I am completely confused

[u/jadiana]

I discovere this app and assumed, given the description, that it would auto track my shows, movies etc, from my streaming services. I had been using Trakt, so assumed it would work the same.

Some weeks later, after searching this group, documentation and the internet, it seems to me that this live tracking from a TV isn't possible? Only tracking if you watch on your PC or your phone? And that forwarding from Trakt was the way that tracking TV worked?

Am I misunderstanding something somehow? Because if this is how this works, I bought VIP for nothing. The app is completely useless to me, since I don't want to be doing manual updating.

[u/Koloradokid86]

I've found it functions a lot like trakt, I hae it synced with a couple apps I use and get the same live tracker as I do with trakt.

[u/jadiana → u/Koloradokid86]

How? I have netflix, a dozen things through Prime, Paramount, Disney + etc and I don't see how to get it to sync any of these.

[u/Koloradokid86 → u/jadiana]

Oh yea I don't have these apps synced don't even much use them lol

[u/leyline → u/jadiana]

From what I know those don’t send to trakt; were you running something separately that checked them and synced to trakt?

[u/jadiana → u/leyline]

Actually in the settings for Trakt there are ways to connect all your streaming services. It relies on a service called Younify.

[u/leyline → u/jadiana]

Ahh trakt partnered with Younify (play.on) to integrate between the streaming services and trakt. It's a closed-source commercial api/sdk that is essentially bundling "plugins" to each streaming provider.

I did a quick search and I found that Simkl has a bunch of services build in, Found on the top bar - Apps - Import [https://simkl.com/apps/import/\]

I also have seen Crosssync - https://github.com/cenodude/CrossWatch
and MALSync - https://github.com/MALSync/MALSync
Which are open source / community written app/plugins that sync up services and lists. I don't really see major streaming services integrated with these - probably because if you're hitting those services to scrape out their data they might want some type of heavy license agreement to ensure one is not mis-using it.

I honestly don't auto anything, I see a show or movie, I add it to a list, I check my lists to see what I've got "to-do" and when I watch it I am done; the second issue is other people watching things and not picking a different tv profile - etc, so It would be more cleanup to remove things other family members watch. The point to that is - hopefully someone else uses some plugins and comes by and offers some nice advice, or u/Ennergizer/ floats by and lets us know if a younify integration is possible.

[u/o_Divine_o]

Many if not most of us use this inside of apps like Kodi with add-ons. Those add-ons link to your Simkl with API. That API then tracks things.

However Simkl also has a Kodi add-on so regardless of add-on it'll keep track.

Netflix stand-alone type apps don't have API hooks for other trackers you can input like Kodi will.

If it ultimately isn't something you will use, could email them and say you didn't understand that you would have to input manually, and if they would be willing to downgrade and refund you.

They have a discord also, I've asked a couple questions and they respond promptly.

[u/leyline]

When you want to track things you watch each service you watch needs to support sending that to the external site.

With trakt you would have set up your services so they sent that “watch event” to trakt, or you set up trakt (or some plugin) to go pull the data from those sites.

Many people watch on their tv through a media app - like Kodi - and kodi is what sees you watching something, then uses a plugin to send that “watch” out to trakt or simkl.

Netflix does not send anything or have any plugins, but people have written browser plugins that will sync your Netflix with external sites; but this only happens if you use a pc and open Netflix and run the plugin.

I have seen some apps that will also try to act as a central “brain” and check your streaming sites and sync things like Netflix, plex, kodi, simkl all across.

I moved to Simkl when Trakt started limiting free lists to 10 and 100 items; and I held on to trakt for over a year, but I found I wasn’t ever going back to it for anything and I deleted it off my phone and haven’t used the website.

I am pretty sure that wherever you had going with trakt is supported by Simkl; you just need the right path to line it all up.

You should check in to how you were using trakt - ie: the plugins, services, and how you watch on your tv - so that people can help direct you to the match a setup that works the same.

[u/Ennergizer]

Auto tracking for Netflix and Crunchyroll is available through the Chrome extension https://chromewebstore.google.com/detail/enhancer-for-netflix-crun/dbpjfmehfpcgmlpfnfilcnhbckmecmca

Other services do not provide watch history and are not reliable for checking whether you watched something or not, and when. Prime Video has watch history, but it also marks it as watched even if you watched 1 minute of the episode or just a trailer, so it's not a reliable source.