same, as were the other categories, such equally Newest Additions and Shows for you. In fact, the mobile app is almost a directly reflection of the web platform.

The card items that were at the superlative of the website appear as icons at the bottom of the iOS app. When I went into Settings, I saw the option to plow on Kids style under Account. When I pressed My Stuff, I saw Watchlist, Go along Watching, History, and Saved.

The mobile app has the episode count or documentary duration and the rating available right on the screen. On the web, you would demand to hover over a thumbnail to find the same information. Notably, I couldn't access conversations and comment below the title, as I could on the web. Underneath an episode, the mobile app shows other episodes in the serial. Underneath films, such as Armstrong, CuriosityStream lists recommendations for other films.

Offline viewing is bachelor on the Android and iOS apps. You tin relieve upward to x hours of content at a time. Amazon Prime, CBS All Access, Disney+, Hulu, Netflix, Starz, and Showtime all back up offline viewing.

Playback Experience

CuriosityStream'south playback interface on the web defaults to the highest available resolution. It has volume and playback speed options, as well as xv-2d rewind and fast-forward options via the pointer keys on a keyboard. On the bottom-correct corner of the video player, at that place is an choice to add closed captions (merely in English language unfortunately) and modify the audio track option (English or Castilian). There'due south likewise a panel with more episodes and a summary of the episode or motion picture underneath the video player. The mobile app playback screen is similar; the only difference is that it has a Save push button and the rewind and fast-forward buttons are accessible on-screen.

In terms of user feedback options, subscribers can use thumbs-up and downward buttons to charge per unit content and to and become more than personalized recommendations, too as to see what other users liked. Almost of the content I saw had ratings in the high 90s (out of 100 percentage) with feedback from thousands of users. I like how there is even space for viewers to get out comments and engage with other members. Shudder, Mubi, Sundance Now, and Prime Video all allow users to add together their thoughts on what they watch.

Every bit a novice documentary viewer, I decided to watch a championship from the Starting time Hither! drove (the exclamation indicate sold me); a staff-curated serial of more than 42 episodes that clocks in at just over 100 total hours. The collection's description bodacious me that the selected documentaries were audience favorites. From in that location, I chose Speed, a documentary "investigating mankind's insatiable necessity to move faster and farther; for pleasure, for work, to explore, to survive." There are 4 episodes of Speed, each of which is around l minutes long.

The episode I chose to watch was fascinating. It was about how our want for speed has encouraged incredible nautical inventions that allowed us to cross oceans. There were no lags in playback or stutters, and the sound synced up well. CuriosityStream recommends download speeds of 25Mbps or college for uninterrupted 4K viewing, then my dwelling Wi-Fi network (100Mbps download) was more than than acceptable.

The sound adjusted seamlessly when I tried irresolute the sound tracks option from English to Spanish and back again. The 4K video quality was incredible, also. Amazon Prime Video, Apple tree Idiot box+, Disney+, Hulu, and Netflix all offer 4K streaming.

I also tested Speed and Armstrong on the mobile app over my home Wi-Fi network and found the playback experience to be but as satisfying.

CuriosityStream does not specify how many simultaneous streams it supports per business relationship. In testing, however, I was able to access CuriosityStream simultaneously from my laptop and my phone with no bug. NBC, HBO Max, and Disney+ permit for iii simultaneous streams, for reference, while BritBox supports five.

Accessibility and Parental Controls

All of the content I watched included closed captions, which you tin can't customize. Yet, none of the content supports Sound Descriptions. Apple TV+, Prime Video, and Netflix all include titles that support this feature, an accessibility option that provides an audible narration of on-screen events that are not discernible through dialog alone.

Every bit mentioned, CuriosityStream has a kid-specific category filled with kid-friendly titles. You can instruct your children to limit themselves to the titles within that channel. There's likewise the option to turn on Kids manner, which you tin access through the My Account page. However, this option applies sweepingly to your entire account. Disney+, HBO Max, and Netflix support multiple viewing profiles with individualized content restriction options.

CuriosityStream and VPN

A virtual private network (VPN) is an first-class way to secure your data online. When you turn on a VPN, it routes all of your cyberspace traffic through an encrypted tunnel between you and a remote server controlled past the VPN company, thus hiding both your identity and your location. This tin be troublesome for some video streaming services which may cake VPN traffic birthday based on geographic location to avoid complications.

I tried streaming content on CuriosityStream after connecting my PC to both US- and Sweden-based Mullvad VPN servers. I had no issues streaming over either connection.

Fifty-fifty if your VPN and video streaming service currently piece of work together without bug, that'southward no guarantee that they will go on to do and then. Video streaming services proceed to find new means to detect and cake VPN traffic.

Low Cost, Loftier Value

I'm not surprised that CuriosityStream has more than xiii million paying subscribers in more than than 175 countries; it offers neat value. There's no ameliorate place to go for loftier-quality documentaries that encompass thousands of topics, with new titles added regularly. World travelers volition also enjoy that it's available globally with no restrictions. Caption language options are limited in the US to primarily English, although audio for some content is available in English language and Castilian.

Our Editor's Option for on-need video streaming services is Netflix; its collection of pop original titles is unmatched. For streaming live TV, which isn't featured on CuriosityStream, go with Hulu + Live TV or YouTube Tv. CuriosityStream also deserves Editor's Pick recognition for the thousands of hours of viewing it offers its curious, nonfiction-minded audience. The depression price, high specs, and good-size library brand this streaming service worth it.

CuriosityStream

Cons

The Bottom Line

Documentary-dedicated CuriosityStream has all of the content y'all demand to satisfy your hunger for cognition and spark new adventures.

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Source: https://www.pcmag.com/reviews/curiositystream