With Paramount + there is now another streaming service. In addition to well-known Paramount and licensed titles, the provider also produces its own content for the platform. TECHBOOK tested the streaming service.
The new streaming service Paramount+ was launched in Germany in December 2022. The service has been available in the USA since 2021, before that the offer was called CBS All Access. This means that the competitive streaming market is continuing to diversify and the offering for film and series fans is growing. However, in most cases it also means that it has to be considered again whether a paid streaming subscription should actually be added. In the TECHBOOK test, Paramount+ did well, but also showed some clear weaknesses.
Paramount+ starts as a new competitor in the streaming market
First of all: TECHBOOK has tested Paramount+ both in the browser and in the mobile app (on an iPhone) and as an Amazon channel in order to get the most accurate impression possible. The test lasted two weeks. Registration and login were quite intuitive. However, so far only payment by credit card is available; It is not known whether popular services such as PayPal will be added soon, but from our point of view it should definitely happen.
Incidentally, the price for Paramount+ is currently EUR 7.99 per month or EUR 79.90 per year, which corresponds to a saving of almost EUR 16. This puts the new streaming service in the lower midfield in terms of general price. For comparison: Disney+, which also belongs directly to a studio, started in 2021 with a similar offer, albeit with much more sophisticated technology, for 6.99 euros per month (now at 8.99 euros).
Once you have registered, you can create up to six user profiles with Paramount+ and, as with other services, customize them with your own profile picture. It is also possible to use a controller to turn an account into a child account, on which content can then only be streamed to a limited extent. Paramount+, like the competition, seems to be based on the issued FSK rating. The test also showed that you can use two streams at the same time, such as in the basic Netflix subscription. Official Info however, Paramount+ doesn’t have it.
Selecting Paramount+ to start with is a bit meager
The most important question with a new streaming service is of course: Which films and series can I watch there? In the case of Paramount+, of course, these are primarily the big Paramount titles. There is also content from Showtime, Nickelodeon and Comedy Central. The offer currently includes around 650 pieces of content (as of February 2023). That’s fine for starters, but a bit disappointing considering the service has actually been around for a few years. If you look at the US selection, it is also much more extensive. One can only hope that the service in Germany will increase in the near future, otherwise the price will also seem a bit excessive.
Of course, there is little to complain about in terms of the quality of the titles. In addition to the blockbusters such as “Top Gun Maverick” and “Star Trek”, which were already well announced in the run-up to the German launch, you can also see various well-known series such as “Yellowjackets” or “Dexter” on Paramount+. There are already some in-house productions, such as “iCarly” (a new edition of the popular Nickelodeon series), “Halo” or “1883”.
In addition to the generally still somewhat thin offer, the gaps in particular are unsightly. Apparently, Paramount still has unfavorable contracts with other providers, so unfortunately you are still a long way from being able to see all the films and series belonging to your own brands on Paramount+. That’s a bit unfortunate with films like “Forrest Gump”, “Indiana Jones”, “The Truman Show” or “Saving Private Ryan”, but it’s bearable. The fact that various series such as “Yellowstone” or “The Good Fight”, actually a Paramount+ original, cannot be seen in their entirety on the platform – two seasons are missing – is really annoying. The well-known series “South Park” only has five seasons out of a total of 26 – and then the last two episodes are still missing.
Also interesting: All new series and films at Paramount+
Technically no competition for Netflix and Co.
In addition to these weaknesses in terms of content, which Paramount+ will hopefully correct over time, the service is not really technically competitive yet. The platform currently offers a maximum Full HD resolution (1920 x 1080 pixels). Of course, that doesn’t really bother the stream on the smartphone or the small laptop screen. But if you want to watch a blockbuster in an atmospheric way on the big TV, the lower resolution is definitely important, as is the lack of surround sound. Paramount+ plans to work on both during 2023.
In terms of handling, Paramount+ looks a bit like Disney+. Under an appealing highlight lead you will find an overview of the various brands: Paramount+, Showtime, Comedy Central, MTV, Nickelodeon, Nick Jr. and Smithsonian. These include categories such as “Popular Series/Movies”, “Originals & Exclusives”, “New”, “Hit Series”, “Movie Highlights” (are highlights actually something different than hits?), “European Comedies” (not to be confused with “European cinema”) or “documentaries”, but also entire series such as “Paranormal Activity” or “Star Trek” can be found there.
There are a total of 35 categories on the home page, which sometimes make getting started confusing. It is also noticeable that the same content can often be seen in the prominent upper categories. So if you’re looking to drift away looking for some streaming inspiration, you’ll have to head down the page a fair bit to do so. If you use the search function in this regard, unfortunately it also has its weaknesses. It is similar in the mobile app, which generally hardly differs in structure from the browser version. Here, however, the categories “For Gamers” and “America in Focus” are added. In addition, in the mobile app, as in the browser, you are oriented horizontally, so that you have to scroll sideways a lot in the main navigation.
The spacebar thing
In the TECHBOOK test, despite a perfect internet connection, the loading times at the beginning of a new episode or film were repeatedly longer (up to eight seconds in some cases). On the other hand, the winding function ran smoothly, but without an image preview, which seems a bit outdated. Even with existing German dubbing, the videos automatically start in English, the subtitles are automatically generated and are unfortunately not always reliable. In any case, the program was not able to reproduce the sometimes quite broad dialect spoken in the police department of “Twin Peaks” in an understandable way.
In general, the playback function is not yet fully developed. There are some very practical key assignments, which are also known from some of the competition. You can mute M by pressing a button, J and L jump forward or back a few seconds, C activates the subtitles. However, the Paramount+ test almost failed early due to the pause function or the space bar. This button works a bit differently depending on the last action you performed. Pause or play, full or small picture, suddenly you have to hold down the button to continue at all, then nothing happens at all or holding down the space bar suddenly causes slow motion. So far we have not been able to determine the exact functionality and also not whether this is actually intended by Paramount+ …
Unfortunately, there is also no general “back” function that takes you back to a search you have already started or to the point in the main navigation where you were last, neither in the browser nor on the smartphone. This is particularly annoying when you go to a title because of an exciting preview image, realize that you would rather look at something else and then end up at the top of the start page again.
Paramount + in the test: This is how the streaming service did
The new provider Paramount+ showed some strengths in the test, but unfortunately also various weaknesses. On the plus side is primarily the offer, which can still be expanded but is definitely top-class. If Paramount+ closes the biggest gaps here and offers its own content bundled and mostly exclusively, then many film and series fans will hardly be able to avoid the service. With some well-known originals, the streaming provider also wants to further establish itself on the market.
Technically, however, there is still a lot of room for improvement, especially in terms of streaming quality and user-friendliness. Although the interface looks good, it is quite confusing and chaotic. The handling in the stream itself also leaves something to be desired or users are now simply used to something else from Netflix, Sky, Disney+ and Co. Measured against these shortcomings, the current price of 7.99 euros per month should also be taken into account. There is, as of now, more for the money with other services.
In general, the German Paramount+ just doesn’t seem quite mature yet. It is understandable that the focus is clearly on the US market; as a user in Germany, however, you always have the feeling that the platform is still missing a lot, both in terms of content and technology.