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Beat the Clock & Buy Advance Tickets with MoviePass
The title says it all, doesn’t it? In this video, I explain and demonstrate how to get around MoviePass‘ Countdown Clock and why it works. This doesn’t violate MoviePass Terms Of Service, either; I explain that towards the end, but once they get hip to this, I’m sure MoviePass will make some changes. Most ironic is that while MoviePass may not be too thrilled about this video, it’s the smoothest MoviePass transaction I’ve ever recorded. Seriously, I wonder how many MoviePass users have ever checked in and got their ticket that fast.
If the embedded video doesn’t load, click to watch
Beat The Countdown Clock and Buy Advance Tickets with MoviePass at YouTube.
I can’t front, I’m feeling pretty Damian Sandow-ish right now, but this is so face palmingly simple that I’d honestly be amazed if I was the first one to come up with it. You’re welcome.
Please be sure to check out the other articles in my series on MoviePass:
- My MoviePass Profile (11/4/2013)
- A hidden MoviePass Countdown Clock limitation (11/12/2013)
- Why MoviePass Is Bringing Subscription Moviegoing To Theaters (11/21/2013)
- What is MoviePass? (11/25/2013)
- My MoviePass experience (11/25/2013)
- How does MoviePass work (and what happens when it doesn’t)? (11/25/2013)
- What can I see with MoviePass? (11/25/2013)
- A day is 24 hours, but 24 hours is not a day (11/25/2013)
- Why I can’t recommend MoviePass (and why I won’t be renewing my subscription anytime soon) (11/25/2013)
- Beat the Clock & Buy Advance Tickets with MoviePass (11/28/2013)
Why I can’t recommend MoviePass (and why I won’t be renewing my subscription anytime soon)
If you’ve read my other posts on MoviePass, it’s clear that overall I was happy with the service and how it was implemented for the first 11 months of my membership. Even with the Countdown Clock, many of you may find that MoviePass is indeed a great value that would suit your needs. The way the Countdown Clock was implemented and announced is only the latest in a string of ethically questionable practices that I have issue with.
Right off the bat, it was pretty impossible to recommend the service to anyone, despite how much value I was getting from it. Whenever I would tell anyone about MoviePass, they would ask, “What’s the catch?” at which point, I would rattle off a list. “So, the very thing MoviePass advertises as their service is pretty much bullshit,” is how people would basically respond to the list of restrictions on the “unlimited” service. I would contend that I didn’t believe it to be an intentional deception; the service was in still in “beta,” and I believed they were working towards offering what they were advertising.
“Get back to me when they’re out of beta.”
A day is 24 hours, but 24 hours is not a day
If English isn’t your first language, that might not make sense. Hell, it might not make sense even if English is your first language. The distinction between a day and 24 hours is important. What is a day? That seems obvious: Monday is one day, Tuesday is another and so on. Now consider the period of time between 12 noon on Monday and 12 noon on Tuesday. Is that a day? What day? It’s 24 hours, and 24 hours is not a day.
A hidden MoviePass Countdown Clock limitation
MoviePass recently introduced their “Countdown Clock” to limit movie viewing to one movie per 24 hour period beginning from the start time of the last movie you watched. What they didn’t tell you was this part:
If the embedded video doesn’t load, click to watch
MoviePass Countdown Clock Issues at YouTube.
This was clearly an inconvenience from the moment I read about it in the announcement. However, I decided to give it a chance and see if MoviePass‘ continuing claim of being able to see a movie a day holds up. Obviously it can’t, because movie theaters aren’t open 24 hours a day, but I figured I would try it and see how long it would take before I missed a day. Even if I could pull it off, I’ve already had to reorganize my life around movie going in this effort (currently on day 11 & counting), which isn’t really the point of a relaxing hobby. I’ll let you know how it goes.
Also be sure to check out the other articles in my series on MoviePass:
- My MoviePass Profile (11/4/2013)
- A hidden MoviePass Countdown Clock limitation (11/12/2013)
- Why MoviePass Is Bringing Subscription Moviegoing To Theaters (11/21/2013)
- What is MoviePass? (11/25/2013)
- My MoviePass experience (11/25/2013)
- How does MoviePass work (and what happens when it doesn’t)? (11/25/2013)
- What can I see with MoviePass? (11/25/2013)
- A day is 24 hours, but 24 hours is not a day (11/25/2013)
- Why I can’t recommend MoviePass (and why I won’t be renewing my subscription anytime soon) (11/25/2013)
- Beat the Clock & Buy Advance Tickets with MoviePass (11/28/2013)
