For those of you who don't know, BroadwayHD is a streaming service much like Netflix or Hulu but it specializes in Broadway. Filmed shows, anniversary concerts and so much more are available on the website. But is it worth the price tag of $14.99/month? I got a one month subscription to see.
Now to set the scene a little bit, I hadn't been to any live theater in a while when I got my subscription so I was missing the excitement of getting ready for a show and sitting in the theater, waiting with anticipation for the music to begin. I picked out several things to watch (which you'll see opinions of later this week) and started my first foray into BroadwayHD.
The first thing that struck me was just how massive the library is. The selection of shows you can watch is huge and suits pretty much anyone's theater taste. They have everything from foreign shows, to behind the scenes, to classic shows, to revivals many of us know and love (*cough* Falsettos *cough*). The is truly something everyone can watch and it makes it a theater lovers dream.
The size of the library alone makes it almost instantly worth it for me, as many of the videos are things I've wanted to see but never had the chance to. However there are other things to consider.
One thing that some people may find annoying is that each account can only have one stream at a time. While I'm the only one using my account, I feel that some people may think this is more difficult and would rather be able to watch one video while a family member watched a different one.
The video quality is another thing to bring up. I've found it to be quite good and while I have experienced some buffering (likely to be because my wi-fi is quite slow), nothing major in the quality of the video has changed my opinion.
It's also a very easy platform to use and there's nothing hidden about the price, automatic renewal, or anything like that.
So, is BroadwayHD worth it? My answer would be yes. Anyone who even remotely likes theater can find something to watch and there is very little chance of having major trouble with it. While I can't speak about the livestreams, I can say that their video library is 100% worth the price of the subscription and will certainly make any theater lover happy.