Fansub or legal stream (if it's available in your region): Which do you use?

[bigsocce]

This is only for anime that is AVAILABLE for legal streaming in your region. You have two options. Legal stream of said anime or fansub of said anime. Anime that doesn't have legal stream would not count toward this discussion.

Just a quick survey to see if legal stream is making any inroad at all. If you choose the fansub over legal stream (both available in your region), why? Is it because fansub = owning, no ad, higher picture quality etc..?

[Kariko]

You pretty much hit it in that last part. If legal streams had HQ, decent font/typesetting, no limits (None of those wait a week if your not premium, or available for 30days only stuff) then I would probably go with the stream. But for now, I'll go with what looks better and is more convenient to watch.

[Ichihara Asako]

I've watched one series on local stream, and only one. Because the rest are dubs of things I saw years ago. The video quality in flash is getting better, but still a long way from rivalling HDTV... and let's not even get in to the subtitle quality.

Suffice it to say, fansub releases will remain king for the foreseeable future.

[Roloko vi Britannia]

Well I mostly use legal streams like Crunchyroll, ANN, Funi, and Bandai's YT channel now even though I hate their boring yellow bricked subs on their older series. I agree that I do hate certain series being removed after 30 days, but I think they do that so it won't interfere with DVD/Blu-Ray sales or something like that at least thats what I heard. Only time I watch a fansub of a legal streaming series is if AnimeNetwork has it and you have to pay for a subscription every month to watch the rest of the series which is a big no no for me since their episodes are not available to everyone after 7 days like CR.

So I have to go for legal stream.

[Haak]

What about legal stream rips? Because i watch a lot of those...

[MeoTwister5]

We here in South East Asia get buttshafted a lot, so I don't have access to most Western streaming sites like Funimation.

So yes, Funsubs.

[DragoZERO]

I like quality. And streams don't have it. Period.

[Envy]

Always legal streaming. I do not believe using fansubs when a legal stream is available in your region is right at all. It comes down to an extremely false sense of entitlement when you do that.

Watching an ad is nothing, and the quality of video really doesn't matter when I'm not paying for it. Sure I'd always like it to be higher. Legal streaming is definitely drifting towards that anyway. Besides the quality is never bad enough to bother me.

It's such a great privilege and I'm so grateful they decided to do it. I like watching my One Piece legally and an hour after the broadcast finishes in Japan. You can't beat that. I'm really hoping that manga starts getting the same treatment as well. Manga here could really benefit from it.

[Midonin]

Whenever I can, the legal option. The move towards simulcasting has actually been quite beneficial. Same-day subs (and the actual translation is often about equal with fansubs. Everything else is bells and whistles), and you're supporting the industry. I still dip into both the legal and not as legal pools, if only because there's no option for some shows, but $20 for three months isn't that much considering the number of shows it grants me.

[thevil1]

Personally, I prefer fansubs. Although, if possible, I like buying anime since fansubs, and streaming is so popular, that the anime companies don't get as much business.
I don't even know if they are legal in my region. I have no idea how they work.

[Vexx]

Mixed results with streams... sometimes the buffering and video quality is meh.

I usually end up archiving the files (whether stream or fansub) because my #1 concern is still not addressed with the likes of Crunchyroll: Will there be a DVD/Bluray release?

Its the same damn reason I taped Animaniacs back in the 90s. It took them 15 years to work out the rights before they released the DVDs. As soon as the DVDs were out, I happily chunked my old VHS tapes. But in the intervening 15 years, at least I had my broadcast recordings. Japanese animation usually *never* gets a release if it doesn't release soon after airing.

Streaming is an unreliable function for me. Streams "go away". Streams "stutter". I'll use them when they work but I don't tend to watch 'disposable entertainment'. If it is disposable and not worth archiving, then why am I watching it in the first place?

[Ryonea]

Tough choice. But I think I'll stick to fansubs.

Some legal stream anime are available in my country thanks to the existence of Animax Asia. But I have problems with it technically and personally.

First, there are times I can't watch them on the schedule. while fansubs enable me to watch them at any time.

Second, I can't watch anime openly because I'm still living with my parents (most anime has NSFW contents) and my parents are kind of strict even when it is only a kissing scene. Fansubs makes the anime private and I can watch them without worry.

Third, this is for the internet streaming. The problem is my internet speed is slow, so streaming would be very painful. While I know the net streaming makes it easy to "dispose" of anime we don't really into and for a watch test, the fansubs nowadays have LQ encodings, so It didn't bother me.

As much as I prefer fansubs, I would support the legal way if I don't have the problems. And as for the anime I really like, I tend to buy the merchandises as well.

[0utf0xZer0]

Originally Posted by Midonin

Whenever I can, the legal option. The move towards simulcasting has actually been quite beneficial. Same-day subs (and the actual translation is often about equal with fansubs. Everything else is bells and whistles), and you're supporting the industry. I still dip into both the legal and not as legal pools, if only because there's no option for some shows, but $20 for three months isn't that much considering the number of shows it grants me.

Yeah, there's a lot of things I dislike about CR's subbing style (lack of OP/ED translations and the tendency to stick to 290MB per episode even if there's spots the episode could clearly use a bit more bitrate being the big ones), but they've actually gotten to the point where I consider them "good enough" most of the time. At least the subscription versions... free streams almost universally have poor video quality in my experience.

As Vexx mentioned, though, there's still the issue of archiving. That and compatibility with various portable devices... at least if you have a file on your PC, you can convert it to almost anything you need.

[Envy]

Originally Posted by 0utf0xZer0

Yeah, there's a lot of things I dislike about CR's subbing style (lack of OP/ED translations and the tendency to stick to 290MB per episode even if there's spots the episode could clearly use a bit more bitrate being the big ones), but they've actually gotten to the point where I consider them "good enough" most of the time. At least the subscription versions... free streams almost universally have poor video quality in my experience.

As Vexx mentioned, though, there's still the issue of archiving. That and compatibility with various portable devices... at least if you have a file on your PC, you can convert it to almost anything you need.

They actually have recently attained the rights to translate the Openings and Endings for Bleach and Naruto, so maybe they'll spread it to other series eventually.

But again I don't really see that as a big deal. And I don't really see the video quality as so either. I guess I just never spoiled myself with fansub downloads so I'm not used to that HD, when watching CR streams without a membership I just don't put it in fullscreen. Doesn't bother me in the least bit.

[hinakatbklyn]

First option would be Legal streaming. Alternate would be streaming subs.

[DragoZERO]

Originally Posted by Envy

They actually have recently attained the rights to translate the Openings and Endings for Bleach and Naruto, so maybe they'll spread it to other series eventually.

But again I don't really see that as a big deal. And I don't really see the video quality as so either. I guess I just never spoiled myself with fansub downloads so I'm not used to that HD, when watching CR streams without a membership I just don't put it in fullscreen. Doesn't bother me in the least bit.

It's also dependent upon your screen size and resolution. I cannot make any flash video full size, it get's pixelated on my 23" 1080p screen.

Another problem is when insert songs aren't translated. Sometimes these reflect what is going on in the series. Knowing the lyrics adds to the experience.

And then there are the texts. A character holds up a newspaper with relevant news and it's not ignored. That doesn't fly.

Lastly, I don't like that CR is the only one streaming many shows.

[Envy]

Originally Posted by DragoZERO

It's also dependent upon your screen size and resolution. I cannot make any flash video full size, it get's pixelated on my 23" 1080p screen.

My screen is the same size and resolution.

480p streams are a bit blurry in full screen mode, but that doesn't bother me unless I have my face right up against the screen. Typically I don't full screen them in the first place.

Another problem is when insert songs aren't translated. Sometimes these reflect what is going on in the series. Knowing the lyrics adds to the experience.

If I cared that much about them I'd YouTube them. Usually I watch the Opening once and skip over it after that anyway.

And then there are the texts. A character holds up a newspaper with relevant news and it's not ignored. That doesn't fly.

I thought Crunchyroll was pretty good about that, it's FUNimation that I've realized isn't the best at that, at least in some of their shows.

Lastly, I don't like that CR is the only one streaming many shows.

I don't care who's streaming them, as long as they have a legal stream.

[Master_Yoma]

Well I dont care where I watch my anime fansub or throw legal means. But some time funsubs take forever to come out but legal means dose cost some cash. So I like funsubs even if it take some time to come out

[WBoon]

By legal streaming, I take it that you probably mean websites paid by official companies to stream their anime (like CrunchyRoll). Singapore is one of those countries with high censorship, and it is monitored enough to have companies blocking out the illegal streams of several series (not just anime) on YouTube in our region. Hell, even streaming sites legalized in America aren't available to us (Hulu, DisneyXD, etc.) I wouldn't count on legal streams being available to us for another good 20 years.

Hence, I have but no choice to turn to fansub. Like the OP wrote anyway, better typesetting, no ads, high quality graphics, storageable in your hard-drive, watchable with the click of a button - why go for something that's so hard to get and still inferior in quality?

[Eater of All]

I tend to follow around one or two series per season using legal streams, but the vast majority of stuff I watch are in fansubs. I like the sound of "supporting the industry", but seriously some streams are just so low in video quality that it starts to detract from the show itself, and that's a huge problem. And no, I can't afford premium when I'm just a poor highschool student.