# Met Opera On Demand?



## Dustin (Mar 30, 2012)

Anyone here use this or have any opinions about it? I just signed up for the 7 day free trial and I've watched a few minutes of 2 operas already, Marriage of Figaro and Tristan Und Isolde, and they both have pretty atrocious sound quality. These are supposed to be HD quality so I figured they would sound nice as well. Tristan was 2008 and Mozart was last year. Just to make sure I was hearing the awful sound that I though I was, I pulled up Berlin Philharmoniker's Digital Concert Hall and the clarity of sound there is night and day. The MetOpera sounds like it's underwater or something. Any suggestions for any streaming opera options with good audio and video quality?


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## Dustin (Mar 30, 2012)

It seems this http://www.medici.tv/#!/operas has way superior sound and video quality, at least on some of the operas.


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## mountmccabe (May 1, 2013)

How are you watching Met on Demand?

I just added the new channel for Roku. I don't have a subscription yet but the free excerpts I've sampled have sounded perfectly fine.


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## Dustin (Mar 30, 2012)

mountmccabe said:


> How are you watching Met on Demand?
> 
> I just added the new channel for Roku. I don't have a subscription yet but the free excerpts I've sampled have sounded perfectly fine.


I'm just watching by going to their web site. I didn't know there were other ways to watch it.


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## Queen of the Nerds (Dec 22, 2014)

I wish it was free, instead of $100+ a year. Or at least, $20. That's more manageable. Even then, I want the app to be available on iPod. Why is it NOT???


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## graziesignore (Mar 13, 2015)

I watch Met on Demand on my iPad, mirroring it to my Apple TV.

I'm guessing that the sound quality is only as good as the original broadcast archive... (I'm talking about historical productions...)


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## JoeSaunders (Jan 29, 2015)

Yeah, I've been using the free trial this week also and the sound quality can be a bit off at times. However, I only really notice it when choruses are singing; for me solo pieces sound acceptable. That said, I'm no audiophile. 

Thanks for the info on Medici.tv, will def consider this service


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## mountmccabe (May 1, 2013)

This discussion made me check out the app for iPad (not that I have one). I found this:



> You must be at least 17 years old to download this app.
> Infrequent/Mild Profanity or Crude Humor
> Infrequent/Mild Mature/Suggestive Themes
> Infrequent/Mild Simulated Gambling
> ...


My first thought was that this was entirely from _Carmen_, because that opera was in the top corner of one of the screenshots. But I don't believe there's any gambling, either in the base opera or in the Met's available productions.

Are there other operas that do a better job of covering all of these points?


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## Diminuendo (May 5, 2015)

A while back I used Met Opera On Demand on my computer. I thought it sounded and looked very good. If I remember correctly the sound quality as well as the picture depended on your internet connection. The faster the connection the better they are. Sometimes there were bugs like the quality decreased suddenly and I had to stop watching and start again. Apart from that I had now problems. I have a very good sound card and headphones. I can't say anything of the tablet app.


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## vampireslugger (Aug 5, 2015)

Has anyone managed to solve this? I joined up for the trial period, experienced the same poor sound quality, and left them an email a few days ago to which they still haven't replied. I would love to subscribe to the service -- the collection is great and the visual quality excellent -- but the sound is nearly unlistenable.


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## jflatter (Mar 31, 2010)

I subscribed once but gave up as due to the variable sound quality. I always used to find a clicking sound on it. If the Met is going to make this service profitable then it needs to transform it and also produce an android app for tablets as well.


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## ma7730 (Jun 8, 2015)

mountmccabe said:


> This discussion made me check out the app for iPad (not that I have one). I found this:
> 
> My first thought was that this was entirely from _Carmen_, because that opera was in the top corner of one of the screenshots. But I don't believe there's any gambling, either in the base opera or in the Met's available productions.
> 
> Are there other operas that do a better job of covering all of these points?


I remember a production of Marriage of Figaro, in which during the overture, a woman runs on stage and flashes her breasts, which I imagine would cover Sexual Content & nudity. There is a scene in which gambling happens in the libretto of _Traviata_, but having never seen the met's production, I have no idea what they've done. I know for sure there's gambling in _Fanciulla_, however. And _Lulu_, which surely shall be added to their collection soon, pretty much covers all these criteria. There's lots of realistic violence, whether it be murder, suicide or battle scenes. That's what I can think of.

As for the actual service, I have a yearly subscription and have been enjoying it very much. Streaming it from my computer, I find both the video and sound quality to be extremely good. It's a shame it's sounding so poor for you.


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

jflatter said:


> I subscribed once but gave up as due to the variable sound quality. I always used to find a clicking sound on it. If the Met is going to make this service profitable then it needs to transform it and also produce an android app for tablets as well.


This, horrible sound, only good if you can lead the stream to your hi hi system .


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## Il Maestro (Oct 27, 2015)

ma7730 said:


> As for the actual service, I have a yearly subscription and have been enjoying it very much. Streaming it from my computer, I find both the video and sound quality to be extremely good. It's a shame it's sounding so poor for you.


I used to have a subscription too, and whether I watched it on my computer or on my TV, I never had I problem with sound or picture quality.


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## rspader (May 14, 2014)

A few weeks ago, I took a one year subscription. My goal is to watch 50 operas this year. I use the iPad app and send it to my TV and stereo through Apple TV. So far I have watched only operas that are in HD. I have had no problems with the video and the sound has been fine. I am lucky enough to have a very fast home internet connection.


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## vampireslugger (Aug 5, 2015)

Browsing around for alternatives, I found this site: http://www.theoperaplatform.eu/en/opera

Has eight operas, all free and high quality, with more coming soon. Doubtless many people already know about it, but for those who don't, it aggregates a whole load of opera from around Europe, producing videos from short documentaries to extracts to full operas, all free to the public without any signup.

Interestingly for me, they have the entire of Power Her Face ready to stream, which I've always wanted to see just because of Philip Hensher's involvement.


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## mountmccabe (May 1, 2013)

Yes, The Opera Platform is great!

There is some discussion of the site and the operas they have streamed in The Opera Platform thread, though it has been quiet for a few months.

And thank you for bringing it up; it reminds me that I wanted to watch that _Aida_.


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## Guest (Feb 5, 2016)

I subscribed for a few months to Met On Demand. I closed my account because of the sound quality. I can't imagine that their DVDs of the same operas have the same quality, so they are using low-quality files to stream because they take less space. I let them know about that but they never got back to me...


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

DoReFaMi said:


> I subscribed for a few months to Met On Demand. I closed my account because of the sound quality. I can't imagine that their DVDs of the same operas have the same quality, so they are using low-quality files to stream because they take less space. I let them know about that but they never got back to me...


That's how the so called "non commercial" sites becomes rich, they tape them and sell them


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## Bonetan (Dec 22, 2016)

Are there any other opera houses in the world that offer a similar service to Met on demand?


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

Bonetan said:


> Are there any other opera houses in the world that offer a similar service to Met on demand?


Some of them do a live stream every now and then, but no archive access.


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## sacraselva (Aug 31, 2016)

Bonetan said:


> Are there any other opera houses in the world that offer a similar service to Met on demand?


You might know about it already but there's of course *theoperaplatform.eu *with performances from a number of venues around Europe, usually they keep their stuff up for quite some time after the live transmission. And it's for free


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

sacraselva said:


> You might know about it already but there's of course *theoperaplatform.eu *with performances from a number of venues around Europe, usually they keep their stuff up for quite some time after the live transmission. And it's for free


That is the same site as poster says in his/ her O.P am I right?


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## schigolch (Jun 26, 2011)

Bonetan said:


> Are there any other opera houses in the world that offer a similar service to Met on demand?


The Vienna Opera has an streming service, with a few titles in the Videothèque section: http://www.staatsoperlive.com/en/vod/

Some are offered in UHD resolution.


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## Barelytenor (Nov 19, 2011)

vampireslugger said:


> Browsing around for alternatives, I found this site: http://www.theoperaplatform.eu/en/opera
> 
> Has eight operas, all free and high quality, with more coming soon. Doubtless many people already know about it, but for those who don't, it aggregates a whole load of opera from around Europe, producing videos from short documentaries to extracts to full operas, all free to the public without any signup.
> 
> Interestingly for me, they have the entire of Power Her Face ready to stream, which I've always wanted to see just because of Philip Hensher's involvement.


Actually today I counted 16 operas available, 10 showing on the main page and others showing when I clicked Load More. Thanks for pointing this out!

:tiphat:

Kind regards,

George


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## Bonetan (Dec 22, 2016)

Thanks for the tips guys!


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## Annied (Apr 27, 2017)

There is another option, although it requires a larger initial outlay. Several years ago I bought a motorised satellite dish. The main reason was so that I could watch German and French "Free to Air" channels and attempt to improve my language skills. (It worked and I'm now addicted to a Bavarian soap opera.) An unexpected bonus is that it's also possible to pick up the live relays from the opera houses.


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## Cat from hell (Apr 18, 2020)

*Met opera on demand lousy quality all around*

The subscription is now at $15 or so, the video quality on a high resolution monitor is appalling;. On iOS systems the subtitles vanish whenever you slow or speed up or go to another window, and you need to restart the program to get them back.


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## Cat from hell (Apr 18, 2020)

For those of you who are getting high quality video, are you streaming directly from the web?


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