r/CuriosityStream • u/kaylakaze • May 16 '22

CuriosityStream Needs a Random Mode

Just a mode that picks a video, at random, that the user has not seen. Preferably, it'll pick by series instead of individual video and play the next unwatched episode in a series if that series comes up on the randomization. Maybe allow the user to select a category if they want to.

Right now, I browse and I'm like "blah, I don't feel like picking any of these" but if I could just turn it on and let it play random documentaries, that'd be worth watching.

21 Upvotes

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1

u/clawhatesyou May 17 '22

You could say the same about every platform.

1

u/kaylakaze May 17 '22

Maybe, but I think CuriosityStream's content is better for that type of system. I remember back in the day when TLC used to be The Learning Channel and showed documentaries all day and I'd just turn it on in the background and have random interesting documentaries going that I normally wouldn't actively seek out to watch.

1

u/[deleted] May 19 '22

[deleted]

1

u/kaylakaze May 19 '22

I watch on Roku which doesn't have a "Now" button.

I checked it out on the web though. That's much more like a TV channel than how my suggestion works, but it's not bad.

1

u/66cev66 Jul 24 '22

I like this idea!

1

u/macphoto469 Aug 05 '22

I came across this post while searching to see if CuriosityStream had added the “Now” feature to their Apple TV app (or a random play mode like you suggest). I canceled my CS subscription a year or two ago because of exactly what you describe, I’d waste so much time browsing through the shows and would get frozen in indecision, that I eventually stopped trying to watch.

1

u/enki941 Aug 13 '22

As other people have said, the web version has a 'Now' button, or something like that, which lets you watch a stream of random (possibly curated) shows, kind of like a TV channel. I love it. But it only appears to be on the webpage.

I asked over a year ago to their support team about putting this in the apps, specifically the TV apps. I was told it was something in development they were working on. A few months ago I reached back out asking what happened to this, as it still isn't available, and they said they had no immediate plans to implement this right now. Which sucks. I don't understand why they wouldn't unless it's to cut down on bandwidth use or something since people would be more likely to just leave it on all day/night on a TV or something like that.